By Michael Wilson
Students who wish to be involved with college athletics without being a part of an official team have the option to compete in the intramurals program that is sponsored by the Recreational Sport and Outdoor Activities Office, also known as RecX. Students form their own teams and play against each other as opposed to other schools.
“We have many different programs that you can sign up for. One of our biggest programs is intramural football and that happens in the fall. We have intramural soccer in the spring, kickball, volleyball, wollyball and a couple of others. Most of the ones we do are in the fall,” said senior Erin Combs, a RecX employee.
Participating in the RecX program gives students the chance to exercise and take a break from their studies.
“It gives students a time to unwind outside of academics. One of the nice things about a liberal arts college is that you’re supposed to be getting a rounded experience. I think a lot of students end up having a blast at intramurals. They really enjoy just playing, unwinding, and hanging out with friends,” said Graduate Assistant for the Wesleyan Activity Council Kelly Keys.
In addition to having fun, the RecX program is also competitive. Students compete as part of a tournament and are able to show off their skills.
“It’s for fun, but you can also win. Most of the intramural stuff have tournament brackets, so they start off with people playing one or two games. It continues to go on until the seating round and then you play and by the end of it, whoever wins gets a RecX t-shirt,” said Combs.
If a particular sport is not offered, students have the option to request it.
“[Students] have two routes. They could start a club sport or they could come talk to me or Jason Seward [The Director of the Batten Student Center] and ask for an intramural sport. As long as a student’s interest is there, it’s pretty simple to start off a program,” said Keys.
Students who are not able to commit to an intramural sport have the option to compete in a one day tournament.
“. . .if you can’t do all of the intramural games, we offer tournaments, generally twice throughout the week, just a one day tournament where [students] can show up and play for one game and not have to worry about coming back next week. They can have a good time and go back to their other commitments,” said Keys.
Junior Jared White was able to compete in an intramural pool tournament.
“I had a fun experience. I found out that there are other good pool players here on campus,” said White.
The intramural program depends on students’ interest and commitments. If students do not show up, games might have to get cancelled.
“[The intramural program] was pretty good and well organized. The only problem was that some students did not show up and [games] would get cancelled,” said sophomore Devon Lacey.
Keys feels that participating in the intramural program can help students get to know each other and be involved on campus.
“I would say do it. Obviously don’t overload yourself with commitments with intramural sports and classes. But join them, have fun, getting a group together is the best way to get to know people by playing in events on campus,” said Keys.
