By Rick Henneman
Sep. 18 marks the beginning of the 2016 fall intramural season at Youngstown State University. Students can participate in many different leagues and tournaments from flag football to bubble soccer and more.
Graduate student Matt Yourstowsky has played intramural basketball and soccer at YSU in the past, and said he enjoyed the experience.
“Absolutely anyone could enjoy intramurals,” Yourstowsky said, “It’s a good time to get away from school and work.”
In Yourstowsky’s opinion, intramural sports would be a great experience for students who enjoy more competition than an average pick-up game.
“Competition was great,” Yourstowsky said, “Yes, you had your occasional stacked team or team that couldn’t score, but all in all the competition was solid.”
For those with busy schedules, Yourstowsky said that the intramural schedules are very organized and easy to follow.
“The schedule was laid out prior to the season starting,” he said. “They do a great job of keeping you up to date.”
Yourstowsky said that in years past the sign-up process was a “breeze” and Dan Schaefer, intramural sports intern, said that attempts have been made to make this year’s process even easier.
“We have switched to a new signup system on a website called IMLeagues.com,” Schaefer said, “Students can join IMLeagues from any computer by making an account with their YSU email.”
Now, Schaefer said, there is even an app available for students who don’t sign up through IMLeagues.
“An alternative sign-up method is by downloading the REC*IT app which makes the whole process much easier for students,” Schaefer said.
The REC*IT app is available on both the Apple store and Google Play for Android phones.
Teams planning to sign up for a league sport like flag football or soccer will have to pay a $20 per team league fee. Schaefer believes that the league sports are worth the small cost.
“We feel that $20 is a reasonable amount,” Schaefer said. “The league fee goes toward paying the officials that we bring out to referee games.”
Refereeing provides another way that YSU students can participate in intramural sports. Schaefer said that referees are needed for both fall and spring sports.
“We are always looking for officials,” he said. “If anyone is interested, they can turn in their resume with a cover letter to the Campus Rec main office at any time.”
Along with the league sports, YSU offers many one day tournaments including beach volleyball, racquetball and basketball. These tournaments provide students who couldn’t put together a team large enough for the league sports an opportunity to participate in intramurals.
“I encourage them to come to our one day tournaments, which are free to all students,” Schaefer said. “We are always trying to make a competitive and fun atmosphere for intramurals, and we would never want someone to be intimidated to play simply because of their experience level.”
Students can sign up for one day tournaments using the IMLeagues website.
The first registration deadline is Sep. 13, but students have until November to sign up for some sports. A full schedule of registration deadlines and when play begins for all of the fall intramural sports is available on the YSU intramural website.
