DG: How long has the intramural sports program at Guilford been around?
MH: Intramural sports have been here a long time. I know they’ve had basketball as far back as 1907. Other sports got added little by little over time.DG: What is the purpose of intramural sports?
MH: People get the opportunity to compete with others in an array of activities. Intramurals aren’t like club sports. Club sports compete against club sports at other schools. Intramural competition is within Guilford.

DG: What kinds of activities are featured?
MH: In the fall we had a football pick’em (people met each week to predict winners of NFL games), a fantasy football league, introduction to weight-training (to give students an opportunity to learn how to use our facilities in a safe and effective manner), a tennis league, soccer, etc. We got a pretty good turnout for some sports this fall. We don’t usually get a lot of people.
Right now we have 100 people playing basketball, making up 11 teams. This is the best turnout we’ve ever had by far. Some faculty and staff participate in basketball. Basketball games happen Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 to 9 p.m.
We have dodge ball, which was supposed to happen last Saturday but we had to reschedule because of a time conflict. We’ll have floor hockey. There’ll be a volleyball league after Spring break, a flag-football tournament at the end of April. Right before reading day, we’ll have a trip to Celebration Station where people can do things like ride bumper boats, play various games, etc.

DG: What level of skill do you tend to see in participants?
MH: There’s a wide, wide variety of skill level, from very beginner to very advanced and everywhere in between.

DG: What do you think makes turnout tend to be low?
MH: We advertise in The Guilford Buzz and in the cafeteria, but word-of-mouth is our strongest advertising. Basically, there’s a huge population at Guilford who doesn’t know about the program, and then there are a lot of people who just don’t want to participate. A number of people will always be interested in sports, and a number of people won’t. The key for intramurals is to get the people in the middle who enjoy athletics and just want to have some fun.

DG: What can participants gain from intramurals?
MH: You don’t have to practice. You can just come out and play, relieve your stress, and enjoy yourself with your friends by playing a sport. Champions in each activity receive T-shirts. Those who don’t win receive the satisfaction of competition.

DG: How can those who are curious sign up and/or get more information?
MH: Contact me at [email protected] or x2415.