The Rec Center is introducing new intramural sports and a new Rec Center schedule this spring semester. Fall rec sports, like soccer and football, were popular, so the Rec Center want- ed to expand on the popularity of rec sports in the spring semester.
This semester, the Rec Center is introducing badminton and Quidditch, as well as ultimate frisbee which will be offered later in the spring.
Nicholas Moon, coordinator of Campus Recreation, said that adding Badminton and Quidditch came down to three things: “opinions [he] got from those [he] spoke to on-campus during the summer, the goal of reaching more students on-campus, and knowing that the activity had some history at the school or in the area.”
Moon added Badminton after learning it had been taught as a class, but was no longer offered. Previously, it was popular with students. “We decided to offer it solely as a doubles option to start, as it reinforces the social aspect of playing with a friend or a teammate,” Moon said. Badminton will be offered as an open league, which allows any number of men and women to compete in the division, and a co-rec league, which is comprised of a specific male to female ratio.
The people of Chestertown hold Quidditch close to their hearts. When Moon first moved to Chestertown, he learned about the annual Harry Potter Festival, which includes Quidditich matches in the festivities. It is very popular among students, and Moon wanted to make sure that students who normally do not go out for other sports had the opportunity to play a sport they are interested in.
Quidditch is a cross between handball and dodgeball. Players carry around broomsticks in reference to the sport as it is played in the “Harry Potter” series.
“By offering these sports, its gives us the opportunity to reach students on campus who in the past might not have had any interest in play Intramurals otherwise,” Moon said. “The goal for all of our new sports is for them to become popular with all of our participants, and that they become sports that are highly-anticipated year after year.”
The team signup deadlines for badminton and Quidditch are on Feb. 9 at 4 p.m., but in- dividuals who are not signing up with a team can sign up at any time throughout the season. Signups can be found on IMLeagues.com/washcoll. Other sports and their signups will be coming out soon.
The course offerings at the Rec Center saw few to no changes. There will still be 14 different classes offered throughout the week.
Through all of this, the Rec Center is keeping the same goals. “In the short-term future, the plan will be to increase opportunities for the campus community to get involved in programs we already have. While I believe there is always room for improvement, the long-term goal for the Campus Rec Office is to ensure we have an offering for everyone that they both want to participate in and be a part of. In working with the rest of the campus community, I’m certain we can work together to achieve that goal,” Moon said.