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| Edwin Chen, left and Simon Margolis grab for the same ball during the start of the Bronco Fitness Center and Rec Sports Dodgeball tournament in 2004. |
If throwing a little pig skin, or the terms spiking, attacking, juggling or “GOAL!!” spark your interest, you might want to sign up for fall intramural sports.
The sign-up period for football, volleyball and soccer intramural teams is open until Oct. 11, and the leagues start Oct. 16.
“We have some teams that do it purely for recreation and that's fine because they have fun,” says Andy Ramirez, coordinator of ASI's Recreational Sports program. “We also have teams that practice once or twice a week and take it very seriously.”
Roughly, 7,000 people participate in Cal Poly Pomona intramural sports throughout the year. Last fall, there were 46 football, 16 soccer and 11 volleyball teams. The leagues are open to students, staff, faculty and alumni.
The majority of athletes sign up as a team, however individuals can sign up, and they are treated like free agents and will be placed on a team, Ramirez says.
Teams play for five weeks and playoffs go for another week. Most teams only compete against each other on campus, but some teams take their game on the road.
This past July, All Action, an intramural football team organized by Political Science Professor Renford Reese, was the champion at the Northridge Invitational Tournament at Cal State Northridge. The team spent several months prior practicing on the weekends, says alumnus Evan Field.
Reese, who played football for Vanderbilt University, was recruited by a student to coach an intramural team in 1997. In the last five years, the team has won four intramural championships, says Reese, who's also the team's quarterback. The professor says the team is a way to connect with students.
“The first year we played, we lost in the championship game,” he says. “I saw the guys on the team crying. Although I had played in front of stadiums of up to 96,000 fans,I realized that intramural sports were serious business for the students at Cal Poly Pomona. So I totally committed myself to the science of the game the next year. I brought a rag-tag group of guys together from about six different ethnic backgrounds to form All Action. We practiced, told stories, and laughed together in pursuit of winning the intramural football championship.”
Early registration for fall leagues runs until Oct. 6. The cost to register early for a football team is $113; $97 for volleyball and $135 for soccer. Late registration lasts until Oct. 11 and during that time the cost to register for each team jumps $20.
Associated Students Inc., which operates Recreational Sports and the Bronco Fitness Center, has combined the two to together to create Campus Recreation or Campus Rec for short.
The implementation of the partnership will take place throughout this academic year. Campus Rec will broaden fitness outreach by including special events like team tournaments, gaming tournaments, individual competitions and more.
Over the past three years, Recreational Sports and Bronco Fitness Center have grown tremendously in participation and quality. Some recent milestones include an increase of 48 new intramural teams, the first off-campus bowling tournament consisting of 56 people, increased memberships and group activities, and participation in every sport.
For more information visit: https://www.asi.cpp.edu/