A new rule is intended to even the playing field between students and non-students competing in RecSports. But some students don’t see the point.
The new rule, which was supposed to start this Fall semester, presents three options for teams in any sport with more than three non-student members, meaning UF faculty, staff and alumni.
Teams can drop the number of non-students to three or fewer before the playoffs to comply. If enough teams have more than three non-students, then a separate championship bracket will be made for them to compete in, said Jonathan Broska, the UF associate director for sports programs. Teams that don’t meet the limit can’t take part in the playoffs.
He said student teams are tired of losing to non-student teams.
In the past five to 10 years, about 50 percent of championships in major sports were won by teams dominated by non-students, while students, including graduate students, accounted for 95 percent of the population of the leagues, Broska said.
Broska said he doesn’t know how many teams the new rule will affect because participation of students and non-students fluctuates each semester. Of the 10,700 participants who play at least one intramural sport per year on average, about 500 are non-students.
“You get the students coming up that lose to what they perceive is a bunch of adults playing against them,” he said. “And they say things like, ‘Why did we just lose 62-0 to a bunch of 40-year-olds? This isn’t fun for me, why do I want to come back and play?’”
The change was delayed because non-students purchased memberships to compete in intramural leagues before the new policy was announced, Broska said. Pushing it back allows players to consider their options with knowledge of the new rule.
“We had been working on figuring out a way to maintain the balance of allowing non-students to play, because we believe in the connection to our faculty and staff and our alumni,” Broska said.
Jorge Mañach, a 19-year-old UF wildlife ecology and conservation sophomore, said he does not see a need for change.
“I’ve always played with students my age, and honestly don’t recall any time I’ve played against a team where I could tell the athletes were non-students,” he said.
Mañach said he has played intramural beach volleyball, indoor volleyball and flag football.
“If the reasoning for the rule change is because older, non-student participants are too good or something, it just doesn’t seem right,” he said. “If they’re affiliated with the university and want to play, then they should be allowed to.”
Yeneneh Terefe, a 34-year-old historic preservation graduate student, and Will Tang, a 5th year civil engineering student, spar Aug. 22 at RecStravaganza. Terefe has practiced kickboxing and judo for about eight years. Tang was president of Kickboxing Club last year and has practiced kickboxing for about six years.
