Jaclyn Figg
Staff Writer
College is about learning, working on a professional network, meeting new people and trying to have some fun along the way, right?
Intramural sports at ISU encompass all of the above, while also helping students stay active.
“Intramurals is a great way for students to continue playing sports they love, stay active, learn new things and have fun,” said Shelby Williams, the intramural director at Idaho State.
An exciting twist to organized recreation that anyone in the ISU community can get involved with, intramurals are open to faculty, students, staff and their spouses.
Available sports include traditional flag football, basketball, volleyball, indoor soccer, softball, as well as non-traditional events such as tennis, table tennis, racquetball, bocce ball, spike ball, and wiffle ball.
Registration is simple, in order to sign up visit imleagues.com/isu and follow the instructions.
“It’s a great resource to create teams, check schedules, standings and connect with others that want to play,” Williams said. “It’s super user-friendly,”
Most of the sports are seasonal but indoor soccer and volleyball are both offered during spring and fall semesters.
There are different leagues for the more competitive type or for those who just want to come out and have fun.
Leagues include A, B, C and coed divisions, with A the most competitive, B is competitive but more recreation, C is for cheerful or fun, and the coed divisions are for both male and female teams.
The sports are team oriented and individual, with competition factors for both.
“It can get competitive which leads to a few altercations here and there but very rarely,” Williams said. “The winners get a tee-shirt if they win so sometimes we have to give them a friendly reminder that it’s all for fun.”
Four teams must have signed up for a sport for it to continue, but not having enough participants is a rare occasion.
“We believe in participation so if we are low on numbers we will extend the deadline to make sure it is a go,” Williams said.
Williams graduated high school in 1997 and started to participate as well as work in the intramural program upon her arrival at ISU.
She claims she never thought she could do it as a profession.
“I loved it,” Williams said. “I participated in a lot of different sports and worked my way up as a student.”
After finishing her master’s degree, she says the rest is history and she has been in charge of the intramural program since 2004.
Like her, Williams has witnessed some students carry out the same career path.
“We have had a handful of students go on in the recreation field and be extremely successful,” she said. “They got their start just like me working as a student and realized they can make a profession out of it.”
With around 1200 to 1400 participants per semester Williams stays busy. Though the majority of students are participating because they enjoy it, which makes her job that much more fun, she said.
“I love, love, love what I do,” she said. “I love interacting with students, my co-workers, the environment in campus recreation and finally I love the change and variety intramurals offer.”
