Intramural sports give all students a chance to compete

Any sport from basketball to bowling to trap shooting is available to all students, faculty, staff or spouses at the University of South Dakota as an intramural sport.

The Wellness Center offers 19 different sports, and anyone at USD is able to form a team and compete.

[notification type=”grey” title=”Intramurals Offered at USD”]3-on-3 basketball, 5-on-5 basketball, co-basketball, biking, bowling, dodgeball, flag football, golf, home run derby, soccer, softball, co-softball, racquetball (singles), racquetball (doubles), tennis (singles), tennis (doubles), trap shooting, volleyball, co-volleyball[/notification]

Junior Joshua Haaland works as an intramural referee at the Wellness Center, a job he took in his sophomore year.

“I took the job because I am really into sports and love the feeling of being able to understand them from both the player and official stand point,” Haaland said.

Intramural sports, Haaland said, give students the chance to be healthy while also using their competitive drive to have fun.

“I believe it is important to unlock that competitive aspect of each individuals personality because it can be used not just in sports, but also in everyday life,” he said.

Additionally, Haaland has found his connection with the intramural sports to be a good way to meet new people.

“I know since I joined the intramural staff, I have met so many new people of both genders and it has allowed me to grow greatly in my ability to communicate with others,” Haaland said. “Intramurals are just kind of that random event that whether a participant is good or not, can have great, positive effects in so many different ways.”

Sophomore Lindsey Herbet was on a volleyball intramural team in the fall of 2013 and also a basketball team her freshman year. Herbert echoed Haaland in that being involved in teams for the intramural sports is a good way to get to know others and a fun way to stay active.

“I played sports in high school and wasn’t going to play in college, so I thought it would be a good idea to keep myself involved in sports, because I love playing them,” Herbet said.

Being on a team also gives students a chance to take their mind off of school and have fun, Herbert added.

“It’s kind of a stress reliever when you’re really busy with tests and whatnot,” she said.

Sophomore Maggie Loudenslager has participated in intramural basketball, flag football, softball and basketball over the past two years. Loudenslager said the opportunity to participate in intramural sports is a great asset to the university.

“Not only do they provide students with a way to meet other students, but the physiological and psychological effects of exercise are proven to improve quality of life, and intramurals is just another fun opportunity to get exercise in,” Loudenslager said.

In the spring of 2013, Loudenslager and her team ended the season with an interesting twist.

“Last year our co-ed softball team went undefeated throughout the season,” Loudenslager said. “When it cam time for the championship game we were all psyched up and we just kept saying ‘Do it for the T-shirt, do it for the T-shirt.'”

In the week prior to the championship game, Loudenslager and her team couldn’t stop talking about the T-shirt they’d receive if they won the game.

“So we get in the game and we pull off an awesome come-from-behind win, and we were all so excited to finally get our T-shirts. And what does the umpire hand us? Water bottles,” Loudenslager said. “Apparently the T-shirts are only for the winners of the competitive league, so those T-shirts we had been fawning over never happened. It would have been really sad if it wasn’t so funny.”

The best part of being on a team for Loudenslager is the relationship with teammates that comes from the season.

“You really get to know people when you are playing sports with them, and their competitive sides come out,” Loudenslager said.