Members of Phi Slamma Jamma at one of their weekly games in March 2020 at the RPAC. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Joe Petrill | Lantern File Photo
Becoming the next pickleball champion just got easier and cheaper than ever.
That goes for any intramural sport that strikes your fancy, whether it be sand volleyball, flag football, badminton — or even trivia. The new play pass creates more opportunities for students to get involved in recreational sports with a smaller time commitment and better prices.
“We want you to be able to play in those ways that already existed, but also, if you don’t know as many people on campus that are interested in the sport, or if you’re just not interested in that long of a time commitment, we still want you to feel like you have a place in our program,” Dom Dunn, assistant director for competitive sports, said.
Since 2013, Ohio State has held one of the longest-running intramural sports programs in the nation. There have been various additions and changes, but the system left behind this year has been around for more than three decades.
Dunn said in years past, intramurals were very team-structured. An individual would have to gather a group of friends to sign up to play, and whoever was deemed captain would carry the financial burden of $65-85 per team and then hope their friends would pay them back.
Marci Shumaker, senior associate director of recreational sports, said teams would typically play once a week over a six- to seven-week period. Over her 26 years at Ohio State, Shumaker said this was one of the biggest factors keeping people away from participating in intramurals, therefore drop-in play was created.
“A commitment to a full season, for some people, was a lot,” Shumaker said. “This offers an opportunity for us to have more drop-in play and more short commitments for people who don’t want to commit to a full season of a sport or want to try something they’ve never played before.”
For drop-in play, all a student needs to do is purchase a play pass and show up.
Play passes cost $25 for a semester, $45 with ice hockey included and $5 for a daily pass that is good for a one-time team event.
With each of these passes, students can show up to any event on the intramural schedule without pre-registering. This is beneficial for those wanting to learn a new sport, make friends or simply break a sweat.
Students can choose from more than seven drop-in sports, including sand volleyball, outdoor soccer, flag football, pickleball, badminton, trivia and basketball, Dunn said. All of these are coed and take place across the recreational facilities on campus and the Ohio State Ice Rink.
In addition, all of the equipment and attire is provided with the play passes.
“You should just be able to show up with what you have on currently and be able to play,” Dunn said. “Either we provide the equipment as an intramural sports program, or there’s also equipment that’s available for checkout at our facilities.”
Another change this year is the option of instructional clinics.
These clinics teach the basics and fundamentals of a given sport. However, it is still a work in progress as only flag football and pickleball lessons are currently offered.
“We haven’t had a good pathway to offering before,” Shumaker said. “More of a, ‘Here, we’ll teach you how to play the sport, and then we’ll have a small tournament or drop-in night where you can play and refine your skills.’”
Students can purchase play passes, create teams and sign up for events on IMLeagues by signing in with their Ohio State credentials.
Shumaker said they are at a higher registration than years past for this point in the school year, she anticipates there to be a continued strong response.
“It’s something we’ve offered consistently since rec sports started at Ohio State, so it’s exciting to see it get to take on this next form and allow more people the opportunity to play,” Shumaker said.
For more information, visit Ohio State’s recreational sports page.
