Ripon College students stay active

By Jordan Stiede

On a sunny day in October, quarterback Isaac Masters threw four touchdowns and an interception in the intramural flag football championship game. His team, the ‘72 Dolphins, had just won back to back flag football championships, but this was Masters’ first spectacular game with both offensive and defensive plays since his senior year of high school. Masters loves having the opportunity to relive his high school days when he is on the intramural flag football field.

“I enjoy playing intramurals because they give me an opportunity to kind of relive the glory days as well as still be competitive,” Masters said. “It is awesome to play a sport like football with your friends without the pressure and commitment of being a member of a varsity team.”

Approximately 65 percent of Ripon College students participate in an intramural sport. Many, like Masters, love playing sports and competing with their friends. Also, numerous students use these sports to stay in shape, and it helps them live a healthy lifestyle. Over the last few years, the intramural staff has worked extremely hard to make the intramural seasons more fun for the students.

“We have enhanced participation and included a variety of new events and sports to help get a new audience,” senior staff member Jason Strickler said. “The use of technology, specifically the Twitter account and creation of videos to preview and recap the seasons, have really made our club grow.”

In the fall, the staff added sand volleyball which was popular with the student body. Also, another new addition this year was highlight videos of the games on Twitter. Many students commented on how they enjoyed being able to watch their performances online after the game. Lastly, the Periscope app was used to stream the flag football championship game live on the Internet.

“It has been great to see the participation levels in many of our sports grow over the past few years,” senior intramural staff member Robbie Schuettpelz said. “The number of students in football and sand volleyball this fall was especially impressive.”

However, there have been some challenges for the intramural staff this year because of the renovation of Storzer. Dodgeball is usually offered in the fall, but this year, it had to be cancelled because there was not enough gym space. Also, indoor soccer is usually played in the fall, but it has been changed to spring because of the renovation.

The intramural staff has done a great job of trying not to change the sports that are played during second semester. Basketball, bowling, and volleyball will still be the main attractions.
“We know the intramural sports are a little different this year because of the renovation of Storzer,” Strickler said. “However, in the years to come, our new Storzer facility could make our intramural program one of the best in Wisconsin.”