Sports can be a staple of the college experience, and it is one that UND students are no stranger to. Whether it is hockey, basketball, or any of the other sporting events, making your way to the venue of choice can be a fantastic way to spend the evening throughout the year while also showing off your school spirit. For some, though, just watching sports is not enough for them. They might be looking for more friends or maybe just need something other than a session at the wellness center to keep in shape. Any of these reasons are good ones to take a look at the sports on offer through the RecSports program through the university. 

Most people are familiar with the idea of intramural sports at a university and know them as slightly-less-than amateur sports that any student can sign up for and play against each other in university organized matches. Most universities have an intramural league of some caliber with some being better than others, which could catch some students off guard if UND phased out their old intramural program to replace it with the new RecSports program. In essence, though, the program is exactly what you would expect from an intramural program if you had never been a part of one. 

The different programs take place at various university facilities depending on the sport with each semester being comprised of two sets of tournaments, a first half and second half. Some of the sports are more common like basketball in the first half of either semester or ice hockey during the cold months of the year, but some may catch students off guard such as bowling, spikeball, or even life-sized pong. This variety of sports allows students in their early years at UND to try a new sport every semester of their college career if they chose to, or they can buckle down on one sport and strive to become the RecSport pickleball annual champion. 

While the RecSports do typically come at a fee, they can be a great escape from a normal day and something to look forward to throughout the week, and fees are typically around $15, though some sports can reach as high as $60 per player with the higher fee sports being those with specialty equipment or venues. On the flip side, there can be some sports that are free to take part in with a notable example of rock-wall bouldering, or climbing, at the Wellness Center either in teams or as an individual. Signing up is as easy as finding the RecSports page on the Wellness Center website, finding the sport you want to play, and creating or joining a team. 

At the very least if it turns out that you don’t enjoy the sport as much as you thought you would, they don’t go an entire semester, have a reasonable commitment, are inexpensive, and could allow you to meet some new people around campus. Not to mention if your team does win, you could be featured on a banner around the Wellness Center celebrating your triumph. 

Dylan Enerson is a Dakota Student General Reporter. He can be reached at [email protected].