How basketball intramurals are helping me find peace in my weekly routine
Sports unite stressed students around the world.
Growing up in Mexico, basketball was always a huge part of my life. Like most kids, the bright lights of the biggest stage—the NBA—always lit up my imagination. However, as I got older, I formed a deeper appreciation of basketball as a way to hang out, see friends, and tune out the stresses of school.
Life as a student at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) is anything but easy, and I’m sure any students reading this can relate. It’s almost impossible to separate our academic responsibilities from our personal life, especially when there’s always something haunting us. Whether it’s from that class you dread or a deadline from a strict professor you don’t get along with, it’s indispensable for us students to have a space and time where you can put your responsibilities aside and focus on enjoying your free time.
With that being said, the Recreation, Athletics and Wellness Centre (RAWC) hosts intramural sports every semester, providing a perfect opportunity for all students and faculty staff to participate in friendly yet competitive environments. For those who take sports a little more seriously, there are also competitive leagues where you can compete against students who also perform at a high level in sports ranging from basketball to badminton.
As an international student who was part of the basketball team back at my high school in Mexico, I was thrilled to continue improving and working on my skills as a player when I came to UTM. I thought I would have endless opportunities to play, assuming I’d have more freedom away from home. However, I quickly realized that finding time and people to play basketball with was much harder than expected, especially as schoolwork kept me busy and other students were now a lot less willing to push their studies aside.
But when I began playing intramurals, I had a chance to compete against good competition without sacrificing much of my spare time, allowing me to stay on top of my courses. Thursdays—the day basketball intramural games fell on—quickly became the highlight of my week. Not long after, I became more involved in the UTM sports community by joining other leagues and even working as a referee. As I participated more frequently, I quickly realized two things:
Firstly, there were tons of students just like me—passionate to play sports. For us students who never made the big leagues, intramural playoffs were our championship series, and we’d hustle and run and drip beads of sweat until the clock ran out.
Secondly, not everyone aspires to become a professional athlete, and the university definitely keeps that in mind. If you’re interested in learning a new sport, meeting other students, or simply participating with friends for some fun, intramurals offer 18 leagues across 12 different sports, where anyone, regardless of their skill level, is sure to find something that works for them.
Intramural leagues are a fantastic way to take a break from stressing about classes, and to spend time with friends and colleagues. After all, what’s better than bonding with someone you know is procrastinating their next assignment just as badly as you are?
