History

Quad-Cities Women’s Outdoor Club - History

In 2006, Matt Ostrom, owner of Active Endeavors, had been approached by many of his female clients who were looking for a group of other women to participate in sports with. Matt started talking with various “athletic minded women” he knew to see if he could find a few to start a Women’s Only Club.

This took place starting in the late fall of 2006 into the first few months of 2007. In March of 2007, Kim Funderburk began contacting women that were clients of Active Endeavors and others involved in existing QC Area Athletic Clubs (Quad Cities Bicycle Club, Cornbelt Running Club and Saukenuk Paddlers to name a few).

The first “planning activity” for the QCWOC was held in March 22, 2007 at the Palmer Hills Clubhouse with 30+ women attending. Our Club was incorporated on April 26, 2007 and the first outdoor activity was held at Blackhawk Historical Site on April 28, 2007 (17 women participated in the hike).

On May 18, 2007 we launched our website at www.qcwoc.com. We secured insurance coverage for our club and became a recognized not-for-profit organization through the State of Iowa.

The club went “dormant” for a six month period in the summer/fall of 2008 after hosting numerous outdoor activities and articles in the local newspapers. In October 2008, Matt Ostrom reached out to a few of the remaining board members and a few new faces and inquired about interest in getting the club re-started. Kim was not able to continue being president of the club during this time period.

The club was re-launched in January 2009 and we have been growing ever since. Membership continues to grow and we currently have 403 members. The age of our members runs from 18 years of age through the upper 70’s.

Membership dues run $25 per year, many of our activities are FREE. Some events have an additional cost associated for equipment rental and instructional fees. The club hosts two larger meetings for members each year. We host a winter social in January at a local restaurant where we elect our new board members. In July we host a summer social at a local park where we offer a number of activities.