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After winning an intramural men’s competitive division soccer semifinal in March 2020, then-Syracuse freshman Maverick Clark and his teammates prepared for a championship game match after spring break. But it never happened.

The spread of COVID-19 suspended in-person instruction and put a pause on all intramural sports at Syracuse University and other schools. The pause would last throughout the following academic year, when there was a gradual return to intramural play. But even then, competition was limited due to COVID-19 protocols.

A modified format of intramural soccer took place in March 2021, with teams consisting of three players — as opposed to the usual five — and games taking place in the Carrier Dome, Clark said. Masks were required at all times, and players had to show a negative COVID-19 test result with proof of a completed daily health screening form.

While Clark was happy to be playing again, it wasn’t the same pre-pandemic experience he previously enjoyed.

“It was a nice concept just to be able to get the kids playing again,” Clark said. “But it was a hassle.”

Players were frequently contact-traced throughout the season, leading to cancellations because of players quarantining and teams not having enough players available, Clark said.

Now a junior, Clark hopes the experience of playing intramural sports will return to what it once was during this upcoming fall semester.

“I think it would be great for people to just get back out there and have things feel normal,” Clark said. “Intramural sports are a great way to distance yourself from the academic stresses that come with going to college.”

Junior Jackson Magann, who played intramural basketball his freshman year, also views intramural sports as an outlet, or a way to decompress and escape from the pressures of college life.

“I just want to see more people smiling again, and I’ll be so excited if (basketball) is back,” Magann said. “I’m going to regroup old friends from freshman year and new friends from sophomore year, so it’s going to be great.”

While more than 90% of SU students and faculty have been fully vaccinated, the delta variant looms and could potentially have a significant impact on intramural sports throughout the fall. SU has adopted a four-level system for masking requirements based on campus COVID-19 transmission rate.

SU is currently on a blue-level alert, indicating there is an elevated risk of transmission on campus. At this level, unvaccinated people are required to wear masks indoors and outdoors in the presence of others, and vaccinated people are recommended to wear masks indoors or outdoors in large groups. While no specific information regarding regulations for intramural sports players has been released yet, Clark wonders if similar protocols from last spring will carry over.

Despite not knowing exactly how things will operate over the coming months, SU senior Salvatore Pepe intends on playing intramural sports in whatever capacity he can. Friendships are a big part of intramural sports, Pepe said. He played intramural soccer every year with the same group of friends from his freshman dorm floor in Sadler Hall.

“It’s really fun because we’ve all been able to be on the same intramural team and have that bond and connection over the three-plus years so far,” Pepe said. “I’m definitely looking forward to having (intramural) soccer as a thing to keep us having fun and spending time together.”

Both Magann and Clark agreed with Pepe, saying that intramural sports are a great experience for students to meet other members of the Syracuse community.

“(Intramural sports) are a great productive way to spend time with friends, hang out with them, detach and just remember at the end of the day, you’re there to have fun with your friends,” Clark said.

Published on August 22, 2021 at 8:12 pm

Contact Bryan: brbrush@syr.edu