Ohio State Recreational Sports wants to keep students out of the cold and staying active winter quarter.
Recreational Sports offers seven intramural sports during winter, including basketball, indoor soccer and ice hockey.
“Intramurals are a great way to get out of the cold and get some exercise,” said Chris Dietrich, a senior in integrated social studies and supervisor for Recreational Sports.
According to Recreational Sports, almost 400 teams registered to play basketball winter quarter.
“Basketball is so popular in the winter because people want to play the sport of the season,” Dietrich said.
This trend is true for every quarter, with flag football being the most popular intramural in autumn and softball in the spring.
Students who play intramural sports are at a variety of athletic levels. Recreational Sports does its best to place students in a league that will be a good fit for them.
“We have people who have never played sports before and people who are very athletic, so we try to accommodate both,” Dietrich said. “We always have students who really stand out in intramurals.”
To help make intramurals fun for everyone, Recreation Sports has co-ed, graduate student and faculty leagues.
Intramural ice hockey has started a mock draft to make sure that students are playing with the team and at the level they want.
To be placed on an ice hockey team, students have to register first with Intramurals and then come back the day of the draft to be placed on a team, Dietrich said.
“This year, close to 100 people lined up a couple of hours before the draft started,” he said.
Students can pick the team they want to be on according to their skill level. Ice hockey leagues range from “D” to “A,” with “A” being the most competitive.
For first-time skaters or students looking to have a good time and learn the sport, Recreational Sports advises them to start in league “D.”
“In ‘D,’ everyone is just having fun and learning how to play,” Dietrich said. “A lot of times in this league people don’t know how to skate yet.”
Reid Rice plays in league “C” of intramural ice hockey and has played several other intramurals while at OSU.
Rice, a senior in biological engineering, said he loves the competitive nature of intramural sports.
“I love the competition of intramurals,” Rice said. “I also like that I can stay physically active during the winter.”
Rice also appreciates that Recreational Sports always has students in mind when organizing intramurals.
“It’s nice to have everything already set up for you,” he said. “You know what to expect and it’s something you can already have on your schedule.
Rice, who plays both intramural ice hockey and basketball, will have to juggle playing games in both sports on Monday nights winter quarter.
“It’s a nice break from engineering homework,” Rice said. “I’ve also been able to become closer to a lot of my friends by playing intramurals with them.”
Nicole Staples can be reached at [email protected].
