The fun and games are over, at least in Taekwondo, swimming, men and women’s volleyball, and wushu, a Chinese martial art.

SF State’s recreational sports program discontinued the club sports division for the rest of the fall 2008 semester when Adrian Wise, who oversaw the program, left the university for undisclosed reasons earlier this month.

“There needs to be a professional administrator over the club sports section of the recreational sports program, and we don’t have anyone yet,” said director of recreational sports Ajani Byrd.

“Once that person comes in and fills the seat, then club sports will be reinstated.”

The SF State recreational sports program offers two divisions of competition: club sports and intramural sports. The difference is that club sports require a lot more team management and a fee to take part, while intramural allows students seeking a fun and friendly contest to join in a drop-in basis.

There are over 100 students looking to enjoy a competitive atmosphere and participate in club sports on campus, Byrd said.

Some students felt the cancellation of the program had to do with a decreased athletics budget.

“I was thinking maybe they don’t have the resources to run it,” said Jessica Thompson, a volleyball player.

Byrd insisted that the budget was not a factor, but a safety issue.

“Not having an administrator increases liability to others, and we need that supervision,” he said. “We didn’t want to take any chances.”

But not all sits well with the student body.

For some, club sports did not just provide an excellent workout, it provided another way for social networking.

“It’s unfortunate,” said Josh Hoffman, a 21-year-old junior who was looking forward to continuing swimming.

“I like competing with my teammates and friends. It was a fun distraction from all that schoolwork.”

This brings frustration to student participants.

“It sucks,” said Will Erickson. “It’s not fair to just end it in the middle of the school year. Now, I may have to be a member at a gym and pay the outrageous prices.”

Anne Thilges, professor of physiology and anatomy, spent this semester working on her stroke in the swim club and was also saddened by the news.

“It will be hard,” Thilges said. “Some students won’t be coming back when it gets running again.”

“Frankly, it’s really disappointing. It sets us back.”

Byrd, however, said he is optimistic that club sports will return to action in the spring semester.

“It’s very likely that we will be able to continue next year,” he said.

“We’re already in the process of looking for someone to oversee that area. Hopefully, by November or December we will have everything in place to bring it back.”