Resources and Rules for Intramural Sports

The ultimate goal of the Whitman College Intramural Sports program is to provide an inclusive, safe, fun, and competitive environment for the student body to play recreational sports. Teams can be based on dorms, clubs, or simply new or old friend groups. It is a great way to be active on campus and meet new people. Plus you get a blue shirt if you win. IM Sports provide a great break from school work while keeping you connected with the Whitman student body.

IM Sports are run by a small group of Whitman students (referred to here as the IM Committee), representing each grade and different interests around campus, who are passionate about ensuring that students have a positive and worthwhile experience playing IM Sports.

To be eligible to play any IM Sport, you must be either an active student or a staff or faculty member currently on the payroll of Whitman College for that semester. Being a chaperone for club sports trips does qualify you to play IM Sports. These guidelines are in place to maintain the Whitman community within our participants, and current students, staff, and faculty is where we draw that line. Please contact the IM Committee before a season starts if you have any questions about a specific participant’s eligibility.

The registration period for each sport will open a few weeks before each season begins. The easiest way to stay on top of this is to be on the IM listserv (imsports@whitman.edu) and to follow the Whitman IMs instagran page (https://www.instagram.com/whitmanintramuralsports/). As one season winds down the next will start up, and we will send emails to the listserv, and post on instagram, and other listservs getting the word out about what sports are next, when they start, and when registration forms are due. Look for flyers around campus too and feel free to contact the Committee if you are curious when a season’s registration starts.

To register for your first IM sport you must create an account on (http://www.imleagues.com). Here you will fill out your contact information and complete your waiver form online. To actually sign up for a sport as an individual or with a team, you will need to fill out the appropriate google form. These forms will be sent out by the IM Committee before the season begins.

Most significantly, the captains are the team organizers, the liaisons between the IM Committee and the general IM athletes, and the peacekeepers. Before each season the captain is required to attend a captains meeting where general information and rules are shared. The general expectations for captains to fulfill include the following:

• Relay information back to your teams about games, rules, and sportsmanship expectations for the season
• Communicate with both the Committee and opposing team when your team needs to reschedule a game more than 24 hours before that game time
• Record scores to the IM Leagues website
• Take it upon yourself to be responsible for your players during a game. Be ready and able to talk your own player down and keep the peace if an altercation arises during a game. You may have IM Committee members or referees on hand (depending on the sport and the game) to help you out, but you are responsible for your team. If your teammate is out of line, you should take it upon yourself to remove the player from the game.
• Lastly, reach out to Committee members if there are any problems, questions, or suggestions.

Team captains truly ensure the vitality of IM sports. Each sport, each season would not go as smoothly without captains’ dedication so we thank captains for their hard work and encourage you to step up and be a captain of a sport if you are considering this fun opportunity.

It is expected for all sports that participants play with sportsmanship. While games can get very competitive, the main purpose of IM Sports is to provide an enjoyable athletic experience for everyone. 

As far as equipment goes, if you would like to bring your own, feel free, but the IM committee will provide as much equipment for you as we can.

The IM Committee and the school provide the following:

• The college’s basketball courts, tennis courts, multi propose gym, and the outdoor volleyball courts and nets
• Cones, flags, nets for flag football and soccer
• Bases and balls for dodgeballs
• Rackets and balls for tennis
• Volleyballs, Soccer balls, Footballs, ect.
• Spikeball and Cornhole sets

IM athletes are responsible for providing:

• Proper footwear and clothing for each sport
• Your own equipment if you so desire
• A positive attitude

Yes! A coveted blue shirt! They have been the winning prizes for years and years; it is a Whitman tradition. Of course, the pride and stories of a successful and fun season can also last your whole time at Whitman, too.

NO!! We want all sports to be accessible to everyone!

Game length and frequency depend on the sport. Generally, we have one sport competing during the week and another on weekends so that you can participate in both with minimal conflict if you so choose. Each team typically has 1-2 games per week. The length of games depends on the sport, but they generally last between half an hour to an hour.

Yes, just email the imcommittee@whitman.edu or your designated IM committee member.

You can email the IM committee asking about being a 'free agent' or to be placed with an already existing team. Just reach out to the Committee if you are looking to join a team and haven’t found one yet, we're here to help!

No. Players must choose to play in only one division for each sport.

This is meant to protect the integrity of each division. For sports that have 2 divisions, Division 1 is generally more competitive and Division 2 can be competitive it can also be more casual or for participants less experienced in the sport.

Varsity athletes are not allowed to compete in the same IM Sport that they compete in at a varsity level. A person is considered a varsity athlete by the IM Committee if he/she is (or was) on a varsity roster that year. That means that a senior volleyball player, even though they are graduating and are technically done with volleyball, would not be eligible to play IM Volleyball in the spring, as they were on the varsity roster in the fall. From time to time we get negative feedback about this; while we recognize it restricts some varsity athletes from playing their sport, it is in line to attempt to create a competitive and fair environment for everyone.

Even if you, a varsity athlete, were to say you won’t take it seriously, we have no way of ensuring that and we know it can be a very tough thing to do if the game gets close. With years of experience to draw on, we have found it best to not allow it at all. As for playing in a different IM Sport than what they compete in at the varsity level, yes, varsity athletes are encouraged to play!

Yes, but depending on the sport only 1-2 former varsity players are allowed to be on the field/court at a time. That exact number is determined by the Committee depending on the impact we feel a single more-talented player can have on a game - for example we limit basketball to 1 ex-varsity player on the court per team at a time, whereas we limit soccer to 2. A Whitman student counts as ex-varsity if they were not on the varsity roster for that year. Staff and faculty also count as ex-varsity if they played at the varsity level in college. This mostly comes into play with varsity coaches.

Contact the IM Committee at imcommittee@whitman.edu with any issues, concerns, or questions. The IM Committee has the right to determine if any disciplinary action is necessary. In a situation where it might be necessary, we will do our best to collect as much information on the incident as possible before coming to any decisions. Any decision that the Committee does come to is arrived at based on how the action fit in with the goals and purpose of IM Sports. Any decision is expected to be respected and followed by the participants involved.

As a general rule, the Committee deals with any situation brought before it on a case-by-case basis, so it is hard to generalize what happens to a player who has done something out of line. That being said, the severity of the Committee’s action on an infracting player depends on how serious the infraction was. If the action appeared to be minor, the Committee may do as little as informing the player that a complaint was filed against them for such-and-such a reason, and could they please be aware of that and avoid acting similarly in the future. On the other hand, if the action is egregious then the Committee can go so far as to ban the player for a game, the season, the year of IM Sports, or even IM Sports for the rest of a player’s Whitman career. While those are possibilities, the Committee members are all IM athletes as well and understand what it is about and would only ban someone if they appear to have no regard for safety, the rules, respect for other players, etc. In the event that something like that were to take place, in addition to disciplinary measures the Committee would give the player an official warning. We want as many people to play as possible, and would only level this sort of punishment in severe cases.

If a player receives a second official warning, he or she may be banned from the remainder of the season that the infraction occurred in. If the player receives a 3rd warning, he or she will be banned from participating in IM Sports entirely for the rest of a participant’s Whitman career. These warnings carry over year to year.

It is the responsibility of the captain to contact the other team and the IM Committee and referees if necessary (depending on the sport and whether the games have refs, are self-officiated, and/or require a field to be set up by the IM Committee). If you do not contact the other team in advance and do not show up to the game, this counts as a forfeit. If you show up at the game and are unable to gather enough players, you are also eligible for a forfeit. In all these situations we recommend that you communicate with the other captain who, if they agree, can simply reschedule the game. It is up to the discretion of the other team to agree to reschedule the game rather than count a game as a forfeit. If you are playing a sport that requires referees, contact them or the IM Committee 24 hours in advance. If you do not have enough players but still wish you to play, the two teams can agree to play down players, but it is up to the team with a full team to agree.