You can also star at Illinois

By Mike Rodriguez

For the athletic-minded student who is not currently a varsity athlete, intramural sports are a great way to stay in shape and get involved with the Illini way of life.

The Department of Campus Recreation has a very extensive intramural sports program that offers both individual and team athletics for amateur athletes who want to pursue fitness while on the Urbana-Champaign campus.

“Intramural sports not only allow students the opportunity to continue playing the sports they enjoyed in high school,” said Charles Anderson, the Assistant Director of Campus Recreation. “It is a great place to meet new people on campus.”

Anderson said that while the best way to get information about intramural athletics is to visit the website at www.campusrec.uiuc.edu, students can get information in their respective residence halls from either their resident advisors or distributed in the common areas.

There are a variety of events that students can participate in ranging from in-line hockey to punt, pass and kick tournaments. Each event allows for a competitive, but friendly, environment.

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Anderson said that of the 16 events offered in the fall the most popular are flag football, soccer and broomball. The prices are reasonable for the everyday college student. Tournaments are $45 while co-ed leagues and regular leagues cost $62 and $78 respectively.

The Department of Campus Recreation is offering an exciting new event this year that Anderson said should attract the attention of the sports-minded video game players.

“This year we are featuring a tournament for the NCAA College Football ’07 game for Playstation 2,” Anderson said. “It should be very exciting and will hopefully draw a lot of attention from students who are involved with college football.”

If you want to stay in shape in college and get a chance to meet new people while enjoying one of Illinois’ many activities, or if you just would like the chance to earn the coveted Intramural Champion T-shirt, intramural athletics are a great way to get involved during your first year on campus.

“Besides working for the Department of Campus Recreation as an official or on our staff at IMPE and CRCE, competing in intramurals is the best way to meet new people on campus,” Anderson said. “Not to mention the fact that it is a great way to stay in shape.” u