For many, intramural sports offer the perfect escape from the stresses and anxiety of college life. But, the physical vigor of softball, hoops and Frisbee isn’t for everyone - so here are the Top 10 intramural sports that you’ve never heard of…
10. Cornhole - As one of the most intense games out there, Cornhole truly captures the majesty and splendor of tossing a beanbag (Side Note: Have you ever opened a “beanbag”? I’ve torn through hundreds in my day, and not once have I encountered an actual bean. Can’t we call it “small-plastic-pellet-bag” or “faux-bean-capsule-sack”?). Anyways, two teams stand across from each other and try to throw a faux-bean-capsule-sack through a hole on top of an overturned box. Different point amounts are awarded for hitting the box, landing on the box or, most impressively, getting it into the hole. The University of Kentucky was one of the first to offer such a sweet game.
9. Broomball - Basically, this sport is played just like hockey but instead of skates, a stick and a puck, the key components include rubber-sole shoes, a broom and, you guessed it, a ball! The object of the game is to score more goals than the opposing team and, if necessary, an overtime period follows regulation. There are even governing bodies for the game and there is speculation that it may be added to the Winter Olympics. An easy way to remember Broomball is that it’s kind of like curling, but it doesn’t suck. Scope it out at big-time hockey schools like Boston University and Colorado College.
8. Inner Tube Basketball - Taking college campuses by storm, is the advent of inner tube basketball. This game is exactly like its hard-court counterpart except it’s for lazy, out-of-shape people and under- conditioned athletes. Players sit in the tubes and splash the ball around the pool towards the basket where the points are ultimately scored. This game is a great alternative for students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; I mean, if you can’t play varsity for the best team in the nation, you might as well pretend you do in a pool! It’s a pretty fun game if you just want to say, “Sorry babe, I can’t, I have an inner tube b-ball game tonight.”
7. Paper Football - You know how you would always get in trouble when your teacher caught you flicking that folded piece of paper around the classroom? Well, now it’s an intramural sport. A lot of people at the University of Central Florida have become enamored with the competitiveness and camaraderie associated with paper football. The idea is simple - you flick a folded paper football through finger uprights - and that’s it.
6. Noodle Water Polo - Water polo is a fast-paced, intense and often grueling game; but not when you’re straddling a 5-foot strand of foam. At Ithaca College, students love hopping in the pool and riding that noodle all the way to victory. Regular water polo rules apply, except that players are not permitted to leave their flotation device at any time - but you can whack people with your noodle, gross!
5. Pickleball - A derivative of badminton, tennis and ping-pong, Pickleball is played on a court with the same dimensions as tennis, but with a wooden paddle. Created in the summer of 1965, it’s no wonder that Pickleball is such a trippy sport. According to the USA Pickleball Association, or USAPA, the name came from a family dog named Pickles who would chase after balls and then hide them in the bushes. As a poor man’s racquetball, this sport is sweeping universities all across America and is huge at Emmaus Bible College. Nothing like some God and Pickleball!
4. T-Shirt Design - What gets your blood pumping like a good ole’ “Intramural Champions” T-Shirt Design Contest? Often the crown jewel and sole purpose of participating in intramurals, Virginia Tech has turned it into a cutthroat and ruthless sport. Participants compete to create and design the shirt that will grace the backs of every sport’s winners throughout that academic year. Some go over-the-top with sequins and glitter, while others prefer old-school favorites with simple graphics and text. My only question is: who designs the T-shirt for the champion of the T-shirt Design Contest?
3. Mario Kart 64 - There is literally nothing on Earth that can get the heart pumping like Mario Kart 64. The adrenaline will flow and the hairs will stand on the back of your neck as Mario, Koopa, Luigi, Princess and Toadstool battle it out for raceway supremacy. This intramural sport is especially great for those people completely against doing anything remotely productive or physical. Intramural Mario Kart promotes hand-eye coordination, dexterity as well as morbid obesity. Sign up today at USC!!
2. Quidditch - Nope, it’s not just a fictional, mythical and completely ridiculous idea anymore; now it’s an intramural sport. Borrowed from the Harry Potter book series, Quidditch at Middlebury College is played high above the ground as players fly on magical broomsticks and try and score points as they chase the speedy and mysterious golden snitch. Sounds cool, right? Wrong. Instead of figuring out how to manufacture flying brooms, players took the easy way out and simply run with the broom between their legs. The Golden Snitch, unfortunately, doesn’t flutter and hide as in the film. As a replacement, teams pick a fast kid, dress him yellow and make him run for hours until someone can catch him. With Quidditch taking over intramurals all around the nation, it’s a matter of time until we start playing the fatality-friendly game of Rollerball too.
1. Sudoku - What is more fun than solving proofs and a little geometry? You guessed it, Sudoku! The University of Rhode Island held its first ever intramural Sudoku tournament recently. Teams of two competed to solve these brain-busting math riddles faster than their opponents. How about this riddle: What involves numbers 1-9, columns, rows and squares; and is probably the most boring and ridiculous idea for an intramural sport ever? I’ll let you think that one out while we talk about how dumb and preposterous it is to even mention Sudoku and sport in the same sentence, sorry. I mean, what happened to floor hockey or indoor soccer?
“I started doing Sudoku puzzles over winter break,” said one of the participants. “Since then I’ve gone through two books of them, each over 100 pages long. I just enjoy doing them!”
If I ever say that, please find me, and kill me.
