Some, like the Red Alert T-shirt, only require an e-mail address. Others are given by residential colleges at move-in or at various student events. Only one shirt provides bragging rights. Only one shirt can be earned through sweat, effort and mental agility. That shirt is the “Intramural Champion” shirt.

Two years ago, they were gray. Last year, they were forest green. This year, IM champions will wear navy blue.

In the 2008-2009 school year, intramural sports had more than 6,000 participants, including undergraduates, graduates and those who play multiple sports. Regardless of the sport or activity, all champions receive the same shirt.

Both single-gender and coed activities are available. Events range from the most strenuous, like flag football and basketball, to those that require more intellect, such as the sports trivia bowl and euchre. While many traditional sports are available, inner-tube water polo and other nontraditional activities can be fun changes of pace.

According to senior Tim Olivos, a participant and IM official, basketball and football are the most popular sports.

Students interested in IM sports don’t necessarily need to compete. According to Sean Curtis, director of intramural and club sports, more than 150 students work as sports officials keeping track of scores and regulating games. Those interested in officiating can go to the Intramural Office.

Olivos finds officiating a good way of making money while having fun and getting involved.

Officiating can be tough depending on the intensity of the game. “You have to be on top of your game,” Olivos said. “[You’re] trying to make sure everyone is having a good time.”

Officials receive training with meetings to go over the rules and practice games that they officiate. “It’s not too bad, and you get paid,” Olivos said.

Although most sports are on campus, a few require facilities in the St. Louis area. Students can bowl and get a score sheet printout for IM bowling. Golfers can bring in their scorecards and take advantage of special rates with local golf courses.

The time commitment varies depending on the level of competitiveness. “It runs the entire scope of competition, from completely recreational to actually highly competitive where they have practices and they are trying to definitely win the league,” Curtis said.

Most leagues have games once a week, with each game lasting up to an hour. While the majority of teams show up just for games, several hold weekly practices.

For teams comprised of fraternity, sorority, or residential college students, there’s added competition. Last year, Wayman Crow won the Res College Point League with 368 points. Kappa Kappa Gamma edged out Delta Gamma by 10 points in the sorority league. The reigning fraternity champion is Sigma Phi Epsilon, beating out Phi Delta Theta by 7 points.

Senior Fan Ye, a participant in flag football and basketball, gave several reasons why people play IM sports.

“IM sports are fun because you get to compete with other people and friends,” Ye said. “People of all different levels can enjoy playing team sports.”

Though playing to win is nice, Ye said his primary goal is “getting to bond.”

For some participants, an intramural championship shirt is the pinnacle of their athletic careers. Curtis has had some seniors come up and say, “It took me three and a half years, but I finally got it.”

The first deadlines are fast approaching with coed Ultimate Frisbee and kickball on Sept. 3. Entry forms can be picked up at the IM Office on the third floor of the Athletic Complex. The hunt for the navy blue IM championship shirt and all bragging rights begins this September.

“I’ll remember her as a wonderful teacher, coach, administrator, mother, friend, and valued member of the Washington University community,” Athletic Director John Schael said.

Imergoot, most recently the associate director of club and intramural sports, started work at Wash. U. in 1973 as the director of women’s and co-ed intramurals, a post she held until 1979. She also served in the administration as coordinator for women’s athletics from 1977-84 and assistant athletic director from 1984-2005.

In addition to all of her work behind a desk, Imergoot will be most remembered as the first and longtime coach of the Wash. U. women’s tennis team, a post she held from 1975-2005. During her 30-year tenure as coach, the Bears compiled a record of 435-164 (.726) and made seven NCAA Tournament appearances. Six players also earned seven All-America distinctions during her tenure.

“Establishing and coaching the initial women’s tennis program was a great accomplishment for Lynn as there were few opportunities for women’s participation in intercollegiate athletics.  She was, in a sense, a pioneer and indeed strong advocate for the advancement of women’s athletics on the Danforth Campus and was proud of Washington University’s commitment to enhanced opportunities for women in sport,” Schael added.

In addition to starting the women’s tennis program, Imergoot also helped Schael and the rest of the athletic department introduce cross country, indoor track, basketball, soccer, softball and golf as women’s varsity programs. Wash. U. now has one more women’s varsity program than men’s program with the addition of women’s golf in 2008.

The accident occurred while Imergoot was driving from a summer sports camp to a scheduled dentist appointment.

She is survived by her son Douglas, 31, daughter Jennifer, 28, and sister Amy Kossak. The funeral was Monday in Livingston, N.J., and she was buried in nearby Deans, N.J.

A memorial service will occur on campus next month.

Undoubtedly, most of you know that Washington University in St. Louis students are not widely renowned for their physical prowess. However, Wash. U. offers a plethora of sports programs for all students, athletically inclined or not.

In addition to its Varsity sports, the University boasts 36 club teams, each unique from the others. There are also over 50 intramural teams, which vary in degrees of seriousness and range from arm wrestling, inner-tube water polo and kickball to soccer and cross country.
Clearly, there are other options for students besides varsity sports. And there are a lot of advantages.

One such benefit is that many club teams are less demanding than their varsity counterparts, thus allowing students to competitively pursue their love of a sport according to their own limits and desires.

More importantly, such flexibility allows for students to explore other interests, according to Stephanie Dusek, captain of Women’s Lacrosse.

“A concern that many varsity athletes I have spoken with have is the question of life after college: Have they missed out on other opportunities the school could have provided for them had they had more time to pursue other areas outside of athletics?” writes Dusek in an email. “Club sports offers the transition from being told what to do by hired authority figures to choosing by your own merit what kind of a role athletics will play in your life.”

Moreover, club sports have many of the same benefits as varsity sports. Besides a healthy, active lifestyle, they offer “an opportunity to compete and all of the things that go along with training for competition. The development of leadership skills, team-building, motivation to be successful, improving ones personal abilities through focused effort,” stated Cameron Carter, coach of Wash. U.’s club rowing team.

These benefits can come hand in hand with achievement. Club team results are mixed, but the naturally ambitious nature of Wash. U.’s overachieving student body often shines through. For many teams, “the forum is highly competitive because you have a bunch of motivated, high-achieving individuals putting their time into something they care about,” writes Peter Boumgarden, president of the Triathlon Club, in an e-mail correspondence.

For example, the Wash. U. Women’s Ultimate team (WUWU) made the Ultimate Players Association College Women’s Championships this year, placing 17th. The Wash. U. Men’s Crew team placed 2nd at the American Collegiate Rowing Association Championships in the Men’s Varsity Lightweight 8+. The Wash. U. Men’s Lacrosse Team missed playoffs by a technicality. And the list goes on.

The men's and women's frisbee teams pose for a picture. The Wash. U. Women’s Ultimate team took 17th in the country last season. (Courtesy of Tasha Parman, WUWU)

However, there’s a drawback to the flexibility of club sports. “A value that women’s lacrosse holds to is that academics come first for our players,” states Dusek. “This usually leads to a less stressful environment on the field because we are not holding them there while they are worried about other school related obligations. The downside is that practices are not always as efficient and effective as varsity sports.”

Thus the competitiveness of a team depends on the individuals and the sport. For many, competition is not the point. Instead, pure enjoyment of sport and a chance to spend time with friends is all the reason necessary. At the heart of any club team is “the same thing that makes a varsity sport worthwhile…. Loving the sport, loving being on a team, loving staying in shape, loving being competitive, loving having a place to go every day,” writes Ruth Mandelbaum, a member of Wash. U. crew, in an email.

It seems that all club teams, big or small and competitive or not, are based on the ideas of enjoyment and self-improvement. With so many options, every Wash. U. student can find a home on a team.

“The beauty of club teams,” states Carter, “is that the level of commitment is determined by the culture of the particular club at any given time… [If] a club decides that they want to take on intercollegiate competition they need to ask themselves if they are willing to put in the same effort as their competitors. Sports may not be about winning and losing but it always should be about doing your best and becoming better.”