By Bessie King

Northeastern’s intramural sports program began in the 1960s, offering students of all skill levels the chance to form teams and play a variety of sports, ranging from indoor soccer to broomball, in a competitive, tournament style, according to Beth Griffith, assistant director of campus recreation.

“Intramural sports offerings are for enrolled students, all competition is between Northeastern students and teams do not practice beforehand – they just show up,” Griffith said.

Each semester the sports offerings and deadlines vary, although they usually fall at the beginning of the semester. On average, campus recreation offers more than 10 different sports per semester.

Unlike most competitive teams, intramurals generally do not practice and only show up to games. When a team tries to practice, they cannot find available on-campus facilities, said Robert Mandeville, a middler finance major who plays indoor soccer with the Back Bay Bombers.

The teams resort to finding public fields around Boston, like Carter Field or the fields at Boston Common, in order to practice, Mandeville said.

Friends and exercise, not competition, are the main reasons Mandeville participates in the league.

“I enjoy the game, like to get the exercise and also really enjoy the group of students I play with,” Mandeville said. “They offer many different sports, and have teams for various skill levels. It is a great way to meet new people that have similar interests as you.”

However, intramurals can be intense at times, too, said Kevin Roche, a middler computer science and mathematics double major who plays for the Bombers also.

“For the most part, people actually do care about winning, but when push comes to shove and people get hurt or knocked over, the competitors are generally very sportsmanlike about it,” Roche said. “But yes, I’ve seen some blood. The track surface is unforgiving if you take a spill, and I’ve also seen several shots to the nose.”

Violent behavior, or “unsportsmanlike conduct,” can merit a player’s ejection or suspension. According to the intramural sports handbook, unsportsmanlike conduct includes any fighting, pushing, taunting of the opponent, dissent toward an official, mistreating of facilities or other acts. The director of intramural sports has the final say on all such conduct.

The handbook states participation in programs is strictly voluntary, and participants accept responsibility for their own health and safety. To avoid possible injuries, campus recreation supplies the necessary equipment, like helmets, as well as specific sports needs such as balls, jerseys and sticks.

Teams can earn points by winning or being runners-up in games. The team with the most points wins the championship. A team may lose points by showing unsportsmanlike conduct, getting penalties and faults or having team members ejected from a game.

“Some teams have no spirit, but those are always the ones that lose. Some teams actually bring fans and cheerleaders of sorts,” Roche said. “Some teams take the championships seriously, and are usually the ones to win. We actually had a pasta party the night before the big game last spring.”

However, not all students are aware of intramural opportunities and, in particular, Griffith said campus recreation would like to attract more female involvement.

“I do not think that the program is advertised well. In order to participate it takes initiative on behalf of the students. If the office wants to make the program more appealing to students then they should advertise it more,” Mandeville said.

Other concerns cited include a lack of sufficient facilities.

“It would be great if [the university] could build a complex specifically for intramural sports,” Mandeville said. “It would be up to date and include a few fields to be used by all the intramural athletes. A facility such as this would promote well-being on campus, and encourage more students to participate.”

The possibility for new facilities depends on the university’s plans for growth, but the program itself has plans for the future, Griffith said.

“We increased our marketing this year and plan to do even more next semester … There’s a wait list for every sport and participation has increased, [and] we are in the process of adding sports and special events,” Griffith said.

Overall, the program is stable, Griffith said. She encourages others to join teams, which she called a great way to release stress and meet new people. Participants support her claim.

“I heard about [intramural sports] from a friend … and I played volleyball last year. I loved it … Anybody should do it at least once during their college lives,” said Samantha Sang, a middler sociology major.

For more information about intramural sports visit the Office of Campus Recreation’s Web site at www.campusrec.neu.edu or call (617) 373-4433.