Campus intramurals require honorable conduct

Intramural sports are a competitive and fun way to be involved on campus. However, it's not all about the competition. Sportsmanship is a huge part of the intramural leagues at Southeast Missouri State University.

"We have a rating system for sportsmanship in the intramural leagues and without a good sportsmanship rating, a team can be kept from the playoffs," said Jennifer Rose, director of intramural sports.

The rating system is based on a 1-5 scale, 5 being an excellent sportsmanship rating and 1 being a poor one. Scores are given to each team after each competition, and the ratings are at the disposal of officials and supervisors. No-shows, starting fights, threatening, throwing punches and disregarding warnings of unnecessary roughness will earn the team a 1 rating.

According to the intramural sportsmanship rating guide, if a team does not end the regular season with a 3.5 or higher average sportsmanship rating, it cannot qualify for the playoffs in that sport regardless of its wins and losses.

"The key to intramural sports is the sportsmanship," said Elizabeth Stuckle, a former intramural volleyball and softball official. "We, as officials, are taught through a three-day training program how to handle sportsmanship and what qualifies as good sportsmanship. It's important for teams to stay civil with one another."

Officials and supervisors crack down on unsportsmanlike conduct, and won't make exceptions.

"It is competition, and it's all fun and games, but sometimes it just gets too intense, and we have to settle the teams back down," Stuckle said.

Hannah Roach, a 2010 intramural soccer champ, understands the importance of the sportsmanship aspect of the leagues.

"Sportsmanship plays a big part in competitive sports," Roach said. "It's pretty easy as long as you play the game the way that athletes are expected to play in a mature manner."

Roach and her teammates upheld their sportsmanship rating and were able to win the championship, but she has seen teams that were kept from playoffs due to unsportsmanlike conduct.

"I had a friend whose team got bad sportsmanship ratings in one game, and it kept them out of the championship. It's just important to act mature in every game," Roach said.

Kelsey Bierman, a 2010 intramural volleyball champ, agrees.

"Being in a sorority, we don't just represent ourselves and our team, we represent our entire chapter," Bierman said. "We definitely are competitive, but the main purpose of intramurals is to have fun playing the sports that we love,"

Maintaining a positive attitude is crucial to success in intramurals.

"We love to win, and unsportsmanlike conduct does not help you win," Roach said of herself and her teammates.