Stephen Trinkwald
Equinox Staff
With the fall semester kicking into high gear, many students are looking to intramural sports as a refuge from homework and headaches.
Intramural sports such as soccer, tennis, softball, and flag football are the first sports to be starting up and students look forward to the fun, competitive nature.
Keene State College senior Joey Lotstein said he didn’t play tennis in high school, and while he was initially hesitant to play intramural tennis here at KSC, he can’t get enough of it now.
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“It gives me something else to do, and I do like playing sports a lot and tennis is one of my biggest ones. One of my friends was the captain of my high school team so she kind of forced me into it last year and I really liked it so I was like ‘Let’s do it again this year,’” Lotstein said.
Fellow KSC senior Kyle Lasher plans on playing a variety of intramural sports this year. Lasher said he and his friends plan on playing floor hockey, bowling and kickball, and hopes to have a good time while doing so.
“Pretty much just the fun with all my friends. Get some teams together, go out. Every one of my friends played different sports in high school,” Kyle Lasher said.
Lasher added, “So we all get on the same team even if someone didn’t play that sport in high school. We still go out on the same team and go out and play, see if we can win.”
While having fun is all well and good, Lasher said there’s definitely a competitive nature to intramurals.
“If it seems like we’ve got a shot at that t-shirt we’re definitely going hard for it. It’s all in good fun when we go out there but it definitely gets kind of serious sometimes when it comes down to it if we’re losing the shot for that t-shirt,” Lasher said.
At KSC, any team that wins a championship during the intramural season gets the coveted championship t-shirt.
Lotstein said he also looks forward to the competition of intramurals.
“I’m really competitive. I played bowling this last weekend and I lost and I was so mad. I’m such a sore loser, so I’m definitely in it to win it,” Lotstein said.
This year KSC intramural season has seen some procedural changes from years past.
While many of the games themselves remain the same, sign-ups are now done exclusively online.
“Everything is on this site called ‘IMleagues.com’ And it is used by over 450 schools nationwide for the sole purpose of intramural sports,” Coordinator of Intramural Sports at KSC Taylor Tully said.
Tully said that while there are some small bumps in the road, overall she has received very good reviews from students who have used the website.
“Students are getting adjusted to it, and the sign-up process can sometimes be a little timely. But now everybody loves it,” Tully said.
She added, “You sign on and you can see, if you are on two or three different teams, it tells you your game times, your upcoming games, where they are, and everything so it’s a really great site.”
Tully also said that the site will have statistical records updated throughout the season.
“We’re also able to post statistics and keeping more stats of touchdowns and baskets and things like that. It’s kind of exciting to see that the students are actually taking to it,” Tully said.
While some fall sports are already getting started, Tully said it is not too late to sign-up for some of the other sports offered in the fall.
“Throughout the year, there is kind of sign ups almost every week or every other week. So we try to keep starting new sports as we go along. It’s not just one deadline for the entire fall.”
Tully said new sports are also being offered this year, including table tennis, a basketball skills challenge, and various tournaments throughout the school year.
Some other intramural sports students can enjoy this year include pickleball, ultimate frisbee and dodgeball.
All information regarding signing up for intramural sports can be found at the Spaulding Gymnasium or at IMleagues.com.
Stephen Trinkwald can be contacted at strinkwald@keene-equinox.com
