In March 2020, the news of the COVID-19 pandemic made its way to the University of North Georgia officials, forcing them to make the tough decision of sending students home from dorms and suspending in-person classes. Now, a year later, things look different on campus, but students and faculty alike are doing their best to make the college experience as immersive as possible. One organization in particular, Intramural Sports and Sports Clubs, is now in Phase 2 of Intramurals and remains one of the most active on campus in encouraging students to get active and involved.

Phase 2 consists of Sand Volleyball, Kickball, and 4v4 Ultimate Frisbee. Students can join an organization’s team or make one of their own. Leda Tidwell, Director of Activities for Alpha Gamma Delta sorority, is in charge of signing her organization up for these sports and getting them involved. Tidwell says she’s “happy to be back playing intramurals because it allows people to come together and build their relationships.” She goes on to note that there is an overall improvement in chapter morale on campus when they are able to look forward to something and spend time with others outside.

However, Intramurals are not completely resumed like normal. The teams are taking extra precautions to ensure the safety of all students so as to not take advantage of the extra freedoms given this semester. The director of Intramurals, Rob Kelly, says that the “UNG Intramural Sports has followed USG guidance for mandating face coverings indoors and has scheduled sports that allow for better social distancing. We have consistently offered sports that have smaller team sizes and/or offered sports that have minimal chances of physical contact between players.” The extra steps taken to ensure safety has been made sure of by student workers at every game.

To get involved in Intramurals, students can check out the IMLeagues registration page and the instagram page.