Intramurals adjusts sign-up process to increase accessibility
Calvin Intramurals provide opportunities for students to build community by offering a variety of sports options and introducing an individual sign-up option. “Our goal is to create a community for students and for them to be active,” Intramurals Co-Manager Schyler Koopman, a sophomore, said. “For people that are coming out of high school and maybe are not doing a sport anymore, [intramurals] gives them a stress free environment.”
“When people join intramural teams or they’re on an intramural team, it’s typically bigger than just playing once or twice a week,” senior Case Medema, Intramurals Co-Manager, said. “A lot of times they’re having dinner together or going out after games and that’s what we’re striving for when we put teams together.”
Calvin has recreational and advanced leagues for basketball, volleyball, soccer, spikeball and flag football.
Students feel that they are building community by participating in intramural sports. “I like to participate [in intramurals] because it’s not as competitive as the actual [varsity] sports,” said sophomore Jenna Bromley. “You get to have fun with your friends and stay active.” Sophomore Nadia Soler agrees. “I play volleyball intramurals because it builds community,” Soler said. “I can just hang out with my friends for an hour and not have to worry about school or anything else.”
Intramurals’ staff have worked to simplify the sign-up process after receiving feedback last year that it was difficult for some students to find enough members to register as a whole team. “We got a lot of emails about how people [wanted to sign up but] didn’t have enough members,” said Medema. Taking this into account, Koopmans and Medema have adopted some changes in the program to encourage student participation. “The biggest change we’ve made is working on individual sign-ups. Before you had to have a team to do intramurals and now we’re trying to make an individual sign-up list so we can put you on a team that way,” Koopmans said.
Even though intramural sports have already started on Calvin’s campus, it’s not too late to get involved. “We have four different seasons: two each semester. We take signups all throughout,” said Koopmans.
“We’re always trying to get more people involved so if you ever want to shoot us an email with a team you have together,” Medema said. “We can try to find a way to work you in.” Students interested in getting involved with intramurals are encouraged to reach out to [email protected].