Pillows, pajama pants and a line way before classes start – it’s that time of year and the intramural season is upon us. Students lined up, with some coming as early as five a.m. to register for their respective teams Tuesday morning.
Sanjit Shah was lucky enough to snag one of the first spots in line.
“I’m here for Phi Kappa Psi,” Shah said, “we’ve been here since five or so, but we had shifts set up.”
Intramural sports may not be as competitive as club or varsity athletics, but its popularity is evident as many fraternities, sororities and dorms field teams for the majority of the sports.
“We get about 2,200 students per quarter that partake in Intramurals,” said Ryan Coleman.
Coleman has been the Director of Intramural Sports at Northwestern since he arrived in Evanston in 2001.
“Spring is probably the most popular quarter, but we don’t have a problem filling our leagues,” said Coleman. “IMs are really popular because they give students a chance to get away from academics and where they can have a good time socially too.”
As the Northwestern football team enters Big Ten play, many other Wildcats are preparing for their quickly approaching IM season.
Jackie Shepard, a graduate student, drew the proverbial short straw and was up early to register.
“My favorite part of IMs is the combination of social and competitive aspects,” Shepard said. “I’m here to sign up for volleyball; this is the fifth year that the Chemical Engineering Department has had a team.”
As the newest crop of freshmen at Northwestern settle into their second week in Evanston, it would be wise for them to take to the field even if only for the exercise.
“It’s good for physical fitness and people share a common bond through sports so it’s easy to meet people,” Shah said. “One soccer game in the spring quarter last year we started with eight guys and still ended up winning, it was great.”
Seongmin Shim mirrored the sentiment that IMs are a good way to meet people.
“My freshman year, I remember meeting a lot of people who lived in the same dorm as me,” Shim said. “Through IMs I had a chance to become friends with them and if anything they promote healthy competition between students.”