SPORTS should alleviate stress, not create it. Multitudes of University students live for athletics, and through Intramural-Recreation Sports, they find an outlet for both fun and relaxation. Unfortunately, in between the games that can at times resemble either professional-caliber play or a reel of sports bloopers, some participants are unlucky enough to encounter the inflexibility of IM-Rec rules. While it's undoubtedly necessary that intramural leagues abide by a consistent set of regulations, the IM-Rec office should modify the rule that prevents students from joining a team - that would otherwise have to concede if the minimum number of players is not present - as a walk-on at game time.
Strict policies govern the manner in which all the sports' leagues operate. The concession rule is regrettable given the fact that, in college, many people's schedules tend to change drastically and with lightning speed. With upcoming papers and tests, weekday nights scheduled for a romp in The Park can at the last moment turn into the worst possible time for a laid-back game of ultimate frisbee. That being said, it's not a rare occurrence that at the scheduled start of a game for a team to be running late or lacking a player, and as the IM-Rec rules say, "Game time is forfeit time." Tough break.
Preventing IM-Rec teams from recruiting a new player at the start of a match ruins the fun for all involved. The team forced to concede unnecessarily gives up an opportunity to put a "W" on their season's tally. Furthermore, the team that wins as a result of the concession comes out the winner only by default - not nearly as gripping or satisfying as a clutch hit or amazing catch. Under the current regulations, the most that both teams can expect to get out of the situation is a scrimmage which, while still providing enjoyment, is not as rewarding as a little healthy competition.
Even though most teams play to win, first and foremost, they play to play. It's all about the fun, and the IM-Rec rules take themselves too seriously to truly enhance the experience. Such inflexibility causes much aggravation and strains the relationship between players and referees who in the eyes of a disappointed team quickly turn into the enemy. According to Dave Cheplak, director of Intramural Sports, the concession rule is in place to ensure consistency of situations involving missing players. Indeed, as Cheplak states, referees cannot distinguish between a missing player being in the parking lot or at the Rotunda.
Of course, any organized league requires structure to function smoothly. The leagues are more formal than a pick-up game where it's hard to get two teams together, but not formal enough to merit such exacting rules. IM-Rec doesn't claim that their softball is Major League Baseball, and flag football doesn't come close to even the Arena Football 2 League, let alone the NFL. So its rules shouldn't attempt to be as strict. Then again, if they truly were parallel to professional teams, intramural teams would have a buffet of bench players from which to choose a replacement for a no-show, and the whole problem of a missing team member wouldn't even be an issue.
But intramural teams don't have a pre-registered reserve squad at their beck and call. The best they can hope for on a spring evening at The Park is a passing jogger or sportily-attired spectator.
The IM-Rec office should allow students to join teams in the event a player is missing. With proper student identification, he can sign in quickly with the proper officials and promptly become a member of the team. Regular members of a team sign in before each game anyway, so it would not be wholly unorthodox to have a new player join as the game starts.
Should the rule be modified, there's no guarantee that students won't abuse it. After all, it doesn't hurt to have the towering guard on your basketball team or the massive linebacker for flag football protection waiting in the wings to take over for the "absent" player. But even though it may sound coarse to say, at least then everyone could have an equal opportunity to cut corners. We'd all like to hope deep down too that the competition hasn't become so cutthroat to merit such subversive acts.
Many students don't have the time for a weekly commitment to a team but would still greatly enjoy a chance to play if the opportunity arose. Others may not have been able to find enough people to form their own team. If IM-Rec rules let a student join a group at the spur of the moment for one night, everyone concerned would benefit. Nothing prevents a team that wins by concession from leaving before either side steps onto the field, but such a disappointment could be averted by changing the ban on last minute recruits.
Assuredly, IM-Rec runs a wonderful program. Through intramurals, the University community builds camaraderie and sportsmanship. It also simply has fun. And if a student can partake in that for just one night to help out some peers, so be it. Certainly, the entire IM-Rec system wouldn't buckle under a little rule bending.
(Becky Krystal is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. She can be reached a bkrystal@cavalierdaily.com.)
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