Registration is now open for some of Kent State’s intramural sports leagues, with softball registration set to begin March 17, giving students, faculty and staff the chance to participate.
Katie O’Malley, a Kent State physical education and sports performance senior, remembers the feeling from her first intramural sports tournament her freshman year.
“My team won the intramural sports softball,” O’Malley said. “We were up by a couple and everyone was excited. It was a really fun experience.”
Intramural sports are designed for students, like O’Malley, to have a fun, safe and recreational environment to play the sports that they love or try something new, according to the Kent State Intramural Sports page.
The basics of intramural sports
In addition to softball, Kent State offers a variety of intramural sports such as sand volleyball, outdoor soccer, flag football, pickleball, dodgeball, water polo, indoor volleyball and basketball.
There are 150 to 300 teams a semester, according to Elijah Mallahan, the intramural coordinator.
“In general, we usually get somewhere between 1,200 to 1,500 participants each semester,” Mallahan said. “Unique participants, which is just each person only counted once, that number is between 800 and 1,000.”
The most popular sports are basketball and flag football. Basketball is currently going on at capacity with 64 teams.
“Flag football in the fall, basketball in the spring, that’s pretty standard at every single intramural program around the country,” Mallahan said. “Those are just two sports that people have a lot of familiarity with, maybe they competed in high school and they want to continue playing.”
He encourages people to sign up for whatever league they think fits them best.
“Our [co-recreational] leagues, which are teams made of men and women, tend to be a bit more recreational,” Mallahan said. “They can get competitive, but for the most part that’s where people should sign up if they’re just trying to come out and have fun.”
Along with co-rec, there are men’s, women’s and fraternity leagues.
“If they want to be more competitive, that’s usually where our men’s and fraternity leagues come in,” Mallahan said. “Our women’s leagues are always very recreational as well.”
O’Malley participates in the co-rec leagues.
“It’s competitive without being very difficult,” she said. “It’s fun to play with all my friends in that kind of league and environment.”
Some students, like Kent State nursing sophomore Sam Timar, have never played certain sports before. Timar never played volleyball, basketball or flag football before participating in intramurals.
“If you are hesitant because you have never played a sport before, just do it,” Timar said. “If you are nervous about not being good at a sport, it’s okay. It is just something fun that you can do with your friends.”
Upcoming intramurals
With softball registration open from March 17 to April 2, Mallahan believes it’s an excellent choice for anyone looking to engage in a recreational sport.
“Softball is the one sport where I feel like even if someone’s losing 20 to zero, they’re still actually having fun when they’re out there,” he said.
He feels that softball and volleyball are both casual sports that anybody can feel comfortable with.
How to get involved
Students, faculty and staff can get involved in the games.
Students who are enrolled in at least five credit hours at the Kent Campus are eligible to participate. Others must buy a Student Recreation and Wellness Center membership.
Everyone must buy the IM Pass for $40 a semester.
The pass allows players to create a team for an upcoming intramural or join an existing team with an open spot. The pass also allows individuals to participate in up to two teams per sport.
The IM Pass is worth the price, said O’Malley.
“If someone was hesitant about joining intramural sports, I would say go for it,” O’Malley said. “You have the opportunity to make so many memories and friends, and enjoy the game.”
Robyn Taylor is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].