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By Chad S. Morris
Whether sunshine, rain, sleet or snow, students at Utah State University can always counted on one thing - Intramural sports. Around the USU campus it has been said that Intramural program are the lifeblood of the school. Although education does play an essential role, the level of education would severely lack if it were not for the Intramural program, enthusiast Amanda Hall said. "Intramurals gives you a release from school, especially if you're playing more than one sport at a time and you have more than one game a week," she said. Hall is not the only student that feels Intramural sports provides a release from school. In fact most of the people involved in the program agree, and none more than the department itself. In the Intramural departments mission statement, one of first objectives stated is to help fulfill basic human needs such as "relaxation, socialization, accomplishment, maintenance of physical fitness, and most important, having fun." Also important for the department is the ability to provide an environment that is safe and clean for the participants, something Brad Beckman said is most critical. "With a few exceptions, playing Intramurals has been great because it's not as competitive as other leagues," he said. "You can basically count on simply having a fun time with your friends. Even when it does become competitive, as long as it doesn't get out of hand it is still fun." To keep competition from getting out of hand, the Intramural department employs about 50 students a year as officials to keep the peace by enforcing rules upon the athetes and spectators. Among the rules placed upon the athletes are restrictions on language, physical contact, mistreating facilities or equipment, and disrespecting officials or others in any way. Yet, occasionally certain sports do get out of hand, despite the rules and regulations placed upon those involved. Yes, it even goes to the level of teams being accused of rigging the outcome of events, Beckman said, speaking from experience. Accusing students of racism has also been reverted to, said an athlete wishing to remain anonymous. But for the most part, Scott Wamsley, Intramural director, says students are more than grateful to participate. "The Intramural program gives students the opportunity to participate beyond what they did in high school," Wamsley said. "Most of the people that participate in Intramurals played some sort of organized sport during their high school or junior high school years and it just gives them the opportunity to compete and have fun and enjoy themselves. I actually get comments fairly often about how much students appreciate the Intramural program." The Intramural department includes as many as 19 sports during the year, with the more popular sports occuring two or three times a year. During the fall, students can enjoy any of 11 sports, including flag football, volleyball, soccer, softball, golf and tennis. The spring brings, in addition to the more popular sport, wallyball, ultimate Frisbee, badminton and a triathlon. Even summer, the slowest part of the year for Intramurals, offers student the opportunity to escape homework with a little activity. All together, it is estimated that more than 5,400 students participate in Intramural sports at least once a year. But for Hall, once a year is not enough. In the 2003 school year alone, Hall participated in four sports: indoor and outdoor soccer, basketball and softball. Of the four sports, Hall said she enjoys indoor soccer the most because of its fast-paced style and high scoring. Despite the high number of students involved in Intramurals, Wamsley said the department has suffered in the last few year. Where the department was seeing growth in the number of participants, recently that growth has turned into a decline because of certain scheduling changes. "I think what caused the decline was when the university switched from quarters to semesters," Wamsley said. "More classes are offered later in the afternoon at 2:30, 3:30 and 4:30. So I think that's part of it and I think the other part is with the increase in tuition, students have to work more to pay for their schooling, apartment or whatever, which may leave them with a little less time to participate." But even with the more difficult schedules, as long as there is a sport to play, students will come. The reason students will always be involved in Intramural sports is because of the advantages it has over other sporting clubs and groups. Not only does Intramurals provide an escape from school when an escape is most needed, but it also allows student the opportunity to get to know more people and expand friendships, Hall said. USU Intramurals also gives student the chance to compete at a much lower cost than other recreational sports, she said. Yet for many students, the most compelling reason to participate in Intramurals is because the winner of championship games receive T-shirts as prizes for their efforts. "I haven't actually won a championship yet, but I like that you get a T-shirt if you do win," Hall said. The Intramural department also provides advantages for the university, one of the best advantages being that it helps recruit and retain students. Students can tell when campus recreation programs are run well, Wamsley said, and if students do not feel a tie to the school through recreation, they may not stay around. When students do not stick around campus the end result is often a bad reputation for the school. On the other hand, if students like and are involved in Intramurals, they will like the university, which is why student spouses are included in the program. Intramurals is great and exciting experience for those involved. The only thing Beckman said he dislikes about how the program is run is something the department can not control - the weather.
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