Friendly competition

Various intramural sports and tournaments scheduled for the semester

Many want to be athletes, but only a few have the ability to earn a spot on the roster of an official collegiate athletic team — and that is where intramural sports fills that gap.

Whether because of time restraints or other barriers, Liberty students who cannot participate in upper-level athletics have the opportunity to experience the physical and mental benefits of intramural sports.

Regardless of skill level, there are 24 options for sports or events for students to participate in, according to the intramural sports website.

For $50 per season and $30 per tournament, any student can join the program.

Ed Barnhouse, director of Liberty University Intramural Sports (LUIMS), pointed out how easy it is to participate, and listed the helpful and constructive aspects of student involvement.

“There are students with all types of skill levels,” Barnhouse said. “Anyone can play intramural sports. Most teams play twice a week, so it’s only a couple of hours a week of time commitment. It’s a chance to relax, have fun and fellowship with current friends and a chance to make new friends.”

Barnhouse also announced two new sports to choose from – a trio of Friday night bowling tournaments at the new bowling alley in the Monteview Student Union (Sept. 16, Oct. 14, and Dec. 2), and a wiffle-ball tournament to be held Oct. 28.

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Both tournaments, with enough student participation, could develop into leagues by the spring semester.

Through intramural sports, students can also grow closer to others within their halls.

Senior Tyler Hasty, who has played intramural indoor soccer, cites this as one of his favorite aspects of his participation.

“I liked (intramurals) because of the fact that it was easy to organize a team since people were on my hall,” Hasty said. “I also like it because it’s competitive yet fun at the same time.”

With more than 2,000 games each semester, the competition of around 400 teams and 3,500 students comes with the need for a lot of preparation, daily maintenance, and more than 100 student workers to be referees.

Barnhouse, who has been the full-time LUMIS director for 18 years, and was a student worker in the past, knows this very well.

“We could not provide this service without the 100 student workers,” Barnhouse said.

With its 24 choices, Liberty’s intramural sports selection is almost double that of other universities across the country.

According to Barnhouse, many other schools only schedule teams to play five to seven games a semester.

Depending on the sport, Liberty’s teams play anywhere from 10-16 games per semester.

Though winning is not everything, there is a prize for those who win the championship in their respective sports.

According to the LUMIS website, each team who finishes will receive Intramural Champions T-shirts, and those who were first in a seasonal sport will have the additional honor of having their team name engraved on their sport’s trophy, which is housed in the LaHaye Student Union.

In the end, the goal of intramurals is to enjoy physical activity, develop relationships among people with common interests and release some of the pent-up stress that can become synonymous with college coursework.

For more information on intramurals, visit the LUMIS website.

Klinker is a feature writer.

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