Season Wrap Up
A semester feels like an eternity at this stage in life. Of course, the first day of class feels like it happened yesterday, too. That’s the life we embrace as college students.
Not as an athlete. Intramurals is always different.
A painful loss stands out in the memory bank. So does an epic win. It’s something that sticks, at least until it can be written-over next season. For instance, I can picture losing in the first round of the flag football playoffs by one; the opposition scored a touchdown with 13 seconds left to tie and split our safeties for the clinching point.
Let’s take a look at what happened this season.
There was a saga regarding the status of the intramural fields; they’ve been slowly falling apart, and when it rains, there’s almost no hope of playing. When Bert Rosenberger, director of intramurals and recreation, first spoke of the possibility that the Student Government Association was checking into backing a plan to renovate some of the fields, the hope in his voice was evident.
GCSU is hosting the state softball tournament this year, but the condition of the fields made the choice clear: It will be held at Walter B. Williams Park, not on the fields at West Campus. Rosenberger was hopeful that wouldn’t happen again.
SGA took steps to give the fields new life, and the result is a $20,000 allocation that will give new dirt to the infields, and allow it to be laser-graded for perfection. In other words, when softball season starts, the sandy puddles will be a memory, replaced by a smooth playing surface. The latest update is that everything is on schedule and developers have been seen taking measurements of the fields.
“This year has gone very well so far,” assistant program director Chris Russell said. “Our information was switched to a new system (imleagues.com), and it’s starting to become everything we had hoped in terms of information. In addition, the new playoff system has received positive feedback, and we’re thrilled to have the field renovations that will occur over the winter break.”
Flag football brought the first big change in intramural policy: A new playoff system that allowed everyone to have a shot at the championship, provided their sportsmanship rating was high enough. This created a two-week-long story wrought with upsets and more drama than a high school prom.
In Men’s B-league action, three lower-seeded teams scored an upset in the first round, but five other games were decided by seven points or less. Other leagues saw similar results; much like the NCAA basketball tournament, the first-round excitement was lively and full of drama, while the favorites still made their way to titles in hard-fought battles.
Those who saw championship games were treated to free T-shirts and hot dogs, with games on the soccer fields and bleachers for seating. On the field or the sidelines, the experience was taken up a notch this season.
For Ultimate Frisbee and soccer season, the biggest obstacle was the weather, which constantly kept field conditions … well, entertaining … and teams on their toes keeping up with forced re-schedulings.
For soccer fans, the season got off to a rough start, as a snafu with the company that ships soccer equipment caused plenty of 0-0 ties in the first couple of nights, thanks to smaller-than-normal goals. However, the decision was quickly made to go back to the old ones, and the expected rise in scoring came with the change.
“Next semester, we have a few new ideas for basketball season, and it’ll be fun to see how the new infields we have play out for intramural softball,” Russell said. “So far, it’s been a great year, and we’re excited to see what the new year brings us.”
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Dec 4 2009. Filed under Sports.
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