Written by: Alexis Dewey
More students than ever have been participating in Southern Adventist University’s intramural program over the past few years, according to Troy Walker, associate professor in the School of Health and Kinesiology and director of intramurals.
“[The program has] been steadily increasing over the last few years, including [during] COVID,” Walker said in an interview with the Accent.
At Southern, students can participate in intramurals throughout both semesters to play a variety of sports, including softball, volleyball, basketball, pickleball and more. Walker said he found it strange that even during COVID-19, when participants had to play basketball with masks on, the students set a record in participation that year as well.
“They came out in droves to play basketball in masks with weird rules,” Walker said. “But it was so important to have that social atmosphere in that dire time of need; this was the perfect outlet.”
Another thing that surprised Walker and his team is the number of participants in each class division. Typically, according to Walker’s statistics, the sophomore and junior classes have the most participants in intramurals. However, in the fall and winter semesters of this school year, the freshman class has supplied the most players, according to Walker. He said this is new and a bit unusual, as he doesn’t recall ever seeing the freshman class with the most participation.
The most popular sport this year, in regard to the number of students participating, was volleyball. This year, there were 96 volleyball teams and 701 participants total. Students could play on two teams (both their gender’s team and a co-ed team), but 701 signifies each player participating with no repeats for those on multiple teams. The second highest year was 2020 with 518 participants, according to Walker.
“Female participants in sports has always been lower, and it’s been a struggle,” said Walker.
However, Walker said within the last year or two the number of female participants has also increased, “so, that’s just a good thing to see.”
Walker and his team are aware that intramurals keep expanding every year. When asked if he thinks there will ever be a point when they have to limit the number of participants in intramurals, Walker said the school doesn’t ever plan on capping the number of students playing.
“The whole point is to participate,” Walker said.
He added that he cannot take credit for the growth in participation.
“It has nothing to do with me. It has a lot to do with my workers,” said Walker. “Any good intramurals program is a student-reffed program.”
