MICHAEL RAWSON
SPORTS EDITOR

Tryout for the basketball team didn’t go quite as planned? Playing for a sports team on campus isn’t as hard as you thought.
Throughout the spring semester, this page will feature stories and updates on the always excellent Cal State San Marcos baseball and softball teams, golf squads, track and field athletes, and occasionally the many Cougar club sports. Of course, not everyone has the skill and strength for the official teams. For the rest of us, there’s intramurals.
Intramural sports are a nearly century-old institution. The University of Michigan was the first school to have recreation sports, and according to their website, the Ohio State University joined in and together they created the first intramural sporting events in 1913. No one knows for sure how long intramurals have existed at CSUSM—though it’s been at least since 2003, according to Campus Recreation Supervisor Saul Garcia. No records of recreational sports on campus exist before that. Despite the mystery, intramural sports at CSUSM are a tradition on campus.
Still, some students feel apprehensive about playing organized sports, but senior and intramural Veteran, Ryan Pedersen, believes recreational sports can enrich the student experience. “They bring out [a] competiveness, and it’s all around just a lot of fun,” he said.
This spring, ASI Campus Recreation will offer co-ed dodgeball, arena soccer, and disc golf, as well as men’s basketball and women’s Powder Puff football. Players can create their own teams and fill out a registration packet, which can be found at Fh119 in the Clarke, just down the stairs past the Cesar Chavez statue. If you don’t have enough for a whole team, signing up for the free agent list can make a player available to be picked up by an existing team or allow Campus Rec to put together an entirely new team.
Sign up quickly, because teams are limited to 10 each for basketball, soccer, and Powder Puff football. Dodgeball caps out at 12 teams. Disc golf players will enter individually.
Basketball and soccer play on Fridays from Feb. 11 to April 8. Sign ups are between Jan. 24 and Feb. 9. Basketball games are played at Corky Smith Gymnasium between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., soccer played at San Marcos Sunset Arena between noon and 5 p.m. Register for dodgeball between Feb. 1 and Feb. 21. Games are on Tuesdays from 5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. in the Clarke Gym. The disc golf weekend tournament is April 15 and April 16. Powder Puff football teams will compete for two weekends, April 15 – 16 and April 22 – 23. Registration for disc golf and Powder Puff football will take place between March 28 and April 13. Both are scheduled on campus.
Compared to the hundreds of dollars charged by adult leagues around the county, prices for CSUSM intramurals are dirt-cheap. Soccer teams are $50 each, registering a basketball or football team is $40, and an entire dodgeball team can be had for just $10. Disc golf players also pay $10 each.
In addition to a good time and some healthy competition, Ryan Pedersen shared an added benefit to playing intramurals. “You also get a nice farmer’s tan,” he said.