Eastern’s Campus Recreation offers a wide range of intramural sports, more of which available again this year as social distancing rules relax.

Kevin Linker, assistant director of intramural sports, has high expectations for attendance this year.

“I just hope we’re ready,” Linker said.

To maintain social distancing, intramurals were limited to individual sports last year, but the Fall 2021 semester will see the return of in-person team sports.

A new challenge has been introduced this year, though, as most of the experienced student supervisors and sports officials graduated since the last time intramurals were fully operational.

The office is currently left with just one official and a graduate assistant.

“We are attempting to hire but having to train new officials and supervisors is a slow process when interest in this type of work is low,” Linker said.

Linker said that the lack of staff means that intramurals will be run slightly differently this year, at least at the beginning.

Flag football will be played with teams of four on a short field and basketball will be played with teams of three so that two games can run at once due to water damage on some courts in the Student Recreation Center.

The current plan is to have one single/double tournament or sport-related special event each week.

The campus recreation website includes information on the intramural sports currently offered, as well as how to register for them.

The offerings include classics like soccer and tennis, as well as sports that don’t have an intermural equivalent, like birdieball and “weird bowling.”

There are also a few options for intramural esports.

Individuals and teams can collect points for their residence halls or Greek houses which are tallied at the end of each semester.

Winners receive a trophy and a photo feature on the “wall of champions.”

Intramural fees are included in student fees, so anyone can join any sport as long as they have a Panthercard.

“We provide a safe and fun extracurricular activity that’s promotes a healthy life-style,” Linker said. “Besides, you can win a champion t-shirt!”

Eastern uses imleagues.com, a site designed for organizing and scheduling intramural sports, to keep everyone connected.

Students can log in with their student email and password to find events, keep up with announcements, and track winners in different categories.

The site also includes further information on each individual sport like prizes for winners and playoff qualifications.

Luke Taylor can be contacted at 581-2812 or at egtaylor@eiu.edu.