Frisbees and shuttercocks flinged across campus

Rebecca Jordan
News Editor

There are opportunities on campus available for students to participate in intramural sports and games, but many interested students have trouble finding time in between their studies.
According to Justin Hoyt, assistant director of athletics, intramural sports are available due to the collaboration of the Student Activities office and the Athletic Department.
“We really offer intramurals to give students the full college experience,” Hoyt said.
On the Athletic Department’s side of the coin, students are allowed access to the gym for an open basketball time on Mondays from 2 to 4 p.m. The gym is divided into three courts, one of which is set up with timers so students can keep track during their games.
“That timeslot on Mondays is an opportunity for the students to use their athletic abilities in the gym because sometimes they don’t have the time to play a varsity sport like they did in high school, but they still want to stay active,” said Hoyt.
The open gym time doesn’t have to be reserved strictly for basketball according to Hoyt. If six to 10 people are interested in reserving space for a different sport during that time, the Athletic Department is willing to work with students.
Student Activities focuses more on the variety of weekly games held in the Campus Center or library. Students have the opportunity to play badminton, participate in a Frisbee toss or long-distance putt, or show off their hula-hooping skills depending on the week. These activities are currently held in the Campus Center, but will move outside once the weather warms up.
“We just don’t really focus strictly on athletics. Maybe some people aren’t the athletic type, so we do offer a variety of activities where you don’t have to be the most athletic person,” Hoyt said.
Despite the opportunities available, finding the balance between sports and studies is difficult for many students. Neha Pai, accounting student, stated that she doesn’t participate in any intramural sports because of her classwork.
“I’m currently inclined towards my studies, and sports is an extracurricular activity, but you never know. Maybe someday,” she said.
Physical education major Matt Baxter has experienced the same problem.
“I have heard of [the intramural sports], but I just haven’t had quite the time yet, but if I do get the free opportunity to, I will try to take advantage of it at some point,” said Baxter.
The college doesn’t offer “traditional” intramural sports where teams pooled from students within the school compete against each other. According to Hoyt, the major obstacle to creating something like that is gym availability.
“That gym is used throughout the day, Monday through Friday, for physical education. When it’s not used for physical education, it’s used for athletic teams’ practices,” Hoyt said.
“I don’t know if a community college has enough people that are interested in that sort of thing because people don’t hang around as much as they would at a four-year school,” said business administration student David Hulbert about why Hudson Valley lacks these opportunities.
“So if someone wanted to organize it, I’m sure people would get on board, but I don’t think it’s a priority for people,” said Hulbert.
According to Hoyt, Student Activities and the Athletic Department are open to student ideas regarding intramurals.
“A student could have an idea, but you have to have enough people who want to kind of follow up with it so you can create the event, but we are open to suggestions from students,” he said. “If [students] want to try it, we’ll do our best.”