Junior Sam Hying and sophomore Will Kopp created the new Shred Club on campus that focuses on snow sports, bringing their activities from home to share with students on Simpson’s campus.

“We were back home snowboarding in Colorado and wanted to continue snowboarding in the Midwest,” Hying said. “We thought, what if we could give students the opportunity to feel the joy we get out of snowboarding and that’s when we thought of creating a club.”

The club’s current plan is to go to Seven Oaks Recreation in Boone because it is close to Simpson and it offers many different activities, including snowboarding, skiing and snow tubing. They hope to explore other places around Iowa and potentially take a trip to Colorado.

Although the club is fairly new, it has brought in a lot of interest from students on campus who may not have the same exposure as those who live in states where snow activities are more common.

“The club is still being developed, but we’re gaining a strong following. In the future, we hope to plan trips at least a week before we head out so that we can plan for transportation,” Kopp said.

Funding from the school is the next step for the new club to help purchase passes for members and supplies that will be available to those in the club. Hying explained how they hope to purchase a bundle of skis and snowboards for the school to own.

“For the future, we are hoping to get our budget approved by SGA to make this experience as cheap as possible for the students,” Hying said.

Making the skiing and snowboarding experience as easy and budget friendly as possible is a big goal the pair have for Shred Club. 

Hying and Kopp have done much of the work to create the club and had the initial vision for it, however, they have had some help to guide them along the way. They have discussed with many SGA members to see what steps they need to take to sanction the club to receive the funding it needs to operate.

Hying and Kopp hope Shred Club brings a lot of benefits to students on campus who choose to join.

“First, it’s extremely cold outside and no one wants to go out there so giving people the opportunity to get outside and get active is crucial to their health,” Hying said.

Shred club will allow students who may not have had the same exposure and experience of snow sports as others, and it will give them the opportunity to try something new along with their peers.

“Some people may be nervous to get out and meet new people, by skiing and snowboarding they can bond with others doing the same activity,” Hying said. 

Hying and Kopp are eager to see where Shred Club will go in the future and hope to bring their love of snow sports to others on campus.