Intramural life found on and off PUC during summer months
David Milanec
Issue date: 6/29/09 Section: Sports
Most college campuses are a ghost town during the summer months, and PUC is no exception. There are few people wandering the halls during the summer, however, that does not mean that all signs of life disappear from the campus.
Summer intramural sports provide students, regardless of whether they're taking summer courses, with an opportunity to get together with other students and have a good time both on and off campus.
During the 2009 summer months there are three intramural sports being offered: volleyball, which is non-competitive, fishing, which is competitive and horseshoes, which has been non-competitive thus far.
Intramural Fishing
Fishing is held Tuesdays from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Wolf Lake in Hammond. This is the second year that summer intramural fishing has been held at Wolf Lake. It's also the fourth year overall it has been offered, with the other two years taking place at Pastrick Marina in East Chicago.
The rules for the competition are no fish are counted before 6:30 p.m. or after 9 p.m. All competitors are allowed to have one fishing pole at a time, which can be changed, in use for competition purposes.
Competitors can use any type of bait or lure they wish to use, and all fish counted toward the competition standings must be seven inches or longer. The new size requirement is an increase from last year's rule of five inches in order to make the competition more of a challenge, according to Sports Coordinator Matt Dudzik.
Also no boats are allowed in the competition due to the lack of availability.
"If we had enough for everyone, we would definitely use boats. We do it this way to keep it fair," said Dudzik.
There are two categories of the fishing competition: Most Fish Caught Throughout and Biggest Fish Caught. Alek Shmagranoff, a sophomore in mechanical engineering, leads the Biggest Fish Caught race with a 21-inch walleye.
"You don't always know when you're going to catch something. When you do, it's exciting. When they show up, it's good," said Shmagranoff.
Shmarganoff had the biggest catch of the day, a 13.5-inch bass, and seemed to just be enjoying the fishing.
Of course, it's not all about the competition; just ask Ian Hernandez, a sophomore in visual communications.
"It's relaxing. I used to fish a lot when I was little. This gives me an excuse to set up my pole," said Hernandez.
Intramural Volleyball
Volleyball is held Thursdays from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. behind the Fitness Center on the outdoor sand court. Started in 2003, summer intramural volleyball has no teams and no registration fees according to Dudzik, who also said that there is a possibility of an outdoor league for the summer of 2010. He also added there will be cookouts in July and all students are welcome to join in at any time.
Most of the people that have showed up for the summer intramural Volleyball participated in the spring intramural Volleyball league. Dudzik thought that at least three-quarters of the people who were participating in the summer intramural had participated in the spring league.
The spring league consisted of 16 teams and held an awards banquet at the end of the semester with the championship team receiving intramurals champion t-shirts. As many as 25 people showed up for the summer intramural and ten dedicated players even showed up in the rain.
Intramural Horseshoes
It's also the inaugural year for horseshoes as a summer intramural. Horseshoes has taken place in June on Wednesdays from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Horseshoes has been open competition with no registration fee. On July 20, there will be a horseshoes tournament with the possibility of adding more according to Dudzik.
Summer intramural sports provide students, regardless of whether they're taking summer courses, with an opportunity to get together with other students and have a good time both on and off campus.
During the 2009 summer months there are three intramural sports being offered: volleyball, which is non-competitive, fishing, which is competitive and horseshoes, which has been non-competitive thus far.
Intramural Fishing
Fishing is held Tuesdays from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Wolf Lake in Hammond. This is the second year that summer intramural fishing has been held at Wolf Lake. It's also the fourth year overall it has been offered, with the other two years taking place at Pastrick Marina in East Chicago.
The rules for the competition are no fish are counted before 6:30 p.m. or after 9 p.m. All competitors are allowed to have one fishing pole at a time, which can be changed, in use for competition purposes.
Competitors can use any type of bait or lure they wish to use, and all fish counted toward the competition standings must be seven inches or longer. The new size requirement is an increase from last year's rule of five inches in order to make the competition more of a challenge, according to Sports Coordinator Matt Dudzik.
Also no boats are allowed in the competition due to the lack of availability.
"If we had enough for everyone, we would definitely use boats. We do it this way to keep it fair," said Dudzik.
There are two categories of the fishing competition: Most Fish Caught Throughout and Biggest Fish Caught. Alek Shmagranoff, a sophomore in mechanical engineering, leads the Biggest Fish Caught race with a 21-inch walleye.
"You don't always know when you're going to catch something. When you do, it's exciting. When they show up, it's good," said Shmagranoff.
Shmarganoff had the biggest catch of the day, a 13.5-inch bass, and seemed to just be enjoying the fishing.
Of course, it's not all about the competition; just ask Ian Hernandez, a sophomore in visual communications.
"It's relaxing. I used to fish a lot when I was little. This gives me an excuse to set up my pole," said Hernandez.
Intramural Volleyball
Volleyball is held Thursdays from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. behind the Fitness Center on the outdoor sand court. Started in 2003, summer intramural volleyball has no teams and no registration fees according to Dudzik, who also said that there is a possibility of an outdoor league for the summer of 2010. He also added there will be cookouts in July and all students are welcome to join in at any time.
Most of the people that have showed up for the summer intramural Volleyball participated in the spring intramural Volleyball league. Dudzik thought that at least three-quarters of the people who were participating in the summer intramural had participated in the spring league.
The spring league consisted of 16 teams and held an awards banquet at the end of the semester with the championship team receiving intramurals champion t-shirts. As many as 25 people showed up for the summer intramural and ten dedicated players even showed up in the rain.
Intramural Horseshoes
It's also the inaugural year for horseshoes as a summer intramural. Horseshoes has taken place in June on Wednesdays from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Horseshoes has been open competition with no registration fee. On July 20, there will be a horseshoes tournament with the possibility of adding more according to Dudzik.
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