By Ty Schadt, Contributing Writer
The start of a new school year gives students a lot to look forward to, such as learning new things, uniting with friends and forming new relationships. A program that provides an outlet to combine all three of these is intramurals. This fall, Asbury students have an exciting opportunity to participate in some new intramural sports and some that are old favorites.
One of the events making its debut is sibling series kickball.
“We came up with the idea while debriefing last year,” explained Trustees RD Clark Kendall, the head of the intramural program. “The student staff came up with the idea to pair brother and sister halls for an event, and it took off from there.”
Games last 50 minutes, and teams are made up of eight players — half from the brother hall and half from the sister hall.
Kickball functions the same way as baseball or softball. A pitcher rolls the ball towards the “batter” who then kicks it and runs the bases. The game dates back to 1917 and has traditionally been played with large groups of friends seeking an engaging and energetic experience.
On Asbury’s campus, kickball will serve that same purpose.
“I wanted to play kickball because I liked the idea of having a fun, competitive activity to do with my brother hall,” said junior Madeline Vermilion.
Not only is the activity for fun, but participants also have a chance to win an exciting reward.
“We decided to raise the stakes a little,” said Kendall. “Whichever team wins the championship is going to receive an all-expense-paid brother/sister hall event.”
Aside from kickball, flag football is another fall intramural sport that has generated great popularity. While it is not a new event on campus, many people have signed up to play.
“I love flag football because it’s a lot of fun to go out there and play a competitive sport that doesn’t present a huge time commitment,” said junior Jonathan Waterman.
Flag football is much like regular football, except for the tackling system. As opposed to being tackled like in real football, flag football players are downed when a belt equipped with several flags is yanked off their waist.
Like kickball, flag football gives students the chance to form new relationships.
“I think flag football is fun because I get to know people I wouldn’t have otherwise,” said sophomore Nick Morgan. “Also, it’s a sport I love that Asbury doesn’t offer.”
Another activity making its debut in Asbury intramurals is the Glide-Crawford vs. Kresge Hall Powderpuff Bowl game. According to Kendall, girls from each dorm will square off against one another in flag football, while guys will sport pom-poms and cheer them on from the sidelines.
“All in all, our goal is to provide a fun environment where students can let their inner child out by taking a break from the craziness of college, and I think we’ll accomplish that,” said Kendall.