Students encouraged to participate in UWGB’s intramural program

Students looking to stay active and enjoy the sports they love this winter don't have to look further than the Kress Events Center.

The spring early intramural season, which will offer five different sports in various leagues based on skill, is set to begin the second week of February.

According to Tim Helein, manager of intramurals and recreation for the Kress Center, intramurals is the largest organization on campus, and participating is a great way to stay active and meet new people.

"We have between 1,400 and 1,700 students participate in a given semester, and it's always a great social atmosphere," Helein said. "It's an excellent way to get students out of their dorms or apartments and enjoy a fun, healthy activity with their friends."

Matt Nieman, sophomore business administration major, has met numerous friends through intramurals, and uses it as a way to take his mind off school.

"It's a great way to exercise and have fun at the same time, and it allows students to be more involved on campus," Nieman said.

The Kress Center proudly offers one of the most extensive intramural programs in the country—at no cost to students. The program has more sports and leagues than most colleges, and offers both team and individual sports. The program also offers an online free agent list, which is a helpful resource for students who want to join an existing team instead of creating their own.

"One of the things we like is that we don't have to charge students a team fee to sign up or charge them a fee to play every week like a lot of schools do," Helein said. "Being able to keep intramurals free to students has definitely helped it grow."

The addition of the Kress Center in 2007 has played a pivotal role in the growth of intramurals at UW-Green Bay, and has given the program numerous options it previously lacked.

"Before the Kress Center was built, we had fewer facility options, fewer sports and the sports we did have were offered less often than they are now," Helein said. "Years ago we would only have a handful of teams, but now we see upward of 150 total teams each semester."

One of the benefits of the Kress Center is Championship Night, held on the main court. Championship games for basketball and volleyball leagues are run just as a Phoenix volleyball or basketball game would be, and are even broadcast live online.

"Not many schools allow intramural teams to play on their main courts, and we may be the only program in the nation that does a live broadcast of our championship games," Helein said. "It's pretty neat for the parents of these kids to be able to watch them play live on our main court online."

Championship Night provides practical experience for the 20 student employees working for the intramural program, as well as members of Phlash TV, who broadcast the game. Students on championship teams are given t-shirts, but regardless of the outcome it's the experience students remember the most.

"My volleyball team went to the championship game last semester, and even though we lost, it was awesome playing in the bowl," said Matt Boots, sophomore human biology major.

While participating in intramurals is a great way to stay competitive and enjoy the sports everyone loves, the program focuses on helping students have fun while staying active.

"My basketball team lost every game we played, but we had a blast anyway because we were just playing to have fun," Boots said. "Win or lose, intramurals is a great way to keep the pounds off, have fun and enjoy the sports you love."

Students interested in participating in intramurals can find a list of sports, rules and signup requirements at uwgb.edu/kress. The sign-up deadline is Feb. 2 at 11:59 p.m., with a mandatory meeting for team captains held the same night at 9 p.m.