Intramural Sports in Full Swing at UMD

Classes are back in session at the University of Maryland (UMD) and that means the beginning of fall intramural sports has begun for students and faculty. While UMD is known for its intercollegiate Division-I sports, many more students participate in intramurals.

"We have thousands of participants each year," said Mary Kate Sullivan, Coordinator of Intramural Sports and Camps. "We are always filled to capacity for our team sports. Flag football, basketball and soccer are the most popular." 

Three-on-three basketball, six-on-six soccer and tennis have already begun, and there are multiple divisions of each. For basketball, there are two levels of play for the fraternity and men's divisions (an A division and a B division) and one level for the graduate students, faculty, staff and women's divisions. The regular season is two weeks long, with two games per night followed by a single elimination tournament. 



For intramural soccer, the divisions are split the same way as they are for basketball. The soccer season runs for three weeks with just one game per team per night.  

Ali Goldberg, a senior, plays basketball and soccer. She participates on co-ed and women's teams.

"I always played sports growing up. I like to be active," she said. "Playing intramurals is a lot more fun than going to the gym."

Kelly O'Neil, a senior, also plays on a women's soccer team. The team however, is actually comprised of the same girls who make up O'Neill's ultimate frisbee team, which she says is good for building camaraderie among the girls. 

"I've been playing intramurals since I was a freshmen. Tt's a great way to stay active and it's also good for team bonding," she said.

Tennis is set-up a bit differently from the rest of the fall intramural sports. The season consists of several four-day tournaments. Starting next week, there will be co-ed doubles and singles tournaments as well as doubles tournaments for fraternities, men and women. 



Co-ed ultimate frisbee will begin the last week of September and will feature a tournament stretched over two weekends.

The rest of the fall intramural lineup, spanning October and November, will include badminton, a three-week volleyball season, flag football and finally the season-ending inner-tube water polo tournament. 

Games and matches of all intramural sports take place Monday through Thursday evenings from 6 p.m. until 1 a.m. and on Sundays from noon until midnight. All of the action is complimentary to students and faculty who choose to take part.

"Participating in intramurals is technically free of charge for students," Sullivan said. "They are funded through the student activities fee which is a mandatory fee for all students that covers things such as tickets to sporting events and the cost of using the rec center. It is included in each person's tuition bill, but there is no additional charge for playing an intramural sport."

Students can participate in any of the sports as a player or referee. For students interested in refereeing, the intramural department offers periodic training sessions for the upcoming seasons.  

For more information about intramural sports at UMD, and to see schedules of the upcoming events, visit http://www.crs.umd.edu/cms/Intramurals.aspx.

To keep up with local sports, visit www.twitter.com/patchsportsmd.