About eighty percent of Ottawa’s students on campus are athletes, making up the majority of OU’s student body. When athletes aren’t in season, they can play other sports, which non-athletes can participate in as well.
Intramural sports have been around for some time, serving as a way students can stay active. These sports include football, basketball, kickball, dodge ball and volleyball, among others. The last intramural sport of the school year is sand volleyball, in which students have the opportunity to play in the sand pit located between Martin Hall and the University Chapel. In playing sand volleyball students can engage their time playing volleyball as a hobby, new experience or because their interested.
“It’s a great way to meet new people,” freshman Megan Gillespie said.
Student Body President Jason Beers has been the overseer of all intramurals this school year. He regulates the sports with rules for different teams chosen individually by the students. Once all the teams are set, games are sometimes played in a tournament or round robin format, giving teams a chance to compete against the rest of the competition field.
“Doing this job is a great way for student workers who need money,” Beers said. “But (Wednesday) was our first day having sand volleyball and it will continue (Thursday) and Friday.”
Beers said the sand volleyball season will be limited this year because of the semester’s end.
“This intramural sport will only be short sessions because of finals, but it gives students a break and something fun to do,” he said. “As of now there are four different teams.”
In addition to intramural sand volleyball, Martin Hall residents organized a volleyball game at the sand pit for anyone to come and play. This game was different for students because of the time of day it was held. The game was at 10 p.m., with no light to provide visibility.
“This was a two hour RA program that Jacqueline and I came up with,” said senior Patricia Lane. “It was just a one-time thing to give students the opportunity to do something, so we didn’t keep score or anything like that.”
“This volleyball thing had nothing to do with intramural it was just for fun that Martin Hall put on for the dorms,” sophomore Jacqueline Robinson said.