{"id":48813,"date":"2023-09-19T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-19T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/?p=48813"},"modified":"2023-09-18T12:47:55","modified_gmt":"2023-09-18T16:47:55","slug":"why-you-should-join-an-intramural-sport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2023\/09\/19\/why-you-should-join-an-intramural-sport\/","title":{"rendered":"Why You Should Join an Intramural Sport"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>If there\u2019s one activity I would recommend joining during university, I would 100% recommend playing intramural sports. I\u2019ve been involved with <a href=\"https:\/\/kpe.utoronto.ca\/sport-recreationcompetitive-sports-and-clubs\/intramurals\">U of T Intramurals<\/a> every semester (when it was running) since 2019, and I can say it has been one of the highlights of my past four years. Without further ado, here are four reasons why you should get involved in intramurals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. All skill levels are welcome<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether you\u2019re an avid athlete or have never kicked a soccer ball, there are multiple divisions and a variety of sports available to help fit your needs. I joined an ultimate frisbee Div 3 team to try out a new sport, and despite only knowing frisbee as a backyard activity, I learned that it can be an intense, sweaty sport that gets you running. It\u2019s like football but with a frisbee! On the other hand, I\u2019ve played soccer for as long as I can remember, so I played on the <a href=\"https:\/\/kpe.utoronto.ca\/sport-recreationcompetitive-sports-and-clubs\/tri-campus-league\">Tri-Campus League<\/a> soccer team, captained the Vic Womens Soccer Team, and played on the Vic Mixed Soccer Team. From badminton to dodgeball, flag football, volleyball and more, there\u2019s a sport for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2023\/09\/IMG_2910-768x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"Jessica holding a Intramural Champions Cups\" class=\"wp-image-48817\" width=\"290\" height=\"386\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2023\/09\/IMG_2910-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2023\/09\/IMG_2910-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2023\/09\/IMG_2910-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2023\/09\/IMG_2910.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 290px) 100vw, 290px\" \/><figcaption>Winning the Winter 2023 finals with<br>Vic Mixed Soccer<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. The welcoming community<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I believe the best way to meet people and, more importantly, stay in touch with them, is to place yourself in situations where you\u2019ll routinely see them. This could be in class, residence, a caf\u00e9, a club, and in this case, your weekly intramural games. I loved how supportive my teams were \u2014 we\u2019re each other\u2019s biggest fans, and when someone falls down, they were there to pick them back up. Seeing my teammates once a week was an instant mood-booster, especially in the midst of midterms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"616\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2023\/09\/IMG_2777-1-1024x616.jpg\" alt=\"Jessica's soccer team putting their hands in to cheer. \" class=\"wp-image-48824\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2023\/09\/IMG_2777-1-1024x616.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2023\/09\/IMG_2777-1-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2023\/09\/IMG_2777-1-768x462.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2023\/09\/IMG_2777-1-1536x924.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2023\/09\/IMG_2777-1-2048x1232.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Boost mental &amp; physical health<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking of mood-boosting, playing sports is a great way to get active and take a break from academics. On the field, I forget about that paper due next week, or what work needs to get done. Personally, I\u2019d rather play soccer than go to the gym because it feels more like a game, I can socialize, and I'm not actively thinking about running vs. intentionally going on a run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2023\/09\/IMG_2645-768x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"Soccer players on an indoor Varsity field\" class=\"wp-image-48822\" width=\"293\" height=\"390\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2023\/09\/IMG_2645-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2023\/09\/IMG_2645-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2023\/09\/IMG_2645-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/files\/2023\/09\/IMG_2645.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 293px) 100vw, 293px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Skill-building<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Lastly, it may sound like a stretch, but I attribute a lot of my professional skills to intramurals and sports. Beyond developing my ultimate frisbee skills, playing team sports helped build my teamwork as we learned to work to each other\u2019s strengths and depend on each other. Then, captaining soccer helped boost my confidence and leadership skills as I provided guidance to beginner athletes and learned to manage and coordinate large groups. These skills are certainly useful when leading student groups, and will come in handy for my future teaching career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sign-up for intramurals have just closed, so if you've signed up through your College\/Faculty, keep an eye out for further communication from your captain(s). The Fall season sports begin late September\/early October!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2013 Jess<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-summary\">\n<div class=\"entry-summary\">\nIf there\u2019s one activity I would recommend joining during university, I would 100% recommend playing intramural sports. I\u2019ve been involved with U of T Intramurals every semester (when it was running) since 2019, and I can say it has been&hellip;\n<\/div><div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2023\/09\/19\/why-you-should-join-an-intramural-sport\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Why You Should Join an Intramural Sport&rdquo;<\/span>&hellip;<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/2023\/09\/19\/why-you-should-join-an-intramural-sport\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Why You Should Join an Intramural Sport&rdquo;<\/span>&hellip;<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"author":447,"featured_media":48818,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1758,7204,70,69,67],"tags":[153,25391,1387,2064,10788,1734,1384,706],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48813"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/447"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48813"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48813\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48827,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48813\/revisions\/48827"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca\/lifeatuoft\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}