Winter term intramural sports season is beginning, and the cold weather and icy ground is not stopping the exciting sports.

Registration for winter term intramural sports begins on Jan. 17 according to the assistant director of the Sports Programs at OSU Joe Schaffer. Schaffer explains the process of signing up and the regulations needed to be completed to participate.

“There’s basically two different ways. If somebody has a group of friends and they want to start a team what they need to do is pick up an entry roster and fill out the roster with contact information for all the players, all the players need to sign the back as a waiver. From there we will have our registration period where people can come in and sign up for teams at that time. The registration will be open Tuesday, January 17th,” Schaffer said. “The deadline for that will be Tuesday the 24th. It is done on a first come first serve, and you sign up for your game times and if you want a particular game time it’s always best to sign early and not wait for the deadline.”

Schaffer explains the procedure for anyone that does not have a group together but wants to be on a team for an intramural sport.

“Another thing you can do is if you don’t have a team is you can sign up as a ‘free agent’. They just need to attend our free agent round-up meetings. What we do is form a team with the free agents or they can come to our manager’s meetings to find them a team that way as well. Even if you don’t have a team we will place you on a team,” Schaffer said.

Anyone can play no matter what the experience level and some intramural sports have different level divisions according to Schaffer.

“We have different divisions, for A or B league, whatever might be your level of playing experience we have something for everybody. Don’t be shy about any of the sports, if it’s your first time playing basketball you know everybody is just out there to have a good time and have fun,” Schaffer said.

First year pre-dietetics/ nutrition student Galen Bizovi explains why she chose to do intramural sports.

“I have really enjoyed my experience so far. It has been positive, fun, and a great way to get to know people. I decided before I came to school that I would play a sport to help build social connection, make friends, and get exercise,” Bizovi said.

Teams have the option to practice before their games if they choose to, according to Schaffer.

“It’s up to the teams if they want to practice, we just host the games. For most of our sports they are just one hour per week and if they want to come in on their own they can come doing our drop in periods,” Schaffer said.

First year electrical and engineering student Brian Elvington explains his experiences with intramural sports.

“It was the AFROTC volleyball team, there was a signup sheet and I signed up. I had a great time. My favorite part was getting to know different people in the detachment, people who I wouldn’t normally interact with in such a relaxed setting,” Elvington said.

There are different pricings depending on the sport according to Schaffer.

“You have to pay for the regular intramural sports water polo, wiffleball, team pocket billiards, and the bowling league. Basketball, water polo and bowling are all $55 per team. Wiffleball is $50 per team and then the team pocket billiards is $25 per team,” Schaffer said.

According to Schaffer intramural sports are a great opportunity for students.

“It’s an opportunity to try something new so I would encourage anybody with a sport who thinks ‘hey I just don’t know what that is’ or ‘I have never tried it’, that it’s a perfect opportunity to try it,” Schaffer said.