Intramurals kick off

Here’s a trivia question for students in light of returning to school. What offers a great opportunity to interact with friends, make new ones, stay in shape and compete at a comfortable level, all with little commitment? This week, intramural registration deadlines come up for broomball and table-tennis on Aug. 31 and soccer on Sept. 1.

Intramural sports make an escape from the heavy workload possible through Liberty University’s campus activities. Intramurals have become one of the many ways a student can choose to maintain physical health and are designed to give students the opportunity to participate in recreational activities regardless of skill and experience levels. However, unlike the NCAA athletics, intramural sports are designed for minimal commitment.

Sophomore Makenzie Brinson played intramural basketball last spring.

“The good thing about intramural is that if you can’t make it to one of the games, it’s okay,” Brinson said. “You get a schedule and try to make time around it.”

This fall, Liberty is offering 14 intramural sports and four tournaments, including flag football, paintball, basketball and volleyball. There are also non-physical sports such as fantasy football, an online interaction game where football fans compete based on how well their favorite teams and players perform each week.

In addition to convenience, intramural sports will give students the opportunity to develop solid friendships.

“I met a variety of new people that were on my team that I originally didn’t know and to this day, we are still friends,” sophomore Morgan Smith said. Smith played intramural volleyball during both the fall and spring seasons last year.

As of last year, nearly 4,000 students that form 300 teams participated in a sport each semester. The most popular sports were basketball, coed volleyball, broomball, indoor soccer and flag football.

Students become involved with intramural sports to maintain the desire that they have for playing.

“I played volleyball in high school and wanted to continue playing because it has always been a large passion of mine,” Smith said. “I make intramurals like a study break for me so I make it my opportunity to enjoy something that is really important to me.”

Any Liberty student or alumni who are not currently playing on an NCAA team is eligible to play an intramural sport. This fall, intramural games are being held at a wide range of locations on campus, including Liberty’s newly constructed Cook Tennis Center.

The process to get involved is simple and includes a small fee. Visit www.liberty.edu/ims for a complete list of sports offered along with their deadlines.