New system brings changes to payment, registration
By Meredith Sell, Staff Writer
Wings and floors are meeting a new system in campus intramurals this fall. Director for Campus Recreation Logan Denney and his student staff are working to build student involvement in recreational sports.
"We want people to really love this program," Denney said.
Campus Recreation has a lot in the works for this year - a spring racing series, week-long tournaments and possibly indoor soccer - but all students have seen so far are a new website, new registration system, raised fees and a cap on team membership.
"Our goal was not to make it difficult for the students," Denney said. "If anything, we're trying to find the best process."
The new registration process is a two-tier system. First, captains set up their teams. There they create a roster and a team name. Then, captains fill out a physical team entry form, which every team member must sign.
A maximum of 15 players are allowed on each team. The cost per team is $100, and the captain is responsible to collect and turn in funds to Campus Recreation.
This new system was developed in response to student feedback from last year. The previous registration system required students to register with their specific team online and pay with a debit or credit card.
"A lot of students started complaining about having to use their credit cards," Denney said.
The previous website was run by an outside company and was difficult to keep up-to-date. The new site is run within Taylor, a project spearheaded by Professor Tom Nurkkala, and kept current with game times, results and team standings.
The goal for the roster limits wasn't to keep people from playing, but to gain more teams and prevent forfeits by attracting dedicated players.
If a floor has a lot of interested students, it can make multiple teams, and everyone can play more.
"If we have more teams, that means we have more variety in who you're playing, rather than playing the same teams over and over again," Denney said.
First West Wengatz was represented by two teams - PDUB and Star Command - in flag football.
Junior intramural referee Beth Fisher said registration for women's flag football was low compared to previous years: Only four teams in a league that usually has 10.
Referee training has also changed. Previously, referees were hired per sport and were given little direction in officiating. This fall, all referees were hired at the beginning of the semester and will officiate every sport from now until December.
Master Official Senior Nick Bronkema is the referee supervisor. In a one-night training session, he helps them understand the rules, and from then on, he makes sure they referee effectively.
"We just break it down," Bronkema said. "We go through the rule book step-by-step, and we answer questions as we go."
The referees meet every afternoon before the start of intramural games. Questions or problems are brought up and discussed, the schedule is clarified, equipment is prepared and the referees pray together.
"We're slowly growing together as a close-knit group," Bronkema said.
