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I'm going to play intramural

By Michelle Chung ’20

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With classes, jobs, home- work, clubs, rehearsals and vari- ous other priorities, it is difficult for students to find time where they can just relax and leisurely enjoy themselves. However, even though it may be tempting for students to go back to their room, munch on some food from the Diner and just sit around watching their favorite show on Netflix, one of the best ways to have a good time but still stay active is to join or form an intramural sports team on campus.

Intramural (or IM) sports allow students to stay athletic and fit without adding onto al- ready busy schedules. They are not as serious and do not have stakes as high as intercollegiate sports, but they still involve the same amount of teamwork and collaboration, involving Hamilton students who play against other Hamilton students.

With doezens of different teams across the various leagues, it is easy to meet new people who have the same sports interests as you and just want a healthy dose of competition. For Laura Rodriguez '20, her past involvement as a volleyball player made her want to begin her own intramural team at Hamilton right after arriving on  campus.  Having played since the sixth grade, she “wanted to continue to play vol- leyball as [she] did in high school, but didn’t want it to be a huge time com- mitment.” She saw intramural sports as a fun bond- ing experience and easily got a few of her friends to join and form a team. While  intramural sports teams are not as  strict as varsity or club sports (since they involve members playing against teams from other colleges), there’s still a lighthearted competitiveness throughout the Hamilton community when playing intramural.

"[Intramural] is a way more laidback setting overall, where you can goof around and make mistakes without the pressure of a varsity or club team,” commented Rodriguez. “So at the end of the day, a loss isn’t really a loss. You can lose a game and gain  a  funny  sto- ry to tell your friends later.” Most importantly, though, what Rodriguez appreciated most about her team was the friendly and fun atmosphere. “My favorite part about being on the team is being in an environ- ment where ev- eryone around you is encouraging and positive, even when you’re losing by double digits.” At  Hamilton, it’s easy for any student to form an intra- mural team and still enjoy some form of competition without the intensity that comes with varsity or club sports. Sports that are currently part of the intramural program in the fall include touch football, volleyball, soccer (A and B leagues), ultimate frisbee and kickball. Competing teams in the fall playoffs have the chance to win IM Championship t-shirts and be featured on the IM website, as well as the satisfaction of being crowned the winning champs.

Additionally, for the winter season, director David Thompson and student coordinators Dean Rosenberg ’18, Spencer Vogelbach ’18, Robert Sollazzo ’18, Jonathan Kirshenbaum ’19 and Kuhan Mahendraraj ’18 have discussed making some new changes to the winter season for intramural sports as well. While teams have to   pay $25 as an entry fee, they will get the money back (only if they don’t forfeit two or more games and are removed from the league). The regular season will also be shorter, and the playoffs longer. Captains of intramural teams in the winter will have the chance to win a special t-shirt if their members have the best participation, and the Championships Teams will be  awarded  a  special  trophy. Any students interested should take the initiative and submit an application through the Hamilton website, where they can form their own team of people or be added to another. Intramural sports are a great way for students to find that balance between a healthy, social, academic and physical life outside of just doing work or doing nothing all day. 

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