Campus Recreation Adds Olympics

Team Blackout during a timeout for intramurals.

by Sean Carroll
edited by Kevin Flanders

The Department of Campus Recreation looks to revamp its intramural schedule by extending the seasons for each sport and creating a Franklin Pierce version of the Winter Olympic Games.

The spring semester features such intramural sports as five on five basketball, floor hockey (co-rec and non), indoor soccer (co-rec and non), volleyball, and beach volleyball, which was just added to the schedule.

“We get a lot of participants in the fall with flag football and softball, but during the spring our most popular sports are basketball and floor hockey,” said Assistant Director of Campus Recreation Brad Avenia.

This is the first time the intramural athletes will see an extended schedule of competition in basketball and floor hockey as well.  The season will be about two weeks longer, and will end just before Spring Break on March 12.

“Our reasoning behind extending the schedule for basketball and floor hockey was simple; they are our most popular spring intramural sports, and by extending the season we could accommodate more teams,” Avenia said.

The intramural sports are not only fun, but with bragging rights on the line the competition is high.

“I’m an intramural referee, and I will be the first one to tell you that the students who play these sports play to win every time,” said Junior Nate Goralnik. “They will get on you if you make a questionable call, but you have to just stick by your calls.”

The prize for each team left standing by the end of the playoffs is a Champions t-shirt from Campus Recreation.

“Everyone wants a t-shirt! They are so popular that I have to keep them away from my staff because they like to walk off with them,” added Avenia.

In addition to holding the annual spring event Up All Night at the Bubble, Campus Recreation is preparing to host an all day Winter Olympic Games event featuring fun activities on Sunday, February 21, the same day as the university’s open house.

“We planned this purposely to show possible future students that there is a lot to do on campus,” said Campus Recreation Employee Chelsea Ketchen.

This event will feature such activities as extreme capture the flag, pond hockey, and downhill kayaking.

“We thought it would be a cool idea to do something in honor of the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, B.C. by putting on our own Olympic Games using the great campus that we have,” said Campus Recreation Employee Tommy Perretta.

Campus Recreation is hoping the strong following for intramurals will lead to a solid number of participants for the first ever Winter Olympic Games Challenge.

“I also know how popular our intramural program is, so we’ve just added a little adventure recreation twist to the event,” added Ketchen.

The event is free to participate in, with specially made t-shirts and water bottles being given to the winner of each event.

Whether you are an athlete who is out of season or just someone who enjoys healthy competition, there is something for everyone. For more information about the different intramural sports offered during the spring semester please contact Brad Avenia by e-mail. Anyone who is wishing to participate in the first ever Winter Olympics Challenge should contact either Ketchen or Perretta for more information.