By Mackenzie Prince 

At the University of Maryland, students can build community through a variety of intramural sports on campus. Despite the ease of the process, many students are still unsure of how to take part in these activities. 

Intramural sports are offered in teams, individual or dual leagues, according to the UMD RecWell website. Students can register via the website. After registering, students can view the UMD calendar, which provides practice times, upcoming games and more. 

Hank Schwartz, a freshman history and economics double major, easily joined an intramural men’s soccer team. Through intramural sports, Schwartz has fostered meaningful connections and lifelong friendships. 

“It’s been a decent community building, as it’s helped me make better friends with my roommates and some of our other friends,” Schwartz said. “In fact, all four of my roommates for next year are on my intramural team.” 

For other students, intramural sports have helped strengthen their already persistent friendships. Faye Tennis, a freshman marketing major, is on a flag football team with residents on her floor.

“Someone on my floor asked if we wanted to join a flag football team, and it seemed easy because it was only one game a week and fit into my schedule,” Tennis said. 

Tennis and other residents on her floor completed the process by using the online website, IMLeagues.

“The process was super easy,” Tennis said. “We just had to sign in using our directory ID and complete the concussion test. You can also message other people from your teams and set reminders.” 

Taylor Constantino, a freshman special education major, is part of Tennis’ team, though she doesn’t really enjoy playing flag football. 

“Even though I don’t play with [my friends], I have still been able to get involved,” Constantino said. “I’m the photographer.” 

Intramural activities foster a community for UMD students to grow relationships with other students and get involved with on-campus sports. 

Junior architecture major Sébastien Veilleux joined an intramural soccer team during the fall semester of his freshman year. He is currently an intramural sports supervisor and officiates multiple games, like 7v7 soccer and 4v4 volleyball.

“A huge part of intramurals and something that is reminded to us very often is that our team is basically a family,” Veilleux said. “Intramurals and RecWell is a huge community where you get to have fun at work and enjoy being near a sport you love, as well as a lot of great people.” 

Veilleux discussed the practice and game atmosphere, which varies from team to team. 

“Since intramurals are very chill, practices aren’t run by intramurals, so each team can decide if they want to practice or not,” Veilleux said. “[Program assistants] typically communicate with our coordinator to create a schedule for teams to play and ensure everything runs smoothly.” 

Whether or not students feel confident in their athletic abilities, intramural sports provide a community for UMD students to develop friendships and be in a fun environment. 

“It’s definitely, definitely, definitely helped me build a sense of community,” Tennis said. “It’s social, fun and no one takes it super seriously.”

Featured Image: UMD students take part in intramural sports on campus. Photo by Taylor Constantino.