Intramural sports offer great opportunities for students and faculty alike to play sports and exercise, both for fun or in a more competitive manner. Some people are in it to win, and others primarily hope to spend time with friends while doing something fun.
This spring, there are 536 participants in intramurals at PLNU, including sports such as tennis, volleyball, basketball and soccer, as well as additional activities like yoga, strength and conditioning and circuit training.
This is very similar to the number of participants from the fall semester, where approximately 550 students took part in intramurals.
The most popular sports this spring were soccer and basketball. Co-ed soccer has 12 teams and 210 athletes registered with basketball right behind with 191 people involved in it. Basketball has both a B-League, which is all males, and a C-League, which is a co-ed league.
Not only do students partake in the sports, but faculty members also have the opportunity to play with each other and against students.
Alisa Ward, Director of Intramurals, loves being able to play with her fellow staff friends and against students, some of whom she had in classes.
“I enjoy getting to know them outside the classroom, and they enjoy razzing me as the ‘old lady’ on the field,” Ward said. “It is a great way for our RDs, professors, athletic trainers, and even those in admissions and the business side of Loma to get to know the students as well as for the students to see that our job is much more than just going to work and going home.”
Students play for fun, but the competition is also fierce among students. The playoffs are fast approaching in many of the leagues, and bragging rights are on the line. Students also compete for the coveted intramural champions T-shirts that are awarded to the winners in each league.
Kyler Wisenor, freshman, is playing intramural tennis this semester, and he hopes to win a T-shirt.
“I am playing intramural tennis because it is the easiest sport to with the coveted championship T-shirt in,” Wisenor said.
Another student that seeks to win games in his sport is sophomore Joshua Babikian, who plays soccer on the team Dabbing Ballers and Dakota. He plays on a team with a bunch of his friends, and they play games primarily on Sunday afternoons. Babikian is also a competitive guy, seeking to win and dominate other teams.
“I started playing because of the peer pressure from my friends,” Babikian said. “I base my self-worth around whether or not I can own people, so intramural sports are the place for me,” Babikian jokingly quipped, but the sentiment does reflect his desire to win.
Though these two individuals seek the competition that intramural sports provide, many of the students participate in intramurals for the pure enjoyment of hanging out with friends, as well as making new friends, and getting a little exercise on top of it.
If you have the time, consider finding a sport or activity that you enjoy doing, and join the PLNU intramural program next year. Intramurals are a huge part of the campus life for many people at PLNU, with some students coming out to watch others play and cheer them on.
“Our students are so talented and involved in so many amazing ministries, and intramurals is one way I am able to learn more about who they are as people,” Ward said.
Luke Mallery 
Cade Michaelson