Upon entering the Fairfield University Recreation Complex Field House, known to students as the RecPlex, the sound of sneakers squeaking and the roars of students signal that the intramural season is in full effect.
Intramurals capture the fun and competitive nature of sports. The university’s Department of Recreation has introduced new changes this season. They hope these adjustments improve the intramural experience for students.
Those looking for an athletic outlet will find that Fairfield intramurals offer a wide selection of opportunities to find the right fit for them. With basketball, pickleball and volleyball in the RecPlex and flag football and soccer at Rafferty Stadium, the enthusiasm for intramurals is found all around campus.
Each year Fairfield Recreation receives feedback from students through an annual survey.
Ethan Godfrey, the Program Coordinator for intramural sports, said the survey informed them that students wanted more leagues for women. Previously, co-rec had been their only intramural option.
As a result, Fairfield is now offering women’s, men’s and co-rec volleyball. Women’s pickleball is another new addition, joining men’s and co-rec pickleball as the intramural pickleball options for the fall.
Godfrey added that pickleball is the most popular intramural this year, following the national pickleball craze.
This year, the RecPlex is hosting 186 pickleball teams across co-rec, women’s and men’s, with the addition of women’s pickleball having 57 teams.
“Pickleball was originally capped at 90 teams,” says Godfrey. As requests for more teams kept flooding in, Godfrey allowed another 96 teams to join.
The RecPlex was also renovated over the summer, giving the courts a new look. When talking with students, the consensus favorite addition to the courts was the addition of pickleball lines to one of them.
Junior Jeff Wheeler is one of the students who has benefited from the new court outlines. “This new feature is very helpful and makes playing pickleball much easier, he added.”
Another new policy the intramural staff has implemented is the one-game cancellation rule. In previous years, intramural teams were able to cancel games up to 24 hours in advance with no penalty. Now, teams can only cancel a game once before having to re-pay the $20 buy-in fee. This policy makes it easier on the intramural staff and makes the captains responsible for setting the time slots their team can play in.
Before, when a team canceled an intramural game, Godfrey and the intramural’s staff would email all teams to find a replacement. This change further holds captains accountable for scheduling games before the schedules are released.
Junior Leo Protonentis is a captain and active participant in intramural sports. Hesays, “Ethan [Godfrey] is always trying to improve intramurals and the new changes make for less confusion in my intramural schedule.”
According to Godfrey, the first week of intramurals, which started on September 16, went very well, with excitement high among all of the students competing.
Through the first week, 190 games were played across all sports. The 155-member staff of supervisors, officials and scorekeepers worked hard during their first weeks at Rafferty Stadium and the Recplex.
During the first week, there were 26 forfeits, which Godrey says was more than they want on a weekly basis. However, with new freshmen playing intramurals for the first time and other students now getting adjusted to the new set of rules, this was to be expected.
With the enthusiasm Fairfield students have to participate in intramural sports, along with the latest changes, the fall intramurals are on track for another enjoyable season.