Too busy for varsity sports, try intramurals, club teams

Everyone can't be a college varsity athlete.

 But  students at Winston-Salem State  have other options:  intramurals and club teams. Intramurals competitions involve students versus students at the same school.

WSSU has a variety of sports to participate in including basketball, flag football, dodge ball, volleyball, tennis, and outdoor soccer.

This spring brings the addition of a faculty versus students golf tournament.

Club teams have competitive matches against club teams from other universities.

Different than intramurals, club teams travel the country and require tryouts.

WSSU club teams include: men's basketball, men's soccer, women's basketball, cheerleading, rugby, fencing. Cycling  has  recently beenadded.

The number of intramural sports and club teams has increased each year as Campus Recreation has been under the direction of Dash McNeil.

"Intramurals and club teams provide students with an outlet for those that cannot participate on the varsity level," McNeil said.

Basketball, dodgeball, and volleyball games are played in the Whitaker Gym throughout the week.

"The things I like about intramurals is that they are cheap, and the competition, especially against the football team," said Dominique Williams, a junior sports management major from Raleigh.

Student costs are covered in the student activities fee in tuition except for basketball team shirts, which are $5.

Every student is required to have insurance and a signed waiver to participate.

"Every other sport wears practice [penny] jerseys, but basketball needs a jersey number," McNeil said.

The winners of the intramural tournaments are issued a T-shirt.

"We only give out a T-shirt for winning, but bragging rights are more important to most of the students," McNeil said.

A new system that McNeil has begun for basketball intramurals is registration on Imleagues.com, a program based out of Raleigh. It [program] is beneficial because it helps with the organization of teams, captains, and all players.

IMleagues.com allows players to have a profile, to become a captain, or to be invited by a player to a team.