Basketball, soccer seasons underway, with new additions to the website and old traditions remaining

Last week marked the first week of the intramural basketball and outdoor soccer seasons. Intramurals is a resource on campus for those who are interested in competing in sports outside the varsity or club level. It gives people the chance to compete and play the sports they love without having to play at a higher level. For the next several weeks, teams will be competing on the basketball court or on the soccer field in hopes to win a t-shirt and a Bombay Bicycle gift card.

“Intramural sports are “˜non-varsity’ competitions between the Trinity Community” said Kristen Harrison, director of Internal Affairs and Recreational Sports. “They are fun, friendly but challenging competitions which require no outstanding athletic skills. They are designed and offered to “˜everyday athletes.’ Only a positive attitude is required to play.”

Besides getting some exercise, IMs allow students to compete with friends, take a study break and release some stress.

“I think IM’s are just a great way to meet new people and get away from the academic side of school,” senior Adam Saunders said. “They’re meant to be fun and it’s good for people to sometimes take a break from their daily work flow and just go enjoy themselves.”

It is available to anyone on campus including faculty. Games take place in the evenings and there are different leagues to choose from such as co-ed, men’s league and women’s league.

Some teams get into the spirit and bring their own spectators or wear similar t-shirts or jerseys. This season the faculty soccer team wears gray shirts that say “It’s in the syllabus.” There is no other league that allows students to have the opportunity to compete against their own professors.

Intramurals consists of a web of students that help run the program. There are program assistants, such as Saunders and senior Sarah Thornton, who help Harrison with running overall seasons and tournaments. There is also a large group of supervisors and referees who attend the events, set up, take statistics and ensure the games runs smoothly. This semester the staff is creating one-day tournaments that include games such as spikeball, disc golf and slow pitch softball. This year, students have started implementing some new ideas.

“Something specific to basketball is we’re now taking statistics, so players can see how many points they have each game,” Thornton said. “I didn’t expect this to have such a big impact, but it was fun to see a guy at the IM’s bragging to his friends that he was leading the league in threes.”

The supervisors keep track of who scores and will tally up at the end of the season to see who has the leading record.

The second part of the semester consists of different leagues of sand volleyball and flag football. Registration ends Mar. 8 for those sports and the season will begin after spring break. If anyone is interested in playing but can not create a full team, then they can contact Kristen Harrison at [email protected]. For more information about creating a team for future events or competing in one day tournaments, visit IMLeagues.com/Trinity.