Everything on campus seems to have adapted to life in a pandemic, including intramural sports.
Samford University Campus Recreation will be hosting ten sports leagues this semester. The department is led by Nick Madsen, who has been with Samford Recreation since 2004. This summer, Madsen and his team were tasked with finding ways to have safe intramural sports during the pandemic.
“We felt that students needed to have some normalness in their life,” Madsen said. “We wanted to continue to play sports, since they are playing different sports in the (Birmingham) community.”
Campus Recreation began their first league of the semester last week with the intramural classic flag football. The league consists of 39 registered teams throughout the men’s, women’s, and co-rec leagues.
Even though flag football will be held this year, there will be some noticeable changes. Fans will not be allowed to attend the games. Only students that are listed on the roster will be allowed on the field. This rule will continue throughout the semester into other sports.
As for masks, Campus Recreation has some standard rules in place. Outside of specific instances outlined by Campus Recreation, it is up to the students’ discretion on whether to wear a mask while they participate in the games.
“Masks are required to enter and exit the playing areas,” Madsen said. “While they are playing, they may, or may not, wear their mask. That is up to each player on how they want to play. If they are on the sideline, then masks are required to be worn.”
Madsen also ensured that his staff will be on-site to clean and disinfect any surfaces that may have been exposed to students.
Along with intramurals, Campus Recreation is still offering fitness classes every week. Currently, there are seven aerobics classes offered inside of Seibert Gym, including yoga, spin, Core Barre, and Zumba. All of these classes are designed to keep students socially distanced from each other.
Campus Recreation has two more sports that will begin later this month. A 3-on-3 basketball tournament will begin Sept. 29, and a tennis tournament that will begin on Sept. 28.
Campus recreation posts regular updates and announcements on intramural sports and all other recreational activities. Their website updates can be found here and on their Instagram (@samfordcampusrec).
