West Chester University offers a wide variety of intramural sports for students to participate in during the course of the school year. Sports are offered during every season, and students have the ability to form teams with their friends and classmates and compete on a recreational level.
During the fall, popular intramural sports include flag football, basketball, indoor volleyball, dodgeball and indoor soccer. Sports and video game tournaments are also available for students to join and compete in. Video game tournaments include “Madden”, ‘NBA 2K” and “FIFA”, while sports tournaments include 3×3 basketball, ping pong, racquetball and table tennis. In the spring, sports such as floor hockey and outdoor soccer are available for students to participate in as well.
Each sport costs money to play, and the cost is split up amongst team members. The captain of each team is required to attend a meeting before the season starts, and they are responsible for setting their roster, explaining the rules to their players and making sure that the team is disciplined and following all instructions.
The leagues teach students discipline and sportsmanship. Regardless of record, teams will make the playoffs pending their sportsmanship rating. Teams are assigned this sportsmanship rating based off of how they treat officials, timeliness and respect towards opponents. They must receive at least a 3.0 on a four-point scale in order to qualify for the playoffs. Champions of any league will win a t-shirt that will be given to them the night of the championship.
“We aim to provide student development opportunities through participation – both as a participant and as an employee within the entire program,” says Dan Comas, Assistant Director of Campus Recreation for West Chester University. He added that “special events, leagues and tournaments are offered to serve a large and diverse student population that all undergraduate and graduate students can participate in.”
Students can sign up to play in any of the leagues by signing in via the IMLeagues website or app where you can create or join a team. Leagues are divided into several divisions such as open, women’s, co-rec and fraternity and sorority life. For more popular sports such as flag football and basketball, you are given the option to compete in a high or low competition division so that you can play with the skill level you desire. Students who are currently participating in a varsity sport, or have participated in one within the last year, and alumni are unable to participate in intramural contests.
When asked about his experience with flag football, second-year student DJ McMaster said, “Honestly, it’s been pretty fun. I met a lot of cool people and had fun doing it. It gave me something to look forward to, and kept me in shape, because you want to be fit for it and do your best.”
If you are interested in playing collegiate sports and don’t want to spend an extensive amount of time training for them, then intramural sports are for you. It will provide you with a fun-filled experience and will allow you to make many new friends along the way. WCU has a good program for intramural sports and it is definitely worth taking a look at.
Erick Klambara is a first-year student majoring in media and cultures. EK924666@wcupa.edu