For many students, it can be difficult to balance their social life and fitness life during the school year. Intramural sports at the University of South Carolina gives students an opportunity to accomplish both through one organization.
Don Mills, assistant director of sports programs, oversees intramural sports and sports clubs and said he believes that intramural sports are good for students.
“Not everybody is going to want to play intramurals. We try to offer something for everybody," Mills said. "You can play corn hole with us, all the way up to you can play indoor soccer."
Intramurals are a good way to get your foot in the door to try something new, or to continue a passion you’ve always had. This semester, the intramural program aiming to eliminate the barriers between students and sports.
“One of the barriers that we've had in the past is you have to really know a group of friends or have a team in order to play," Mills said.
For the first time, there is now an alternate system to participate.
Mills said the new system will only be used with popular sports this coming semester, including flag football and indoor soccer.
“For flag football, and indoor soccer actually, we are offering a free agent system where you can sign up individually in the intramural office, and we match make teams for people," Mills said.
Mills said he doesn’t want students to feel intimidated and invites them regardless of their experience in their sport of interest.
“We take people of all skill levels, all abilities, so that's not something to have a barrier," Mills said.
In addition, Mills said he strives to make the intramural program the best it can possibly be, giving each student a chance to have fun and stay healthy.
USC offers a total of 14 intramural sports in the fall:
10v10 Softball
The university offers an intramural softball team of 10v10. They offer corec (male and female teams), fraternity and men’s teams. The registration period to join is the same for each team, starting on Aug. 22 at 10 a.m. and ending on Sept. 10 at midnight. The season runs Sept. 15 through October 27th.
3v3 Basketball
A fast-paced intramural offered in the fall is 3v3 basketball, open to corec, men and women. Registration starts on Aug. 22 at 10 a.m. and lasts until Sept. 24 at midnight. The season runs from Sept. 29 until October 24th.
5v5 Indoor Soccer
One of the largest selection of teams is intramural 5v5 indoor soccer, soccer is open to corec, fraternities, men, sororities and women. The registration period opens Aug. 22 at 10 a.m. and ends Sep. 17 at midnight. All seasons start on Sept. 20 and end on Oct. 31.
Kickball
The university only offers a corec team for kickball. Registration begins on Aug. 22 at 10 a.m. and ends Sept. 10 at midnight. The kickball season starts Sept. 16 and ends on Oct. 21.
Table Tennis
Only open singles is offered for table tennis. Registration for table tennis is from Aug. 22 at 10 a.m. until Sept. 10 at midnight. The table tennis season officially starts on Sept. 15 and lasts until Oct. 20.
For a complete list of sports and more information, visit sc.edu and search campus recreation.