In­tra­mu­rals Host­ing Olympics and Other Events

UP­DATE: the Pi­lot Olympics open­ing cer­e­mony was post­poned to Sept. 24 at 7 p.m.

MISHAWAKA--De­spite COVID-19, Bethel is proud to an­nounce there will still be in­tra­mu­rals this year.  Pick­le­ball is start­ing Mon­day, Sept. 14, at 9 p.m. in Good­man Gym and will run through the end of the se­mes­ter.  Stu­dents can sign up on the Bethel Uni­ver­sity in­tra­mu­rals Face­book or In­sta­gram page. 

This year, there will be Pi­lot Olympics; the open­ing cer­e­mony is Thurs­day, Sept. 17, at 7 p.m., hosted by Cam­pus Ac­tiv­i­ties.  Every Thurs­day un­til the end of the se­mes­ter there will be a dif­fer­ent event, the first be­ing kick­ball.  Teams are di­vided by each dorm and com­muters and will com­pete for first, sec­ond and third place.  Points are awarded per place and by the end of the se­mes­ter, whichever team has the most points wins.  Stu­dents can sign up through their dorm co-cap­tains. 

“It was in re­sponse to COVID,” said Res­i­den­tial Di­rec­tor Johnny Ben­nett re­gard­ing the Olympics.  “We looked at our tra­di­tional 6v6 vol­ley­ball and 3v3 bas­ket­ball— we re­al­ized it’s some­thing that would­n’t fol­low the guide­lines for COVID.” 

Each month, there will be a per­sonal chal­lenge for any stu­dent to par­tic­i­pate in.  Sep­tem­ber’s chal­lenge is “Marathon in a Month”; stu­dents track their progress over the course of the month, whether via a smart­phone or a smart­watch, and if a stu­dent has run the length of a marathon by the end of the month, they win an in­tra­mural sticker and are en­tered into a raf­fle for larger prizes.  There will be sim­i­lar chal­lenges over the course of Oc­to­ber and for No­vem­ber as well. 

“We want to pro­vide op­por­tu­ni­ties for stu­dents to have fun and com­pete with each other while also fo­cus­ing on their health and their well­be­ing,” Ben­nett said. “These events and chal­lenges give stu­dents that op­por­tu­nity.”