It starts the same for all of us: soccer in the fall, basketball in the winter and tee ball during the spring. Eventually we weed out what we aren’t good at or we don’t like and try new things. By high school it’s usually narrowed down to one or two sports that you are somewhat decent at. That’s where the dream ends for most athletes. Some are good enough to go on and play in college, but what about those who, although lack the physical ability, still have the heart?
Intramurals. “Intramurals are great in that they give us mediocre yet enthusiastic athletes, a good outlet for competition,” said James Fitzgerald ’10. “I’ve realized that all I’ll have left after college is beer league softball and Sundays on the golf course, so I’m glad I got to participate in intramurals at Fairfield”
Intramural sports are widely popular at Fairfield, over 450 students participate. “I think that intramurals are so popular at Fairfield because of multiple factors: it gives the students a chance to come together and compete in a sport that they may have previously played competitively in the past,” said Will Dunn, the Intramural graduate assistant. “Not to mention that I believe that forming an intramural team with some of your closest friends is one of the best experiences that Fairfield has to offer,” he added.
There are more than 25 different intramural activities, some are full season and others are just weekend tournaments. Each sport has multiple levels of competition.
A-league is for the big dogs whereas B-league is a little more relaxed and then there are the co-ed and women’s leagues. The wide range of leagues makes sure everyone has the opportunity to participate and blow off a little steam.
“It was a great way of letting loose between class and reliving my high school glory,” said Matt Dimmling ’10 “not to mention if I didn’t get a ‘Champion’ t-shirt before I graduated I would have considered my time here at Fairfield a failure”
Dimmling was not alone in that regard. “My college goal was to get an Intramural Champion t-shirt,” said Kevin Manke ’10. “It was fun letting me relive the glory days where I thought I was good at sports, but really it was all about the shirt.”
There are generic championship shirts for sports like pickleball and field hockey but the more popular sports (softball, basketball, flag football and soccer) have their own custom t-shirts that are awarded to the winners.
There is only one way to have a shot at the coveted champion shirt and that’s to get involved. “We’ve got a 3 on 3 Memorial Basketball Tournament for the late Dr. John Orman outside on the Loyola courts May 1st” said Dunn. “Registration is currently underway so people should come sign up at either the Rec-plex or our drop box in the Barone cafeteria if they’re interested in playing.” See right for more details.
Even if you aren’t interested in playing there is still a way to get involved: become a supervisor. Supervisors referee, keep score and are in charge of timekeeping. Stacey Winsch ‘10, an Intramural Supervisor said, “As of right now I’m the only female supervisor and I’m graduating, so the intramural department is definitely in need of more involvement from girls on campus – don’t be afraid to get involved!”
Leave a Reply