Intramural Recreation
A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating an Effective Program

John Byl

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Byl, John.
Intramural recreation : a step by step guide to creating an effective program / by John Byl.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7360-3454-4
1. Intramural sports--Management.  I. Title.
GV710 .B95  2002
796.04'2--dc21
	2002017194
ISBN: 0-7360-3454-4
Copyright © 2002 by John Byl
All rights reserved.  Except for use in a review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying, and recording, and in any information storage and retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
Acquisitions Editor: Amy N. Clocksin
Developmental Editor: D.K. Bihler
Assistant Editor: Lee Alexander
Copyeditor: D.K. Bihler and Myles Schrag
Proofreader: Pam Johnson
Indexer: Sharon Duffy
Permission Manager: Dalene Reeder
Graphic Designer: Robert Reuther
Photo Manager: Les A. Woodrum
Cover Designer: Keith Blomberg
Photographer (cover): Sara Rubinstein/UPA
Photographer (interior): Les A. Woodrum
Art Manager: Carl D. Johnson
Illustrator: Tom Roberts
Printer: Versa Press
On the cover: New York’s Melanie Schoen throws a forehand in the Ultimate Players Association (UPA) mixed division championships.
Printed in the United States of America  10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1
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I dedicate this book to my sister, Colleen.
Her faith in me when I was a teenager made this book possible.

Contents
Preface	viii
Acknowledgments	x
Part I	The Idea	1
Chapter 1	Why Intramurals?	3
The Purpose of Intramurals	4
Defining Our Terms	5
History of Intramurals	6
Benefits of Intramural Activity	8
Chapter Summary Exercises	10
Chapter 2	On a Mission	13
The Mission of an Intramural Program	14
The Steps in Designing an Intramural Program	18
Sequence of Subsequent Chapters	18
Chapter Summary Exercises	18
Part II	The Plan	21
Chapter 3	The Structure	23 
Facilities	24
Equipment	26
Program Structure	26
Chapter Summary Exercises	33
Chapter 4	The Leadership	35
What Needs to Be Done?	36
The Intramural Director	36
The Intramural Department	36
Volunteers	39
Paid Staff	46
Training and Management	52
Chapter Summary Exercises	58
Chapter 5	The Officials	65
The Role of Officials	66
Creating an Official-Friendly Program	66
Official Duties	71
Official Recruitment	75
Official Positions	76
Official Evaluation	78
Chapter Summary Exercises	82
Chapter 6	Policy I: Fair Play	83
Developing Policies for Intramural Programs	84 
Fair Play Defined	85
The Components of Fair Play	85
Fair Play: The Policy	99
Putting Fair Play Into Practice	101
Chapter Summary Exercises	103
Chapter 7	Policy II: Safety	107
Legalities: Defining Legal Concepts	108
Safety Policies	114
Putting Safety Into Practice	124
Chapter Summary Exercises	125
Chapter 8	Promotion	127 
Effective Promotion	128
Types of Promotion	133
Chapter Summary Exercises	144
Chapter 9	Awards	147
Importance of Recognition	148
Creating an Awards Program	148
Ceremonies	149
Annual and Ongoing Awards	150
Program Awards	151
Event Awards	155
Chapter Summary Exercises	158
Chapter 10	The Budget	161
An Introduction to Intramural Budgets	162
Revenue	162
Expenses	170
Cost Savings	174
Tracking a Budget	175
Chapter Summary Exercises	176 
Part III	The Program	177
Chapter 11	Programming	179
Who’s It For?	180
Activities	182
Special Events	187
Sample Activities for the Year	189
Chapter Summary Exercises	194
Chapter 12	Tournaments and Leagues	197
Types and Progression of Tournaments and Leagues	198
Seeding and Byes	203
Tournament/League Selection	205
Extended Tournaments	209
Tournament Administration	210
Chapter Summary Exercises	212
Chapter 13	Ensuring Success	215
The Day Arrives	216
Setup	223
Sign-In	223
Problem Solving	224
Chapter Summary Exercises	227
Chapter 14	Evaluation	229
The Evaluation Process	230
Information Gathering	230
Evaluation Criteria	233
Sample Evaluation Forms	236
Chapter Summary Exercises	236
Chapter 15	Putting It All Together: 		The Handbook	241
A Comprehensive Handbook	242
The Assignment	242
For Professors Assigning the Intramural Handbook	245
Glossary	247
Bibliography	252
Index	256
About the Author	261

Preface
“I loved going to school and coming home. I loved recess and lunch. It was the in-between part that got to me.”
— John Byl
Intramural activities and events are organized to encourage students to participate in and build school community through fun physical activity. For most participants, they add fun to the love of recess and lunch time. Indeed, intramural activities were a highlight of my years in school.
In elementary school, I got to the schoolyard early. I wanted to be the first one at bat in softball. As I waited for my cohorts to arrive each morning, I wondered who would be the first to knock the ball over the street onto the church lawn. Later, while sitting at my school desk, I longed for morning recess and lunchtime, hoping for wild games of tag, knuckle-tearing games of street hockey, or our own variation of lacrosse, which amounted to throwing a tennis ball at a couple of boards standing on end.
In high school, I remember shooting a game-winning shot during a noon basketball game. I also recall accidentally body checking the 270-pound football coach and taking the ball away from him during a game of floor hockey. College intramural experiences also stand out in my memory. I remember being the first one to be dragged throught the mud at the front of my team in a tug-of-war across a muddy bog.
It was the joy of participating in these events in grade school and high school that encouraged me to study physical education. It was in college and university that I began to study the positive effects of play. It was in my teaching that I gave back to students what I had so much enjoyed when I was a student.
This book is about the part of school that so many students love the most—recess and lunchtime. From kindergarten, right through graduate-level university, students look forward to their time away from serious studies. More importantly, perhaps, students need these fun and active breaks during the day. These modifiers—fun and active—are the gist of intramurals.
This book is the result of two influences. The first is my love for intramurals, both as a participant and as a high school and university intramural director. The second is my recent tour of some intramural programs. I visited intramural directors at more than 40 schools, from grade schools to universities, and saw a lot of great ideas in practice. I knew these ideas should be shared. I also knew they should be presented in a comprehensive, sequential format that would help others create effective intramural programming.
Intramural Recreation: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating an Effective Program is designed to help intramural directors and students revitalize student and staff interest in fun intramural activities. For those who are unfamiliar with the organization of intramural programs, this book will lead you step by step through the process of designing an intramural program. For experienced intramural directors, helpful tips and suggestions throughout the text should prove helpful in enriching your intramural program. At the very least, these ideas may help make your job easier.
Structure
The culmination of more than 20 years of teaching physical education, leading intramurals, and working with intramural participants and staff, this book is both practical and readily applicable. Organized as your typical textbook, each chapter begins with “Chapter Objectives,” so you know right away what to expect. To avoid confusion in terminology, key terms are identified in bold and then defined. These terms are also included in a glossary at the end of the book. In addition to numerous examples, tips, suggestions, and ideas provided throughout, “Practitioner Perspectives” in every chapter present concrete examples of how intramural directors have tried to enrich their own intramural programs.
Each chapter ends with “Chapter Summary Exercises” and “Resources.” These exercises provide the opportunity to review the contents of that chapter and are steps in completing a final assignment at the end of this book: preparing your own intramural handbook. “Resources” contains relevant publications, organizations, and Web sites that provide additional information for a more complete understanding of each chapter topic.
Structured to help you build your own intramural program one step at a time, this book is divided into three parts.
>	Part I: The Idea
>	Part II: The Plan
>	Part III: The Program
Part I will help you focus on what you want your intramural program to be. Discussions in chapter 1 include the purpose, benefits, and history of intramural programs. Chapter 2, “On a Mission,” leads you through the process of developing a clearly written mission statement for your intramural program.
Part II includes chapters 3 through 10, which present everything you need to know about planning an effective intramural program. Topics developed in chapters 3, 4, and 5 include defining program structure and leadership requirements; making the most of available facilities (from the gym, to the fields, to the parking lot); maximizing volunteer and student participation; and recruiting, hiring, and training program staff, officials, and volunteers. In addition, chapters 6 and 7 take you through the process of developing policies that will make your intramural program fair and safe for all. Promotional strategies to draw in participants are covered in chapter 8, and awards to celebrate intramural successes and individual achievement are discussed in chapter 9. The final chapter in part II, chapter 10, leads you through the process of developing an intramural budget.
Part III focuses on the program itself—that is, implementation and evaluation. Chapters 11 through 13 lead you through the process of creating the intramural programming you conceived in part I and planned in part II. Discussions include programming implementation, activity and event scheduling, and tournament and league selection. In addition, specific activity and event ideas are offered throughout. Chapter 14 presents effective tools for evaluating your intramural program. The final chapter, chapter 15, is the culmination of the entire book. Based on the discussion and exercises in every chapter, chapter 15 is an assignment that takes you through the steps of constructing a comprehensive intramural handbook.
When all is read and done, this book and the handbook you create will serve as practical guides for enriching people’s lives through intramural activities. By helping you to provide vigorous, fun, inclusive, and safe activities, it is our hope that students—old and young, university and grade school—will treasure both their studies during class as well as their recesses, lunchtime breaks, and after-class activities. If we achieve that, we will have accomplished much.

Acknowledgments
Thanks to the campus recreation directors from the Ontario College Committee on Campus Recreation who shared many of their wonderful ideas with me. Also special thanks to the Canadian Intramural Recreation Association-Ontario board members (Andy, Carolyn, Herwig, Michelle, and Pat), who are an inspiration to kids and to me. Thanks to my daughter Judith for doing some of the initial editing.
I also want to thank the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship, Culture, and Recreation. It was in working on a related project to promote active living for Ontario college students that several of the ideas in this book came together. And thanks to Redeemer University College. It’s a great place to work and provided me with the sabbatical that made writing this book possible.
I appreciate the staff at Human Kinetics for the support they have given me, and their encouragement of physical activity around the world. I owe special thanks to Amy for her confidence in this book and her encouragement in this project, and to D.K. for her editorial skills.
Thanks to my wife, Catherine, and my children Hannah (and Ryan), Judith, Matt, and Charis for their support during the writing of this book. I also want to thank God for putting all things together.
Finally, thanks to countless others who helped me on this project. Although I have acknowledged all the sources I know about, my files contained some anonymous papers, ideas, and notes. I would be happy to identify those sources in future editions.