Nick Vernon, Campus Carrier Sports Editor
The intramural sports program is undergoing several changes for the upcoming school year.
Director of recreation, Michael McElveen, responsible for the intramural program, detailed some of the changes that will take place this year, as well as the general philosophy of the intramural program for both new and returning students.
McElveen said that the intramural leagues are meant for both competitive students and for those who are simply looking to have a good time.
“What we strive for is to provide a healthy level of competitiveness,” McElveen said. “But also, it is recreational, so we want to provide opportunities for all levels of athleticism.”
Many intramural sports leagues feature an upper and lower skill division so that students who may not have much, or any, experience with a sport can still participate and compete.
Sophomore Jake Bruce, a member of the intramural student staff, explained how intramurals combine athletics with social life.
“Intramurals is a great way to meet people and to get out there,” Bruce said. “That sounds kind of cliché, but I think it’s really very true. I played flag football last year and got to know a ton of students just by playing with them and playing against them.”
The intramural program included a wide range of sports, so even students who are not passionate about conventional sports may still have a desire to get in on the action.
“We have a variety of sports,” McElveen said. “We have the traditional sports, but we also have sports that will appeal to more of a broad base like pickle-ball, dodge-ball, kickball, ultimate Frisbee.”
For the competitive players who are after the coveted intramural championship T-shirts, McElveen explained how they will be pleasantly surprised.
“This year, we already have the shirts ordered, and so you can get your shirt the next day and wear it,” McElveen said.
In order to encourage students to participate in all sports leagues, not just their favorite sports, the intramural department is going to have an “all-intramural champion,” in addition to the champions for each sport.
“So let’s say you and a group of your friends have a team, and you play in multiple sport leagues, your team would accumulate points for each sport that you played in, and then at the end of the year we’re going to have a men’s and women’s intramural champion team,” McElveen said.
The team’s name will go on a banner that will be hung in the Multipurpose Activity Court (MAC) gym.
While many teams will be focused on winning and nothing else, McElveen discussed a new policy the intramural program will be implementing.
“Our student staff will be doing sportsmanship ratings, and so if teams don’t get a good sportsmanship rating throughout the season, on a scale of one to four, they’re not going to be able to make the play-offs, regardless of their win loss record,” McElveen said. “We stress sportsmanship when it comes to intramurals. We want it to be a fun environment, we don’t want it to be an intimidating environment.”
Bruce advised new and returning students to get involved with the intramural program.
“Sign up for as many sports as you think you can do, and as much as you really want to because it’s definitely a fun environment and it’s going to be a fun year,” he said.
Kickball, flag football and dodgeball will be the first three intramural sports leagues offered, beginning in September.