By Jonathan Gomez
gomezjon@grinnell.edu
Intramural seasons have started back up again this past week and casual sports players on campus are ready. Intramural basketball, one of the more popular intramural leagues, started on Wednesday and 10 of the 11 teams in the league have already played their first game of the season. The games for intramural basketball will be held Monday through Wednesday nights from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. every week until the end of the season on May 6.
Tulah Fuchs ‘19, an intramural basketball player, said, “I honestly wish intramural basketball lasted for a little bit more than a month because next week my team has three games, which I think is a little bit unrealistic. But I think doing intramurals like this, which are varsity sports but are more inclusive, is a really great idea.”
Despite the dense scheduling of games, students are still thrilled to play even if their team might not be the best. According to Michael Sunby ‘19, “I’m pretty excited, especially since it’s my first intramural season. You know, right now we are getting beat 52-10 with ten minutes to go but it’s fun to come out with the Ultimate Frisbee team and play.”
That blowout did end up becoming a 52-point loss, but Finn Dworkin ‘22 showed his gratitude just to play. “It’s great. I love basketball,” he said. “I suck at it but I have played pick up for years with friends. My team is not going to do as well as I would like us to but as long as we are playing and having fun, as cliché as it sounds.”
Another interesting aspect of the intramural basketball season is that the teams’ members vary greatly. “It seems like there is a lot of varsity players of other sports that play this as well as fourth year Basketball players, but I hope the word is getting out to other people not in Varsity or Club Athletics too,” Fuchs said.
In addition to intramural basketball, intramural soccer has also started, and according to Intramural Commissioner Cally Carr ‘21, “Soccer will run Tuesdays and Thursdays. Outdoor soccer is going to be less of a league and more of a pick-up style. So people can just show up when they want and we can put them on a team.”
When questioned about which students they would like to attract to these intramural leagues, Carr said, “I think definitely people that are competitive and just like to play sports in general, whether they are actually on a varsity team or not at all. Anyone that just enjoys getting out and being with friends. But also, I have been refereeing intramural indoor soccer for the past two seasons and people get very competitive.”
For anyone interested in volleyball, you can sign up for the outdoor intramural volleyball tournament on Saturday, May 4.