In my intramural soccer game last week, a player on the opposing team got into an argument with one of the refs over a foul and spat on my teammate. Everyone saw it.
This is not exactly surprising behavior when it comes to sports, but it was one of the tensest moments I have experienced in intramural sports at PSU. In club and professional soccer, the player would have been given a red card and immediately been taken out of the game. But since the incident occurred during halftime, our intramural referees had no power to remove students or give any fouls. So the argument escalated between the two teams and refs until it was time to resume play. The second half was an ugly dance between the two players with a few empty threats from the center ref.
I always thought intramural sports were a good way to exercise and meet some new friends. But I’ve found that intramurals are really competitive. To be honest, I am not sure if all intramurals are friendly to students who are new to the sport. This term I tried intramural volleyball and was taken aback by how competitive some of the other teams were! I still love to play and don’t plan on quitting any time soon, but new students may want to go watch a game before they sign-up to see if the level of play is right for them.
If the refs cannot curb this kind of behavior it would seem to be a management/coaching issue. I would expect the coaches to be taking care of this kind of poor practice.
We at Campus Rec wanted to take an opportunity to respond to the issue of unacceptable conduct among Intramurals participants. The fundamental goal of Intramurals is to provide opportunities for students to get involved on campus, make new friends, and exercise in a safe, fun environment.
The safety of our participants is our chief priority and our referees are trained to handle situations such as this one with appropriate intervention and documentation. We will continue to train officials to watch players as they go off the field during half-time and after games. This incident was documented and brought to Campus Rec administrative staff to follow through with the students involved. Appropriate action was taken. When an Intramurals participant does not meet the code of conduct, that participant is temporarily suspended during which time, administrative staff reviews the incident and follows through with further action depending on the severity of the situation.
We also wanted to note that as a response to the competitive nature of some of our leagues, we decided to offer two leagues for soccer this term that included both a recreational and competitive league to serve those who do not wish to play competitively. The recreational soccer league is beginner-friendly and welcomes all participants regardless of experience. Should anyone have questions about our leagues, please feel free to e-mail us at im@pdx.edu.
Campus Rec,
I have no doubt that the issue was addressed by your office and appreciate your response! Intramural sports are one of my favorite ways to get involved on campus and I am glad that PSU has such an expansive program. The two league options for soccer demonstrate how much Campus Rec cares about students, and I definitely should have mentioned it in my original post.
My intention was in no way intended to reflect negatively on intramural sports at PSU; I love playing both soccer and volleyball and have no intention to quit. The goal of the blog was to offer my perspective of a rare occurrence of misconduct at a game. I have great respect for the referees and players in intramural sports and acknowledge competition as part of the game. My suggestion for students to go watch a game before signing-up is to prevent negative experiences. When talking with new students at PSU I always mention my love for playing intramurals and encourage them to do the same.
Thanks Kate! We are so glad you enjoy Intramurals and we just want to make sure that everyone knows that your safety and that of all participants is really important to us and that we take it seriously. We think it’s great advice to have folks come check out Intramurals before they sign up for the following term and hope more people will try out a new sport or come enjoy those they already play.