The intramurals department at the Academic and Student Rec Center will host three intramural leagues and several intramural tournaments in the spring term, including, for the first time ever, a kickball league.
The intramurals department at the Academic and Student Rec Center will host three intramural leagues and several intramural tournaments in the spring term, including, for the first time ever, a kickball league.
“Our big leagues are soccer, co-ed basketball and, for the first time ever, kickball,” intramurals coordinator Spencer Sorensen said.
The other intramural tournaments include a three-on-three wheelchair basketball tournament, a 20.20.20 mini triathlon and a relay.
“We are doing a 3v3 wheelchair b-ball tournament that everyone is welcome to play in,” Sorensen said. “We’ll provide the chairs and a little bit of coaching for it too. That tournament should be a ton of fun.
“We’re also doing our 20.20.20 indoor triathlon where participants swim, bike and run for 20 minutes each. You can have zero experience doing real triathlons and come do this one. It’s a great way try something like this out in a safe, controlled environment.”
All intramural events, except soccer and kickball, will be held in the ASRC building. Soccer and kickball will be played at the Peter W. Stott Field.
The three leagues will commence next week, while the intramural tournaments will be held in May. The outdoor soccer matches will consist of eight players on each side, while the basketball teams will field five players each in a game.
For the first time, kickball is offered as a sport in an intramural league at Portland State. Kickball originated in the United States and is similar to baseball, however, players kick the ball instead of using bats and the size of the ball is closer to a soccer ball rather than a softball. The rules of the sport are similar to baseball or softball rules, except the pitcher rolls the ball toward the home plate rather than throwing it.
The registrations for intramural leagues begin on the first day of each term at 8 a.m. and continue until the sign-up deadline at the end of the second week, or until the leagues fill up.
Popular leagues, such as soccer and basketball, typically fill up within the first few days of the term; interested participants are encouraged to sign up early.
Students can sign up at member services on the second floor of the ASRC, either as a team or as a free agent. Students have the option to pay with cash, check or credit/debit card.
“Students can sign up teams at member services for $40, which ensures their spot in the league,” Sorensen said. “If students don’t have a team, they sign up as a free agent for any of the leagues for $5, and we’ll put them on a team with other free agents.”
The winners of the leagues and tournaments will receive intramural champions T-shirts, and the team’s picture will be displayed on the Rec Center board on the second floor.
The officiating and score keeping of every match is done entirely by the student staff employed at the ASRC. Every student staff at the ASRC is CPR-AED certified for the safety of the participants.
“I think our officials do an excellent job for the amount of training they actually get,” Sorensen said. “They put up with a lot, and the students demand the best from them. We are always working with them to get better in all aspects of officiating.”
The safety of the participants is considered of utmost importance in intramural sports.
“We make sure that all playing surfaces are safe before the start of each game,” Sorensen said. “We also inspect all equipment that we use for our league games. Lastly, we have a no-jewelry policy while students play, making it a safer environment for everyone.”
