Students and staff at Southeast Missouri State University should expect a few rule changes and an effective mask mandate for this intramural season to avoid an outbreak of COVID-19 amongst others.

Intramural (IM) sports are recreational sports organized within a particular institution or university.

Tyler Mclemore, assistant director of programs, hopes for another successful season for all intramural sports.

“Another productive season shows me that I’m giving the students the activities that they like,” Mclemore said.

Intramural sports aren’t specified for any age group.

“Anybody who is a SEMO student, faculty and/or staff member is welcome to participate,” Mclemore said. “The only thing is if a person is on a roster for a SEMO team, they can’t play that same sport for intramurals. They are allowed to play any other [intramural] sport, though.”

The first two sports kicking off this intramural season at SEMO are softball and 4v4 soccer, which started Sept. 7.

Marvin Pewitt, a junior at SEMO, has played since his freshman year said he likes playing IM sports because it's a way to get him active while networking with others.

“I get to play a sport I love,” Pewitt said. “It’s really competitive, and we get to play for the trophy and bragging rights.”

Southeast junior Ezarion Grant said one of the benefits is the exercise and ability to make new friends while playing basketball.

“I played in high school and couldn’t play in college because of the career path I chose and busy schedule,” Grant said. “I knew that IM sports still gave me the opportunity to play basketball against others around my age and older.”

Pewitt and Grant are looking forward to a fun and unique season.

“I’ve been playing since my freshman year of college,” Pewitt said. “The first year, I started off playing flag football, and sophomore year, I played both football and basketball.”

Mclemore said scheduling for each sport is based on availability for both teams. IM sports play Sunday through Thursday from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.

“Usually, there are a lot of games running on Tuesdays and Thursdays due to students having other priorities/engagements throughout the week,” Mclemore said. “Flag football gets the biggest crowd, especially with the nice weather, and since football is a pretty popular sport in our country.”

Mclemore said the students and other team members usually have their teams already set before the season begins.

“If a SEMO student is looking to participate in an IM sport, I will reach out to the team captains and ask if they are looking for another player,” Mclemore said. “Most of the time, the team players split the amount between each player, so if you join a team, you will most likely pay a small fee.”

There are currently seven IM sports, which are 6v6 Dodgeball, 7v7 Flag Football, Table Tennis Double Elimination, 5v5 Basketball, 4v4 Sand Volleyball, 4v4 Soccer, and Softball. Mclemore encourages students interested in bringing another IM sport to Southeast to email him at tmclemore@semo.edu.