Sacred Heart University has opened registration for intramural sports for the fall semester; students can now create teams and compete in various sports such as basketball, soccer and flag football.
Students will be able to play sports at competitive levels while forming close bonds with teammates. Alex Faccenda, Assistant Director for club sports and intramurals, is excited about students being able to get involved.
“I think intramurals can bring students together who all share a common interest in competitive sports,” said Faccenda. “It is a great opportunity to meet people and get active in sports.”
All full-time undergraduates and graduates who obtain a gym membership are eligible to participate in intramurals. A list of sports is sent out each semester on the Sacred Heart Intramural Sports website, and students can play in any of the listed sports if the league does not fill up.
Players without a team can register as free agents, and Marco Sinapi, the intramural Graduate Assistant, can place them on a team.
“Free agents find new friend groups with other students with similar interest,” said Sinapi. “All are welcome.”
Source: Andrew Dayton, Staff Photographer.
According to the Sacred Heart Intramural Sports website, there are also smaller individual sporting events, such as a basketball three-point shooting contest and a hole-in-one challenge for golf.
Intramural games are expected to be competitive, but with good sportsmanship. Players should be having fun while competing for a common goal.
Every intramural team makes the playoffs, which are single elimination games. The winning teams of each league will receive T-shirts as a prize.
Several students are thrilled about the leagues starting up again for another consecutive year.
“I think intramurals are good,” said senior Vincenzo Scanga. “It keeps students busy and helps incoming freshmen bond with other people.”
Scanga plans to play intramural basketball and flag football, in hopes to bring a greater sense of enjoyment to his last year at SHU.
“You can make a ton of friends by playing intramural sports,” said Scanga. “It is a great way to stay active on campus.”
Senior Thomas Bellucci enjoys the sense of teamwork and collaboration that intramurals bring.
“I have countless memories playing late nights on campus field after a long day of classes, having fun and making crazy plays with some of my closest friends,” said Bellucci. “I will assuredly miss playing intramural sports.”
Intramural basketball games began on Wednesday, Sept. 18 in the gym at the Valentine Health and Recreation Center. Regular season games will be played every Wednesday night and will run until Nov. 6.
Soccer games started on Thursday, Sept. 19 at Park Avenue Field. Games are played every Thursday night, and the regular season ends on Nov. 7.
Flag football will be played in two different leagues for the semester. One league started on Tuesday, Sept. 17 and the other on Sunday, Sept. 22.
