Intramural and club sports are an important part of university life, especially for non-varsity athletes. The programs allow the average student to compete in the sports that they love. At some schools, the intramural sports program is as big as club sports, despite not playing other universities.
Fiji warming up for sand Volleyball |Photo by Thurman Hou
At small schools like Ohio Wesleyan, however, it can sometimes be hard to get a large number of people to sign up or consistently attend practices and games. With an undergrad population of only 1600 students, it is especially hard to get signups for the less popular sports such as Spike Ball and corn hole.
The intramural sports department typically has 3 to 4 students each semester to do scheduling, advertise for upcoming seasons, and referee games. With such a small staff, the team struggles with advertising outreach.
It wasn’t always like this on campus. Before the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, intramural sports were an essential part of campus life. So what changed? Was it involvement on campus in general? Or was it maybe a lack of advertising from season to season? Dina Daltorio, the previous head of intramurals, believes it could have been a mix of both.
Students not knowing about the intramural staff or program can be a huge problem for sign-ups. The people who want to play a specific sport are likely playing for a varsity or club team, and people who don’t aren’t given enough incentive to sign up. Despite these frustrating issues, the intramural department has taken steps in a better direction.
Due to Daltorio’s role in the student involvement office, there is never a moment of quiet for her on campus. Being the head of both the SIO and intramurals is a demanding task.
Therefore, the decision for Kyle Jenkins, head coach of OWU Esports, to take over the role was made to lighten Daltorio’s workload and boost the intramural program.
“OWU students have always had a desire to build community and make connections with one another but this was especially evident after the pandemic,” Dina said after the change in leadership. “Intramural sports have provided a space for students to be active and build connections through recreational sports. Kyle Jenkins and the intramural sports staff have been raising more awareness and excitement about the program to drive participation. I am thrilled to see this program grow!”
Kyle has already put in measures to increase student incentives to register for intramural seasons. For the program’s two largest sports, sand volleyball and 3v3 basketball, he added several prizes for the end-of-season tournament winners. The winning team will receive a $50 Amazon gift card, custom intramural “champion” shirts, and the team name displayed on a “brag board” inside of the Hamilton-Williams Campus Center.
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