Benefit of playing Club Sports vs. Intramural Sports
Chances are, at one point in time in our lives, we have all played a competitive sport. In this competitive scene we learn a lot about ourselves, our will to succeed, our physical skills, our ability to build relationships with those around us, and how we can motivate ourselves and those around us towards achieving a common goal.
More often than not our athletic career ends upon graduating high school. Some of us who are highly skilled get the opportunity to play sports at the collegiate level. What happens to those of us who don’t receive scholarships for athletics? Generally when we get to college we have two options, intramural sports or club sports.
Club sports are team based sports that are sanctioned by your college or campus recreational facility.2 These teams travel to compete against other collegiate club teams in the same region and represent their schools. Our school (Tarleton State University) currently offers a multitude of club sports: Men’s and Women’s soccer, Men’s and Women’s lacrosse, Flag Football, and Rugby.
While not being an athletic team sanctioned by the NCAA, club sports allow the athletes to represent their schools through competition. Without the consent of the NCAA, club sport athletes cannot receive any form of scholarship to participate. Most of the funding for the teams comes from the players themselves and from the recreational sports department that they represent.1
The major difference between club and intramural sport, is the school representation at competitions. Club sports travel to other campuses to compete while intramural sports are only played at one school by its students against one another. Also, the level of competition is generally higher when talking about club sports due to the competition against other universities.
When your athletic career ends upon high school graduation, and you move off to college, you have the ability to still participate in some form of competition. If you still have the drive to compete and represent your school through sport, you still have an outlet to do so. I urge you to explore your means of sport, whether it be intramural or club, as it will benefit you in the relationships you build and in your overall physical health, and will positively benefit your overall collegiate experience.
References:
1 College, C. (2016). Club Sports in College. Campusexplorer.com. Retrieved 15 February 2016, from http://www.campusexplorer.com/college-advice-tips/BD757E5F/Club-Sports-in-College/
2 Collegexpress.com,. (2016). What's the difference between intramurals and sport clubs?. Retrieved 15 February 2016, from http://www.collegexpress.com/articles-and-advice/athletics/ask-experts/whats-difference-between-intramurals-and-sport-clubs/
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