Intramural sports denies student participation

By Landis Lau

Being ignored and completely disregarded is exactly what faculty and staff should never make students feel. However, this kind of problem seems to have erupted from the epicenter known as intramural sports. "Playing intramural sports is a great way to stay active, reduce stress, socialize with friends, and meet new people," states in the intramural sports handbook.àHowever, recent circumstances and inconsistencies in the performance of the intramural sports staff seem to have gone in the opposite direction of what this statement claims.

When students sign up for intramural soccer, they must follow all of the rules set by the intramural league sign-up sheet. Forms must be turned in on time, a $25 dollar insurance deposit must be paid and a representative from the team must also attend the captains meeting.àSoon after the meeting, schedules are created and the students are notified of their playing times by referring to the schedule.à

Unfortunately, when some students arrived at the Malley Fitness Center to pick up their schedule, they noticed that their team was not placed on the intramural soccer calendar for any day of the week!àTo make matters worse, no notification was ever given as to why this was the case.

I found myself in this unexpected situation when I realized that my soccer team was not placed on the schedule. I placed numerous phone calls to Tommy Paine, the intramural sports coordinator, but after not being given a return call, I left one message each day for the next four days.

Still, I received no response.à

At last, on Friday afternoon, he called me back and left a message saying that all the leagues were full except those Sunday evenings (which I had already written down as impossible for my team to make).

Having a league fill up is an inconceivable condition.àNowhere on the sign-up sheet is it explained that a league can and will be filled up to the point where students would be denied their participation in this free sports program.àThe handbook states, "Select the division, day, and time you want your team to play from the list of choices available."àIt does not state that the coordinator reserves the right to deny students their choice of playing night.àIn previous years, students always received their preference no matter how many teams were in that league due to the staff being much more flexible.àI received no response from Mr. Paine.

"As a senior, this is not the first experience with the athletic department that I have had which ended with not being able to play," said senior Citlali Vasquez-Ramos, a participant. "The lack of organization and insufficient communication has left me and other students without being able to participate in intramural sports. When I was a captain once, they 'forgot' or 'mistakenly' scheduled us at the wrong time during playoffs, which made us forfeit our position in the standings, so we got [cheated] out. They didn't let us know when the revised game time was and so we missed the game."

Students do not appreciate this kind of disregard. Not only is this offensive and rude to the team captain who went through the whole process of signing up, but it also hurts the players who agreed to join the team.à

As a result of inconsistencies and errors by the staff, there are now 15 very upset students. They all wished to play intramural soccer, but instead became victims of incompetent coordination.àIt is ridiculous to omit a team from the schedule and yet not give any notification, forcing the team captain to inquire personally, only to be told that the day he or she signed up for is full.

It is very disheartening to know that a program designed as a service to students would actually prevent them from participating.

Instead of waiting around for a non-existent phone call, I decided to investigate this situation by contacting the supervisor about my complaint.àHowever, it was impossible to get through to her because she was adamant in her explanation of how leagues can supposedly become full.à

The supervisor claimed that it is "easier" this way and that they are trying to "streamline" the league play this year.àWhen it was explained that with uneven leagues, there would be days where teams would have a bye, the response was that this year byes are not permissible.àAccording to her, allowing teams to have a bye in their schedules caused students to forget what day to play, resulting in numerous forfeits.àConsequently, they instituted the $25 deposit to insure attendance this year.à

Using that logic, would it not be more of an incentive to know what day your team is playing on, considering that the deposit is on the line? It is definitely possible to include a bye in the soccer schedule. In fact, intramural basketball implements this tool in their schedules.àThis kind of contradiction in policy has not created a very good reputation for intramural sports.à

What are they trying to say by having these kinds of inconsistencies?

"We won last year but they never gave us our t-shirt," said sophomore Mimi Tran, who played badminton.à"One day I came in towards the end of the season, and the courts were not set up. Some people were playing basketball.àI wanted to play and I gave up my time to play, but it just died.àI think they decided to cancel it without ever letting us know.àI was mad about that because I still wanted to play."

When I pointed out that the handbook never states that students can be denied their choice, the supervisor went ahead to explain that even though it does not say that, they also never say that they guarantee students get their selection. In other words, the staff can say whatever they want based on their interpretation of the handbook. It is astonishing that they would allow such ambiguity in order to ease their way out of situations like this.

It is very unprofessional for the staff to notify a team about its rejection a week late, thus making it very difficult â€" practically impossible for the players to find a different team to join and play for. I personally did not expect to be overlooked nor did any of these other intramural participants.

I am inclined to think that this type of blatant disregard for students happens at every school and is not just a problem for Santa Clara.àHowever, I expected more from a Jesuit school that prides itself as being a cut above the competition when it comes to fostering ethics and social justice.

"I am sorry he did not call you back and that your team will not be able to participate this quarter," was the final answer.

The feeling is mutual.

In my opinion, it is extremely shameful that the intramural sports program is incapable of efficiently and correctly carrying out its duties.à

û Landis Lau is a sophomore studio art major.