Mar. 18, 2005
www.guilfordian.com
Intramurals promise fun, exercise and friendly competition
Karim Ali
Staff Writer
In the fall, sophomore Joe Joyner
plays varsity football with religious
devotion. During the off season, he
becomes a "Street Disciple." Along
with twelve other disciples, he preach
es good courtside manners to intra
mural basketball opponents.
This year the "Street Disciples"
want to make believers out of "The
Untouchables" and "The Maintenance
and Staff Crew" among others.
Unlike with football, Joyner does not
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GUILFORD COLLEGE
N.C. State graduate Michael Dixon runs
the Guilford intramural program
have to practice much to play intra
mural basketball. He does not have to
deal with training regimens, workout
routines or coaching demands. He
plays for pure fun.
"Any varsity sport is more of a job,"
said Joyner. "Intramural basketball is
just fun. It's really good to have it on
campus. Everybody who's playing it is
enjoying it."
Guilford's new intramural program
involves athletic events such as bas
ketball and dodge ball in addition to
chess and poker tournaments.
NC State graduate Michael Dixon
manages the intramural program. A
multi-disciplinary studies and philoso
phy and race major, Dixon enjoys
working with different groups of peo
ple and organizing diverse events.
"Intramural sports are opportunities
for students to connect outside of
class," said Dixon. He believes that
by attending intramural events stu
dents can engage in fun activities
without the stress and competitive
pressures involved in varsity and
even club sporting events.
"Participating in intramural events
teaches good sportsmanship and the
need to respect abilities and limita
tions of other people," said Dixon.
Many students continue to reap
these and other benefits as they par
ticipate in Dixon's activities. Recent
chess competition champion
Reynaldo Diaz is one of them.
Disadvantaged after losing a rook at
a crucial moment in the final match,
Diaz's win was even more satisfying.
Four opponents squinted as Diaz
delivered them fatal blows. He found
ample use for his two favorite words
during the tournament:
"Check. Mate," said Diaz, who
enjoys intramural grandmaster status.
He sports tasteful humor and a spir
it for friendly competition, both of
which fit in well with the mission of
Guilford's intramurals.
However, many students are not
aware of the programming Dixon has
to offer. "For many at Guilford, intra
mural sports may be a cultural shift,"
said Dixon, as no such program has
existed in recent memory.
"Intramurals are a natural way of life
at bigger institutions," he said, giving
examples of prolific intramurals at his
alma mater. However, he is finding
that organizing successful events is
harder at small schools like Guilford.
"It's been a challenge," said Dixon,
who finds catering to the diverse
needs of only 1,300 traditional stu
dents difficult. Because there has not
been a college-sponsored intramural
program recently, he is building from
the ground up.
Guilford's diverse student body
does allow Dixon to create a variety
of events.
Attendance however has been an
issue.
Dixon points out that a two-on-two
basketball tournament he recently
scheduled received no support.
While he had anticipated a small
spectator turnout, he hadn't contem
plated the possibility of no players.
He also expected more than seven
people at the Texas Hold-em Poker
Tournament. Nonetheless, he
believes that participants enjoyed
themselves. Students met others with
similar interests and several even
exchanged phone numbers.
The success of intramural sports
like, like that of any other college
sponsored event, lies in advertising
and publicizing. The best promotions
are often those shared over dinner or
SPORTS
casual conversations.
But curiously the small size of the
traditional student body at Guilford
makes word-of-mouth promotional
strategies less effective than on big
ger campuses. Therefore, in future
events Dixon aims to generate better
publicity by advertising often, early
and using a variety of sources.
He also maintains and regularly
updates an intramural sports website.
Dixon's most cherished memory
came during the dodge ball tourna
ment. One player short of a complete
team, Dixon joined and played. The
game went on for four hours and stu
dent requests for additional games
still continue.
In the future Dixon plans on holding
a mini-golf tournament at Celebration
Station and more dodge ball tourna
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KARIM ALI/GUILFORDIAN
Chess tournaments are a feature of the new intramural program
Important information
from the Office of Financial Aid
ATTENTION RISING SOPHOMORES, JUNIORS AND SENIORS**
To all students receiving need based financial aid; it's time to renew
your FAFSA.
The Department of Education is now accepting the 2005-2006 FAFSA
and the 2005-2006 Renewal FAFSA. If you have not yet filled out the
FAFSA you can do so by going to www.fafsa.ed.gov.
Guilford's mandatory FAFSA deadline for fUfML
returning students is May 1, 2005. Any
FAFSA with a processing date later than ■
May 1 will be subject to a reduction in
institutional aid.
If you have any questions please contact
the Office of Financial Aid at extension
Greensboro. N.C.
ments in the alumni gym.
Intramural participants are grateful
for Dixon's hard work. Many agree
that intramurals are great ways of
instilling community at Guilford.
Others believe their participation
teaches them that learning, growing
and healthy competition extends
beyond the classroom.
Most like Joyner play because they
enjoy the added fun of playing a sport
without the strenuous pressures that
accompany varsity athletics.
"I played basketball in high school. I
just like playing the sport," he said.
"Intramural basketball is organized;
it's not just pick-up. You have referees
and scorekeepers."
"It's a good thing that he (Dixon) is
doing this. Last year we didn't have it,
and we really wanted to play."3€
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