Intramural sports: offering competitive fun

UTRGV students and University Recreation membership holders can compete against each other in the remaining intramural sports events of the fall semester on both the Edinburg and Brownsville campuses.

Arturo Cabrera, UTRGV coordinator for Competitive Sports and Camps, said intramural sports helps participants relieve tension and take a break while engaging in friendly competitions.

“It benefits them just to release some steam, get out there, break the monotony of books, books, work, books, books, books,” Cabrera said. “So, they go out and have a little fun.”

The Edinburg intramurals will feature basketball, softball, volleyball, kickball, tennis and ultimate frisbee events.

Deadline to register for the 5v5 basketball and softball league is 10 p.m. Thursday. Both intramural leagues will run from Oct. 30 through Nov. 16.

A 6v6 volleyball season will take place from Oct. 30 through Nov. 30. Deadline to register is 11:59 p.m. Thursday.

A $20 fee per team is required to sign up for the basketball, softball and volleyball leagues.

The deadlines to register for the Edinburg one-day tournaments are as follows:

–kickball, 10 p.m. Oct. 31

–tennis singles, 10 p.m. Nov. 6

–ultimate frisbee, 10 p.m. Nov. 13

The tournaments for each event take place the day after registration closes.

On the Brownsville campus, the deadline for 6v6 volleyball is Wednesday. The season takes place Nov. 1 through Nov. 17.

Deadline to register for the 4v4 indoor soccer tournament is Friday and Nov. 3 for the dodgeball tournament. The indoor soccer tournament will take place at 2 p.m. Nov. 3 and the dodgeball tournament at 2 p.m. Nov. 10. 

The Brownsville intramural sports teams are organized by men’s, women’s and coed leagues.

Elijah Reyna, who graduated with a kinesiology degree, is a former intramural sports champion and team captain. Reyna said he encourages those interested in joining a team to sign up as free agents and stay active.

“Some people … get bored and [have] nothing to do and they just stay in … and, you know, this is a chance to get out … to have fun, experience it, you know, have some laughs,” he said. “If you’re having a little trouble with social skills, I mean, [the] best thing to do is probably go to intramurals and you’ll start talking to people.”

Reyna and his flag football intramural team forged ahead to a national intramural sports tournament in 2018 in Florida.

After six years of participation, he advises intramural sports athletes to find scrimmage opportunities both on and off campus to advance past the university’s tournaments.

Integrated health science sophomore Sarahi Rodriguez is the captain of the “Kawhi Me a River” intramural basketball team. Rodriguez said competing in intramural sports has allowed her to connect with more people through the friendly competitions.

“I know, on the court, we pretend like we’re all rivals and we have bad blood between each other …  like, ‘Yeah, I’m going to beat you,’” she said. “But then off the court, it’s like, ‘Hey, good game’ [or] … ‘I really liked the move you did.’ … I think afterwards, it’s like a good experience for everybody just because when the whole season’s over, they’re like, ‘Let’s be on the same team’ or ‘Let’s be on the opposite team’ and so on.”

To register for intramurals on the Brownsville campus, visit IMLeagues.com and search for the network “Texas Southmost College.”

For the intramural leagues on the Edinburg campus, search for the network “University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley” in IMLeagues.com.

Those who wish to participate but do not have a team can be picked up by other teams as “free agents.” To register as a free agent, visit the IMLeagues website.

For more information regarding the intramural sports seasons, visit utrgv.edu/urec.