UF students flock to the Southwest Recreation Center to play pickup games and exercise throughout the school year.
Dozens of sports are played at UF’s largest student gym on campus, including basketball, soccer, beach volleyball and more.
Intramural sports are offered for students to participate in competition during the heart of the semester.
Summer B offers sports such as sand volleyball, basketball, indoor soccer and spike ball for anyone taking classes at UF.
Games take place after 5 p.m. from Monday through Thursday. There are typically four regular-season games for each sport. Teams are awarded a spot in the playoffs based on their regular season record.
The regular season consists of friendly and exciting competition, but can easily turn into a more serious and competitive environment once the playoffs begin.
Games become more intense and competitions grow fierce deeper into playoff runs.
Preston Serra, a 21-year-old finance senior, began playing intramural basketball during his freshman year. He referees intramural basketball games during the season, he said, and the atmospheres are exciting to be around.
“Once they get to playoffs, people take it pretty seriously,” he said. “It gets really competitive.
Serra said it's not like high school game atmospheres, but it's exciting when players bring their friends.
One of the main reasons intramurals are popular at UF is because the games take students’ minds off of the stresses of homework and exams, bringing back the passion sports brought to them as children. It also gives them the opportunity to exercise after a long day of class.
The games aren’t state playoff games or NCAA Tournaments games, but they do get competitive. Students can exert as much energy on the court or field, no matter the situation.
Playing club sports at UF is also an option for students, but multiple practices per week and long weekend road trips are a part of the club sports season.
Intramural sports are a great way for everyone to meet people and socialize at UF.
“It’s definitely flexible for everyone’s schedule,” Serra said. “It’s a good way to do stuff with your friends, keep everybody active. With everyone’s busy schedule, just being able to hang out a couple times per week, it’s definitely worth it.”
Contact Bennett Solomon at bsolomon@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @B_Soly11.
