A three-year loser, that’s me.
My teams have failed (miserably) in each endeavor to win the prize. The prize, of course, being the most exquisite piece of finery in academia: the mass-produced, white, cotton t-shirt.
The intramural champion t-shirts could be the most coveted pieces of property on the Washington University campus. Who needs diplomas when you can have a five-dollar cotton shirt, right?
Alas, this will be the year I finally get to adorn my body with the heavenly garment. Well, probably not (especially if any other teams show up), but I will enjoy the release from the rigors of class-work that the IM sports so thoroughly provide.
Every week I take advantage of an opportunity to sweat and, in return, the IM competition skewers my team to the ground. Ah yes, the competition. Don’t be fooled by the different leagues (A, B, and Point) offered for each sport and sex (M, F, and Co-ed) classifications.
The B-league (less competitive) and the t-shirts that accompany a B-league championship are simply too alluring for some very athletic teams. In a utopian society all the best teams would compete in the A-league and those teams lacking at some skill positions would compete in the B-league, but WU is far from utopian.
As I mentioned above, most events offered by the IM program have three sex classifications and three separate levels of competition (with point league only open to fraternities). As for the events, the athletic department’s IM program offers plenty of reasons to lift yourself off of the economy-comfort wooden chair and step away from the keyboard. From full seasons to single events, the IM calendar has a small piece of action for just about all tastes (with the possible exception of those with a taste for St. Louis’ own Imo’s pizza).
If team play is what you seek, they offer sports such as five-on-five softball (not sure how that works), flag football, volleyball, and seven-on-seven soccer during the fall semester and basketball, walleyball, volleyball, softball, and soccer during the spring semester.
Individual (or two-person) offerings include golf, badminton, cross-country, billiards, tennis, and raquetball. Some interesting additions over the last few years are events that test an individual skill, such as home run derby, three-point shooting, and field goal kicking competitions.
Getting involved is easy. First, pick-up a registration form from the IM office in the athletic center. After putting together a team (or just registering yourself), attend the organizational meeting of team captains and prepare for the start of the season. If you are a free-rider (not too unlike myself), then you can simply wait for someone else to do the organizational work and grab on for the ride. Either way, make sure you are on the playing field come game time.
A few quick pieces of advice (from experience):
When playing flag football, do not choose to kick-off in the first half because apparently you will also have to kick-off in the second half. If you win the coin toss, there is no such concept as defer to the second half.
Do not be late. It takes only a moment’s tardiness (and an apathetic referee) to forfeit a game (and subsequently the season).
No illegal aliens. Well, at least in the eyes of the IM officials, that includes but is not limited to players who do not possess a WU student ID.
Know the rules of the game. This may sound obvious, but to some egotistical sports know-it-alls (read as me), it’s not. There are some quirks in the rules, and the referees are paid to be as consistent to the rulebook as possible.
Language. Apparently, the four-letter words your-mother-uses-but-is-so-proud-you-don’t-use-them aren’t allowed. So, don’t use them (oh wait, you don’t anyway).
Co-ed. While it is certainly fun to play with the opposite sex, the ultra competitive may want to avoid this division.
For the purposes of the Sports Trivia Bowl (conducted some time in early March), hockey, contrary to (ahem) popular opinion, is not the only sport they play in Canada. Evidently, lacrosse is fairly popular on the tundra, eh?
There isn’t too much more you need to know as this year’s IM season stealthily approaches. So, without further delay, hit the playing surface and start training because “one IM champion t-shirt” makes a nice addition to any resume.
See restech.wustl.edu/~im for more IM contact information.