Wednesday July 13, 2022 | SAANICH, BC
Insights by Molly Pearce | Island Social Trends
Intramural sports are on at the University of Victoria this summer, something that has volleyball-keen students like myself outside and active in the sunshine. Recreational sports leagues run not only during the academic year, but all throughout the summer from May to August through the school’s well-established intramurals program—and you don’t have to be a student to take part.
I have participated in the intramural sand volleyball league since the start of June and my experience has been nothing but positive. Players in the league vary in skill level, but most have some previous experience. The skill level of each player ranges from those who have experience in a competitive volleyball league, to those struggling to remember their serving techniques from high school teams, to those who have perhaps only played at the beach with friends.
Sand volleyball seems to be a particularly popular intramural for the summer term. Intramural sports are open to anyone regardless of their status as a UVic student, which means that many students like myself who attend schools outside of Victoria are able to participate. The league is a great way for these students to connect with friends from home during the summer. UVic students and non-UVic students pay the same price to participate in intramurals.
Summer intramural leagues are categorized as “Open” or “Co-Rec” depending on the gender requirement for the composition of each team. In a co-ed team, there is a maximum number of players who can self-identify as male. UVic has an inclusivity statement for the open leagues that further defines the gender restrictions which reads, “This category welcomes individuals of all genders (men, women, two-spirit, trans, non-binary) to participate.
However, teams must adhere to a maximum number of self-identified men.” As for the gender ratio of an open cohort of players, a typical open sand volleyball team will have two women and four men. That means that a typical team will have four players on the court and two substitute players.
Teams meet once a week, usually in the evenings to accommodate for those with summer classes or work schedules during the day. For summer intramurals, there are eight games total where the first six are round-robin games and the last two games are playoffs. In a typical league, all teams will qualify for playoffs and therefore play all eight games.
Badminton, basketball and more:
UVic offers badminton, basketball, ice hockey, pickleball, soccer, softball, and volleyball at fields and courts on their campus from May 2 to August 31. The intramurals are open to anyone of any age. A season of eight games can range anywhere between $15 for a sport like basketball, to $30 for a sport like ice hockey, where rental time on the ice is a little more costly.
And beyond UVic:
Other post-secondary schools on the island run intramural leagues, but most are not available during the summer term. Vancouver Island University (VIU) in Nanaimo and Camosun College in Saanich are two schools which only run intramural leagues throughout the fall and winter semesters. As intramurals are great way to get active at any time of year, these schools may soon follow UVic’s lead in offering recreational sports leagues throughout the summer.
===== ABOUT THE WRITER:
Molly Pearce is a summer student writer with Island Social Trends. She is heading back to McGill University this fall, for her fourth year to complete her B.A. in English literature.
This past winter, Ms Pearce was an exchange student for a semester at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
Molly also worked for Island Social Trends last summer, as a reporter. This summer she is also the assistant editor, taking on more decisions about content, direction and presentation.