I remember when I came home for winter break after my first quarter of school and was asked, “So how’s college?” I would give my spiel about how I loved playing for the women’s varsity soccer team, how the classes were challenging but manageable, how I loved the extra free time, and then I would excitedly launch into a description of playing intramural sports with my House. Even now as a rising third year, intramurals remains one of my favorite parts of UChicago.
At UChicago, we have over 32 intramural (IM) sports, ranging from individual sports like ping pong and spades to team sports like dodgeball and inner tube water polo. You can play with members of your House (your House is based on where you live in the dorms), members of clubs you're involved with, your fraternity, your sorority, or just a group of friends. Both undergraduate students and graduate students can play, which means you may be walking by the soccer courts one day and run into your math teacher warming up to play in the next game…and yes, he might start talking with you about your thoughts on the most recent calc exam. Besides these surprise sightings, the best part is that anyone can join regardless of skill (otherwise, believe me, I would have been cut on day one from our ultimate frisbee team)!
I first got involved with intramurals at the end of Fall Quarter when my varsity soccer season ended. I had taken a medical leave my first year because of an injury, and I was missing the thrill of competition. I joined my House’s dodgeball, volleyball, and flag football teams and got a few weeks of games in. While I had been friendly with my housemates before, playing intramurals gave me the opportunity to develop close friendships with them.
One of my favorite memories from Fall Quarter was when my House competed in the coed flag football championships. While it was 8 pm and the start of winter was upon us, other members of my House came to the game to cheer us on, with one of my friends humorously dressing up in a suit and bringing a clipboard to act as “Team Manager” for the important game. We successfully pulled out the win and were awarded the coveted UChicago Intramural Championship T-Shirts from the IM Office for our efforts.
During Winter Quarter, I decided to create a team with the other first years on my varsity soccer team, and we joined the Women’s IM Basketball League. While some of my teammates had played basketball before, a number of us were very new to the sport. It was a lot of fun to try our hand at something different, especially when members of the varsity basketball team (per my request) crashed one of our basketball pickups to teach us how to make layups and how to defend with a “triangle-and-two” and a “box-and-one.” The Women’s League only had four teams, but it was a lot of fun to play against our rival – The Law School – multiple times throughout the season and even edge out a victory in the championships.
This past year, we formed a Women’s IM Basketball Team once again, and players from all four years of our soccer team took part. To add to the fun, I created an Instagram account where I posted fun action shots and hilarious video cuts from our games—this allowed our friends, family, and soccer coaches to stay up to date on our season. We were even reposted a few times by the UChicago Intramurals Instagram account. During the championships, our soccer coach and friends from over seven different varsity sports teams came to cheer us on. Some of our soccer teammates were studying abroad, but that didn't stop them from tuning in through Instagram Live, along with some of our parents. We secured the t-shirts for the second year in a row, and all of us are excited to take part in this tradition next winter.
In addition to playing intramurals, I also worked intramurals as a soccer referee and supervisor. To this day, it remains one of my favorite jobs because I became good friends with so many people who I may not have otherwise met. I also got to know a number of graduate students in the Harris, Booth, and Physical Sciences programs. I remember one conversation where three of us were comparing our perspectives as students versus teacher’s assistants in the General Chemistry sequence. In a complete win-win situation, when one of these same friends told me that his lab was looking for undergraduates to work on some projects, I was able to successfully recommend two friends who ultimately secured the research positions.
From growing closer to my house with late night sports games followed by Fourth Meal (the late-night meal time that runs from 9-12) and intense discussions surrounding game strategy, to posting funny videos of my soccer team’s valiant attempts to play basketball, I wouldn’t wish my intramural experience to be any other way.
You can check out the list of sports here. If you don’t see a sport on the list, know that you can recommend one to the IM Office! One of my friends – who I actually met through working as a referee – and I pitched and successfully convinced the IM Office to start an annual Spikeball Tournament for Spring Quarter. While distance learning this spring meant we weren’t able to take part, he and I are excitedly looking forward to playing in the future.
Intramurals have been a huge part of my college experience, and I’ve loved making memories and friendships along the way (as well as winning the occasional championship t-shirt). I’ve played on many teams, cheered on my friends’ teams, coached a couple of my House’s soccer games, reffed the soccer leagues, and even acted as “social media contact” for my basketball team. As you can see, there are many ways to be involved, and ultimately, whichever way you choose to engage with intramurals is up to you! UChicago Intramurals has really made my college experience a special one, and I am eagerly counting the days until I can play IM sports again!