Barry is a junior radio-television and secondary education double major and can be reached at [email protected]

Get out your old high school cleats, personalized frat jerseys and sweatbands because intramurals start this week. Let me introduce myself. I am Joanie Barry, one of the new additions to the intramural supervisor staff. I am also the new regular intramural column writer. If you are looking for me I am the short, blond supervisor with the side ponytail. Don’t mistake my small stature for meekness. I throw flags like Drew Brees throws touchdown passes.

To start off, let’s look at some of the changes to intramurals this year.

First, you will find a lot of new faces around the intramural playing fields this season. Haley Bosco, who wrote this column last year, has graduated. She is now graduate assistant of intramural sports at Armstrong Atlantic State University. Hopefully, I can do her justice and keep you all entertained and informed with stories from intramurals.

Those of you who played the past two years knew Matt Gasser, our former intramurals coordinator. Matt has graduated and moved on to a permanent job at University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Though everyone at intramurals misses our old boss, we have a new Coloradoan this year. Bill Moorman joins us fresh from Colorado State University-Pueblo. If you have any concerns or intramural questions, Bill is your guy.

Bill is not the only new face around intramurals. In May, four long time supervisors left intramurals and Drake for the real world. To fill their spot three new supervisors, including myself, got called up to the big leagues. In addition, we recruited six of the best officials to fill in at junior supervisor positions. Supervisors and junior supervisors bring our staff to a total of twelve. We should be the perfect combination to serve your intramurals needs.

Now that all of the staffing news has been addressed let’s review three tips for a great intramurals season.

Last year, intramurals introduced a new website www.imleagues.com. Online IM Leagues allow you to create teams, invite players to a team and check game schedules. There are even discussion boards for trash talking. The site also provides a live chat option if you have any questions that need immediate answers. Being familiar with IM Leagues is important because this is how teams sign up on the permanent roster. You must sign up online, or you cannot play in playoffs. I repeat you MUST sign up online if you want to play in playoffs.

Another fundamental rule that everyone on your intramurals team should know is: bring your ID.  A player is not permitted to take the field without an ID. This rule applies to everyone, even officials and supervisors. There are absolutely no exceptions to this rule. For future reference, Olmsted sells replacement IDs until 10 p.m.

Lastly, officials are your friends. Keep in mind our officials get paid minimum wage to referee these games. We are students too. We want you to have fun and be competitive but we also want fair and safe games. Before you start screaming asking for instant replay or insulting the nervous freshman ref, remember we all just want to have fun. Play ball!