Intramurals, light-hearted sporting events that serve as a source of excitement and physical activity for Geneseo students and faculty, must be conducted a little differently this year. It’s no secret that sports have troubles organizing safely under COVID-19 regulations, particularly due to the close proximity of players during popular sports such as basketball and football. Fortunately for intramural participants, their safety and ability to play remain the top priorities of intramural and recreation director Brooks Hawley.
Typically, intramurals for the fall include flag football, soccer and other sports that require players to bunch closely together. Hawley immediately understood that the protocols and sports planned would have to change.
“We decided that we can still do intramurals, but a different kind of intramurals, like socially distant intramurals,” Hawley said. “We chose five sports for early fall. We did tennis, disc golf, Kanjam, softball and kickball. All those were outdoor sports except for Kanjam, which we did in the ice rink.”
Though these sports allowed for significantly more distance between players, Hawley ensured that further safety measures were in place to protect participants.
“Everyone at every time needs to wear a mask. It doesn't matter if you're outdoors or indoors,” Hawley said. “When everyone on the team shows up, they have to have their hands sanitized so we know that they’re clean. We clean all of the equipment before they get there, after every game and at the end of every night. We made sure everybody was safe while they participated in intramurals.”
Each series lasts for five weeks. For the first four weeks, each team plays between two and three games per week. If you have a record over 500 by the end of those weeks, you qualify to play in the fifth week, which contains a single-elimination tournament. If you win that, you win an intramural championship T-shirt.
Hawley was pleased by the success of the safety measures in place during these first weeks.
“Everything went off smoothly and everybody had a good time,” Hawley said. “People are able to meet new people and hang out with their friends and get some physical activity and benefits for their mental health as well, to get out of their residence halls and their apartments. It’s just something fun and safe to do for the community.”
The second part of the fall intramural season began this week. Adjustments had to be made to cut the season short due to Geneseo’s decision to cancel in-person classes after Thanksgiving break.
“The sports that I came up with this time are all indoors because, as we know, with SUNY Geneseo you never know what the weather is going to be like,” Hawley said. “The Kuhl Gym is closed this semester, so I wasn't able to use that, but I use it heavily normally so I had to think outside the box to see where and what I could offer this time.”
This second half of the intramural season features the intramurals Kanjam, ping pong, racquetball, giant Jenga and spike ball. Hawley has done his best to place each indoor sport in a safe area with limited foot traffic.
“I'm doing Kanjam again in the ice rink, but I can't have it in the rink itself because there's actually ice on it now, so we play off to the side where the blowers and the chillers are,” Hawley said. “Ping pong I offer in the Union, right outside of the college ballroom. There's a little area like that where people aren’t walking close to. And then I have racquetball, giant Jenga and spike ball all in the racquetball courts over in Schrader.”
As far as the future goes, Hawley will make flexible plans that he will be able to change based on shifting pandemic-related circumstances.
“I'm not sure what I'm going to be able to offer in the spring because things could change by then,” Hawley said. “Kuhl Gym will actually be open [and] the floor will be completely done, so I'm looking forward to using that. In the past we've had such things as broomball, dodgeball and basketball. I’m not sure if I'm going to be able to offer those kinds of things, but over break I will be planning activities that students and faculty can participate in instead. I just want them to have a good time. I want to make sure that there's things available for them to do, no matter if it's a two-person team or 15-person team.”
Hawley is clearly working hard to ensure intramural participants an incredible experience despite a negative global situation.
“I'm just glad that the school is allowing me to offer intramurals,” Hawley said. “It gives students something to do physically and mentally, and I’m just happy that they were able to offer things to students that they can enjoy throughout this semester. I'm hoping that next semester is just as successful, and that people sign up and have a good time.”