In the first two parts of the triplet of articles about intramural sports at UNC this month, you’ve heard about what it takes to be an intramural sports official from a full time employee of the intramural sports department of campus rec, as well as some statements from student officials about what it takes to do their jobs and what they love about them or have gained from the experience. Now, to wrap it up the series, I’ve asked UNC students who play intramural sports what they love about them and what they have gained from playing. Check out what they have to say about their time spent playing intramural sports through campus recreation!
“My name is Melissa Mosby, and I’ve done many of the women’s and co-rec IM sports out there like Flag Football, Soccer, Sand Volleyball, Wallyball, Basketball, Indoor Soccer, Softball, and 4 v 4 Flag Football. Honestly, they have been my favorite part of my free time at this university!! With countless hours spent on Hooker Fields, at Woolen and Fetzer Gyms, I have played on teams and cheered on friends’ teams. All this time went towards one thing: building memories that are going to last. Some weeks during the fall, I’ve been known to spend more time playing in and watching IM games than doing school work… just sayin’.”
(Wow, I’m impressed! That’s another great thing about intramural sports: you have plenty of opportunities to try out so many different sports since each one lasts for a short period of time.)
“My name is Emily Beaty and I am a sophomore. I play CoEd basketball with guys and girls from my hometown! It is so much fun; we were all varsity athletes in high school, but not good enough to play D1 anywhere. We love playing together once a week, its great exercise, we get to hang out and we really want to win a t-shirt! I also play with my sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma in the girl’s league. It’s a blast playing with sisters who played basketball in high school too! Much like with the CoEd team it’s just nice to get out and play some basketball and enjoy good company. I also play CoEd and women’s volleyball in the fall. This year my CoEd team lost by 5 in the championship, it was so sad, but we had such a blast that we made it that far! We are already recruiting people for next fall. I think that everyone should play intramurals, especially if you were competitive in high school, but couldn’t play D1. I’ve met some fun people through my teams and it’s a great stress reliever!”
(Fraternities and sororities often form their own intramural teams for some good competition and time with friends!)
“I work for Intramural sports and try to play as many sports as I can get involved with. I have made many friends throughout the quest for the coveted CHAMPION t-shirt and have succeeded with 3 back-to-back wins in Women’s Street Hockey! Playing on a recreational team has encouraged me to stay active in a friendly, competitive way, while promoting healthy relationships with teammates. The key to winning is to play hard and have as much fun as possible.” ~Laura Painter
(Intramural champions get to go pick up their free champion tee shirts in the intramural office after the victory!)
“I was able to just hop onto a soccer team last semester. It’s nice because I’m a transfer student who lives off campus. As such, it’s a little harder to meet new people and get involved. Intramural sports was a great way to get involved on campus after class and meet some new people with similar interests!” ~Ben Lewis
(Transfer students take note: intramural sports are a great way to meet people on campus outside of class!)
“Intramural sports are a great way for old ‘has-beens’ to relive their glory moments and to rekindle the long forgotten fire of competition. The IM swim meet only lasts one night, but it gives students a chance to challenge themselves in the pool once again on a recreational level. The teams formed usually consist of old friends to random strangers that have pitted up against one another to find out who still has it in them to win. Winners can be declared on an individual or team basis. Every event has a designated 1st place, but the top four positions also score points for your team. This implements a new form of strategy for each team to increase their favor or winning. After the events were over only a few teams were left lingering around to hear the results, but all in all everyone enjoyed this night of friendly competition.” ~Sean Ryall
And speaking of the pool, just this week, I walked past Bowman Grey pool one evening and saw an innertube water basketball intramural game being played. It looked like so much fun that on a week-day evening that I might just have to find some teammates and try it out myself next year! Even though I haven’t taken advantage of the opportunity myself yet, after hearing what fellow students had to say about IM sports and after stopping to watch the innertube water basketball madness for a few minutes, it looks like playing an intramural sport is a must to add to my bucket list before graduation. Consider adding it to yours as well, and check out the campus rec webpage here for more information and schedules!
Images courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Just as we hope you will be, the writer’s of the Tar Heel Tone Up will be taking a short hiatus next week in honor of the fantastic invention of Spring Break. Have a safe, fun, relaxing, and generally awesome Spring Break week and we’ll be back with more great health and fitness posts on Monday, March 17th!
Filed under: Intramurals
