One of the ways many students find themselves getting involved at Chico State is by engaging in intramural sports.

Through a wide variety of options such as flag football, soccer, volleyball, basketball or softball, students can challenge themselves academically and athletically at Chico.

The sports are all run through the Wildcat Recreation Center and can be played by anyone and everyone who is interested. One option is to sign up online as a free agent so that students without interested friends can still play. Students can also set up a team, which requires paying a small fee. Everything is run through an online system, which makes participation easy for all prospective and active intramural players.

Tiana McFarland, a junior who participates in volleyball and soccer, said she loves that intramural sports are such a big part of Chico State.

“You can choose to play in competitive or noncompetitive leagues,” McFarland said. “I participate in the competitive league because I am serious about the sport, but don’t want the commitment of being on a Chico State team. It’s still a high level play, just without as much of the day-to-day commitment.”

Meeting new people to connect with is another huge part of the college experience that most students are seeking, which can be found by playing intramural sports.

McFarland explained how fun it is to share a common liking of a sport with others and build instant friendship.

“Playing the same sport with others creates an instant commonality with those people,” McFarland said. “I love to get together to play sports with people that love the sports as much as I do. It creates a great sense of community and has led to meeting lots of new people.”

With the difficulties and stresses of school and extracurricular work on a weekly basis, it is often hard to find time to add more activities to the constant juggling act. Believe it or not, being active and getting out to play sports is very important for reducing stress.

Daniel Bartow, a senior basketball participant said that being a part of intramurals was essential to getting through the crazy weeks.

“Playing intramurals were such a great way for me to release stress in a busy week,” he said. “It was something I could look forward to doing week after week, no matter how many other things I had going on.”

Jovan Smith, who has played co-ed softball, said it was a really positive experience.

“Playing intramurals was an awesome experience that made my friends and I closer,” Smith said. “It was so fun, that we are definitely playing together again this year. Our campus is too awesome and full of so many opportunities for us to enjoy our time here. Whether it’s joining a student organization, playing intramural sports, or attending a school related event, there is something for everyone.”

Jordyn Provence can be reached at [email protected] or @jordyprov on Twitter.