Intramural sports

Intramural sports, also known as interhall sports, hall sports, or (in collegiate universities) intercollegiate sports, are recreational sports organized within a particular institution, usually an educational institution, for the purpose of fun and exercise. The term is chiefly North American,^[1] although the concept originates from the United Kingdom and the term has been adopted there. Dating to the 1840s,^[2][3] the term is derived from the Latin words intra muros meaning "within walls",^[2][3] and was used to describe sports matches and contests that took place among teams from "within the walls" of an institution or area. It is contrasted with extramural, varsity or intercollegiate (US) sports, which are played between teams from different educational institutions.^[4][5] The word intermural, which means "between institutions",^[6] is a common error for "intramural".^[5][7]

History

Two college eights, thought to be Brasenose and Jesus, pictured racing at the University of Oxford in 1822

Sport within the University of Oxford and University of Cambridge in England became established in the 19th century,^[8][9][10] although the earliest references to medieval football at the universities date back to the 14th century, originating from English public school football games.^[11][12] The oldest competitive intramural sport is inter-collegiate rowing at Oxford University, where the first known competition was in 1815 with Brasenose College winning and Jesus College being possibly their only competitor.^[13] The colleges of Oxford, Cambridge and Durham provided a natural focus for sporting activity, and by the end of the 19th century inter-collegiate sports competitions (including many of the cuppers at Oxford and Cambridge) were well established at all three universities.^[14][15][16]

Elmer D. Mitchell, University of Michigan Director of Intramural Athletics, 1919

The first intramural sports departments in the United States were established in the 20th century at Ohio State University and the University of Michigan in 1913.^[17][18] Elmer Mitchell, a graduate student, at the time, was named the first Director of Intramural Sports at the University of Michigan in 1919. The first recreational sports facility in the country opened at the University of Michigan.^[19] Mitchell is considered the "father of intramural sports" and taught a class in intramural sports taken by William Wasson, founder of the National Intramural Association (NIA), the forerunner to the National Intramural and Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA).^[20] Mitchell later authored Intramural Athletics^[21] and Intramural Sports.^[22]

North America

Canada

The Canadian Intramural Recreation Association (CIRA) organized intramurals within Canada from 1976 to 2002. CIRA Ontario has been the major intramural organization in the Canadian province of Ontario since 1969. CIRA Ontario is an incorporated, non-profit organization whose mission is to encourage, promote, and develop active living, healthy lifestyles and personal growth through intramural and recreation programs within the education and recreation communities. They fulfill their mandate through resources, workshops, conferences, newsletters, awards, and other means.^[23]

United States

See also: Collegiate club sports in the United States

NIRSA: Leaders in Collegiate Recreation, formerly known as the National Intramural Recreational Sports Association, a professional organization based in Corvallis, Oregon, provides a network of more than 4,500 highly trained professionals, students and Associate Members in the recreational sports field throughout the United States, Canada and other countries. In most of the world outside North America, sports scholarships and college sports on the North American model do not exist so the distinction between college and intramural sports is not as significant.

Europe

United Kingdom

Churchill College Boat Club competing in an intercollegiate bumps race at the University of Cambridge

Universities in the United Kingdom offer recreational sports within the university. At universities with constituent colleges, such as Oxford, Cambridge and Durham, recreational sport takes place between colleges ("college sport" or "inter-collegiate sport").^[24][25][26] More generally, recreational sport within a university in the United Kingdom is often called intramural sport.^{[27][28][29][30][31]} Recreational sport exists alongside varsity matches with rival universities and inter-university competitions organized by British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS).^[32][33] The largest intramural sports program, by participation, is at Durham University, with over 75% of students taking part in sports and more than 550 college teams across 18 sports.^[34]

Matches between representative intramural teams at different universities are sometimes arranged, such as the intramural varsities between Loughborough intramural sports teams and Durham college teams and between Loughborough intramural sports teams and Nottingham intramural sports teams,^[35] and the college varsity between college teams from Durham and York.^[36] In the past, a men's and women's intercollegiate boat race was part of the Henley Boat Races between Oxford and Cambridge. College boat clubs from Oxford, Cambridge and Durham often compete in external events such as the Head of the River Race.^[37]

See also

• College sports
• Physical education class
• Team sport