For the founder of the club, freshman history student Audrey Diczhazy, Hot Shots is personal.
“My mother was an athlete in any women’s sports her high school offered in the ’80s, and she told me the difference in funding and support between men’s and women’s sports,” Diczhazy said. “So, when I saw that there is a significant gap in physical student support at UA, it struck a chord with me, and I wanted to help close it even if it meant just adding a few more people in the stands.”
Hot Shots is the Blount Scholars Program’s newest club. Hot Shots was founded to support women in sports and help to grow attendance at women’s sporting events.
Hot Shots hopes to help close the gap of attendance between men’s and women’s sporting events. Through the advocacy that they are starting in the Blount program, a liberal arts community for undergraduates, the members hope the Crimson Tide’s women’s teams will see more warm bodies in their crowds.
While joining the club is just for Blount students, it may become official through The Source, said freshman accounting student Jackson Bowen.
“If there is some appeal to a wider campus audience, it will definitely be considered,” Bowen said.
Although the club currently has only nine members, its members have high hopes. Diczhazy talked about future meeting goals and what being part of the club will look like.
“My plans for meeting will be as frequent as everybody’s schedules allow. I don’t expect everyone to make every meeting or game,” Diczhazy said. “Being a member entails showing up as much as you can and trying to apply yourself in any way possible. … I just want people to enjoy themselves when they are at our meetings. If they can’t make it, they can help out by spreading the word!”
By promoting attendance for women’s sporting events and advocating for women athletes, Hot Shots helps build school spirit and foster new connections and friendships, which are two values the Blount Scholars Program prioritizes when it encourages its students to create its own programs.
“I don’t think it’s really a stretch to say that UA’s school spirit is heavily, if not entirely, fueled by sports,” Diczhazy said. “Sports have helped me build connections with people unlike any other events on this campus. Student-athletes at UA dedicate themselves completely to their craft, and I would like to be there to support any and all of them.”
Along with fostering new connections and friendships, Hot Shots plans to do more, according to freshman psychology student Sammie Dees.
“This club is all about enriching the environment of the student population, something I think is very important,” Dees said.
Hot Shots has big goals for itself, and it isn’t focused on just one aspect of attending women’s sports.
Along with attending sporting events, the club wants to help the student body become more connected and support every athlete at the school no matter how small the sport is.
“We believe that the dedication and hard work of these athletes deserves to be celebrated as much as any other group,” Dees said.
For Hot Shots, this means celebrating Olympic athletes, national stars, conference standouts and everyone in between, not just counting football’s national championships.
