Last updated on Apr 17, 2019
By Ida Ynner Lagerqvist
Photo & Sports Editor
While the spring collegiate sports are at the beginning of their seasons, intramural sport sign-ups are open for the semester. In intramural sports, students compete against each other, rather than against neighboring college teams. Each year, 500-700 students are involved with intramural sports, according to associate director for recreational sports fitness and intramurals Martin Guillet.
There are nine intramural sports in the spring. Registration for ping pong is open all semester. Basketball and men’s and women’s racquetball leagues already began in the beginning of February, but students can still join teams throughout the season. The last day to join the basketball league is on Feb. 25, and the racquetball league registration is open until the last day of the semester. Upcoming intramural sports in March and April include wiffle ball home run derby, softball, 4 on 4 indoor soccer, volleyball and a fitness challenge.
“Most of the kids that play, they love it and they play every year,” Guillet said. One of those students is senior nursing major Andrew Ris. He has played intramural basketball for all of his college years on the team called The Post Boys. Ris sees intramural sports as a great way to get together with his friends and “have fun while competing against others who are looking to do the same thing.”
All the events are organized by the department of campus recreation, but there are no scheduled practices for the sports. The teams or individuals are free to organize training sessions in their own time. “There are lots of teams that play that take it a little bit more seriously and they will set up practices on their own; then we organize the games,” Guillet said.
The only requirement to be able to sign up for intramural sports is to be a current student registered for the semester. Prior experience in a sport is not required. “There are definitely different levels of people who play. We have people who played in high school that are very competitive and take it very seriously and then there are other kids who are just playing for fun,” Guillet said.
Ris belongs to the group of players who played sports in high school. Even though he and his teammates can be competitive, they try to make the experience fun for everyone. “I think towards the end of the season, it definitely gets more competitive but throughout the regular season we definitely try to have some fun and make it as fun as possible for everyone involved, such as the refs and all the players,” Ris said.
Ris strongly encourages other students to get involved with intramural sports. “I think everyone on campus should be involved. I think it’s a great way to get involved with campus activities, make friends and kind of just enjoy college life,” he said.
Students can sign up for intramural sports in Guillet’s office located in the gym behind the front desk of Pratt Recreation Center, or online at https://www. imleagues.com/liupost.
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