After working with IMLeagues last year to switch from a paper format to a new online system for students to register for intramurals, Campus Recreation initially saw a slight decrease in the number of participants. But after a year of educating students about the streamlined process, participation has rebounded.
IMLeagues is a website used by schools across the country to organize their intramural programs. Elon began using it last year.
“This year so far we’ve seen an increase in teams,” said Campus Rec assistant director Brandon MacCallum. “We educated all 120 Campus Rec employees and told them to please tell their friends [about IMLeagues].”
In order to create or join a team, a student must go to IMLeagues.com, create an account and click the register button. After filling out a registration form to create a team, the student will select a time preference, invite players to join and submit a $20 forfeit fee to the Campus Rec front desk.
To join a team, students simply select a sport, find a team and click the join button next to the selected team. After that, an email will be sent to the team captain to approve the request.
Senior and Campus Rec official Ben Koffel said he is excited about how the registration process has evolved over the course of his time at Elon University.
“At first, it was kind of a struggle [getting people to register through IMLeagues] because people were used to the paper format,” Koffel said. “I think now that we have the online format, it’s a lot easier for people to access their schedule and statistics.”
By registering through IMLeagues, team captains and players are able to easily see schedules, rosters, statistics and standings.
To increase the number of teams participating in intramurals, Campus Rec introduced a new sport this year: team handball. Team handball will be offered over Winter Term and have a similar structure to the Olympic sport.
“[The sport is] a cross between basketball, soccer and hockey, and is played indoors,” MacCallum said. “Our officials were the ones who wanted to try it out.”
In addition to starting an additional sport, Campus Rec wants to ensure that inclusivity is a top priority. According to Koffel, gender separation is an issue. In the fitness center, for example, guys tend to work out downstairs while the girls exercise upstairs.
One student that embraced inclusion was junior Eline Roillet, a co-ed flag football participant. Although her team failed to get a victory, they had fun and proved that sports are for all genders.
“Your gender shouldn’t define how you do in sports,” Roillet said. “Sports is not about being the best in the world — it’s about being the best you can be.”