Texas A&M University-Kingsville Updated Spring 2017
WELCOME TO INTRAMURAL SPORTS Philosophy It is the purpose of the Department of Campus Recreation and Fitness at Texas A&M University- Kingsville to provide the students, faculty, and staff an opportunity to become, and remain active in a wide variety of activities. The intramural program offers ample opportunity for individual and team activities. These programs have been chosen to meet the needs and desires of the student body. It is a departmental objective to aid in the development of each participant's social interaction, need for competition, exercise, recreation, and to develop personal and professional growth opportunities and skills for life-long personal fitness. Our goal is participation. Take advantage of all that is offered. We welcome and rely on any suggestions you may have. This Intramural Sports Handbook is designed to provide team captains and Intramural Sports participants with specific guidelines and information that will assist them in participating fairly within the Intramural Sports Program. This manual provides guidelines for all intramural activities, so please check each sport specific rules for additional guidance. Any of these rules are subject to change at the discretion of the Intramural Staff. This handbook and all other rules are available for anyone. Please take advantage of this privilege. Participants are encouraged to have fun and enjoy the experience. DEPARTMENT OF CAMPUS RECREATION AND FITNESS Office Department of Campus Recreation and Fitness 700 University Blvd. MSC 208 Kingsville, TX 78363 Office Hours Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Recreational Sports Information 361-593-4771 Campus and Recreation Fitness Main Office 361-593-3065 Campus Recreation and Fitness Staff Tony Kreitzer Director Danny Feitel Assistant Director Competitive Sports Abel Mengsteab Recreation Staff Develop and Operations Coordinator
GENERAL INFORMATION CAPTAIN S RESPONSIBILITIES The person designated by a team to be a captain is responsible for fulfilling the following duties: Enter their team in the desired sport and league on or before registration ends. Ensure all players are properly registered on IMLeagues. Keep fully informed of eligibility rules and ensure team members abide by them. Keep in contact with the intramural staff. Notify all team members of the rules of the game and game schedules so that all are ready to play at game time. Represent their team at captain s meetings and any other meetings as necessary. Maintain high standards of sportsmanship for his/her group. Check the IMLeagues.com for information regarding team activities. Schedules will not be given out over the phone. PUBLICITY AND INFORMATION Upcoming sports and activities are publicized through the year in the following ways: Campus Recreation and Fitness information can be accessed on the TAMUK University Website http://www.tamuk.edu/recsports/ Flyers announcing upcoming sports are posted on bulletin boards around campus and on social media. The Student Handbook includes a section on intramural rules and regulations. Announcements and cancellations will be posted on IMLeagues.com. The Department of Campus Recreation and Fitness provides schedules, handbooks, and other related information as requested. ENTERING AN INTRAMURAL TEAM: Check for entry dates and information through any of the publicity avenues. Each team and individual participant will be required to create an account on IMLeagues.com to play in any sport. There is a link on Campus Recreation & Fitness web-site. http://www.tamuk.edu/recsports/ Once the account is created, then create a team, join a team or join as a Free Agent. There is a mandatory team captains meeting held for all team intramural sports. Failure to attend this meeting will result in a team being dropped from the league. A fee of $35 will be collected for each team in major sports. The fee must be paid prior to the Captain s meeting. The entry fee is non-refundable. LIABILITY, ASSUMPTION OF RISK AND HOLD HARMLESS STATEMENT A. Liability The Texas A&M University-Kingsville does not provide accident insurance coverage for injuries received by Intramural participants. Each participant should make sure that they have coverage either through family policies or the student insurance plan, available through TAMUK Health Services.
B. Assumption of Risk By registering a team, team captains assume the responsibility of making their teammates aware of the various risks of participating in this activity. Captains must share this statement with their teammates prior to their participation. Captains that do not agree to this responsibility will not be entered into intramural leagues. Participation in sporting and athletic activities involves certain inherent risks. This includes, without limitation, the significant risk of serious personal injury or death and the significant risk of personal property damage or destruction Intramural Sports has required, recommended and prohibited equipment designated by each sport. Required Equipment Players must wear required equipment to participate. A penalty or ejection from the game/match may occur if required equipment is not properly worn. Recommended equipment Intramural Sports recommends a person to use during play, however it is not mandatory. Prohibited equipment (designated by each sport) Equipment that may not be used during intramural play. This is for the safety of all participants. Use of prohibited equipment can result in a penalty, ejection and/or forfeit of the game/match. C. Hold Harmless Statement Participants assume all risks and consequences associated with or arising in connection with such participation. Participants agree to indemnify and hold harmless the State of Texas, the Board of Trustees of TAMUK, and the Texas A&M University-Kingsville, and their employees and students, and all organizations involved in the coordination, hosting, staffing and contribution of equipment and supplies, and their agents, servants and employees from and against any and all claims, damages, actions, liability and expenses in connection with loss of life, personal injury and/or damage to property arising out of my participation in the above-referenced activity. D. Injuries TAMUK and the Department of Campus Recreation and Fitness are not responsible for any injuries received while participating in Intramural Sports or while using any Campus Recreation and Fitness facility. Participation in Intramural Sports is completely voluntary and all participants are responsible for their own welfare. Any expenses incurred for transport or treatment of injury is the sole responsibility of the participant. Any participant that exhibits signs, symptoms or behaviors consistent with a concussion shall be immediately removed from play and shall be deemed ineligible for further participation until a note from a medical professional is delivered to the Campus Recreation and Fitness office stating the participant is cleared to again participate in Intramural Sports.
RULES OF ELIGIBILITY A. TAMUK Students (undergraduate & graduate) 1. Must be currently enrolled in at least one class and paying Campus Recreation and Fitness fees. B. Faculty and Staff 1. Must be a currently employed faculty or staff member who has paid for a Campus Recreation and Fitness Membership. C. Alumni paying member. 1. Are not eligible to participate in Intramural Sports. D. Dependents and Spouses 1. Are not eligible to participate in Intramural Sports. E. TAMHSC Students 1. Must be currently enrolled in at least one class and pay for a Campus Recreation and Fitness Membership. F. Exceptions 1. Professional athletes are permanently ineligible in the sport or comparative sport in which they were considered professional. 2. Any student currently playing/practicing on a varsity athletic team is ineligible for the current intramural sport season in that sport or comparative sport. 3. Any student who drops from a TAMUK varsity athletic squad after the first scheduled practice shall be ineligible during the current intramural sport season in that sport or comparative sport. 4. All former varsity athletes will be ineligible for a period of one calendar year from their last participation with varsity athletics. G. There is no roster size limitation. You may add as many players as you would like. Awards for champions will be limited based on sport. H. A person may only participate in one of the following: Men s, Women s, Open in each sport. Any player found in violation of this rule would be ineligible for the remainder of the sport s season and is subject to other disciplinary action. I. A person may participate on one Co-Recreational team per sport. J. Names can be added to a roster through your last regular season game. 1. No names can be added after the date that has been established at the team s captain s meeting. 2. An individual may request to change teams. The individual and both team captains must complete a Change of Team for in the SRC office Monday- Thursday from 8am-4:30pm. K. Any player participating under an assumed name or identification shall be barred/ejected from intramural participation indefinitely and the team he/she is playing for shall forfeit the game. The individual must seek reinstatement to participate. The individual may also be referred to the Office of Student Conduct for further disciplinary action.
LEAGUE COMPETITION DIVISIONS OF COMPETETION Divisions of competition are utilized to provide a more enjoyable and competitive atmosphere. If there is insufficient registration in a division for a sport, divisions/leagues may be combined to allow for a maximum participation. INDIVIDUAL DIVISION Individual sports are divided into Men and Women or Open. In some sports, pairings and tournament play may be determined by skill level or could be based on the number and type of participants. TEAM DIVISIONS Divisions are determined for team sports by the Intramural Sports Staff. There are four divisions of team play (Men, Women, Co-Rec and Open). MEN - Only male students, faculty, and staff may participate in the Men s Division. A female may choose to participate on a men s team but will relinquish their right to also participate on a Women s team. WOMEN -Only female students, faculty, and staff may participate in the Women s Division. OPEN - Team roster has no gender restriction and may be composed of any number of male and female participants. CO-REC - Teams are composed of males and females with a set ratio of males to females in accordance with the particular sport rules. Due to the varying interest of students, Intramural Sports tries to offer a variety of opportunity to the TAMUK population. To maximize a student s experience through the Campus Recreation and Fitness s Intramural Sports program, a division will be dissolved if it cannot reach a minimum of 4 teams. Any team in a division that is dissolved will be asked to move to another division of play if possible. If there is no other division opening, the team(s) may be placed on a waiting list, if requested. Intramural Sports also recognizes and encourages TAMUK s transgender student population and enables students to participate in divisions based upon their personal gender identity. Transgender students should contact the Campus Recreation and Fitness office for more information. LEVELS OF COMPETETION (TEAM SPORTS) Within most divisions a team will choose the level of competition that best meets their goals and ability levels. Depending on the number of teams and the particular sport, the following levels may be offered:
COMPETITIVE LEVEL (GOLD LEAGUE) These are highly competitive teams that desire a strong level of competition. At the end of each season, a single elimination tournament will be created to determine the league winner. RECREATIONAL LEVEL (BLUE LEAGUE) These teams are slightly less competitive, but still desire good competition. At the end of each season, a single elimination tournament will be created to determine the league winner. LEAGUE TOURNAMENTS A. Tournaments For most league sports, a tournament will be conducted at the end of league play. These tournaments are open to teams that participated in the regular season, and will determine the champions in each level. B. Tournament Eligibility All teams that complete the regular season with a Sportsmanship rating of 3.0 or higher will enter the league s tournament automatically. C. Regular Season Forfeits Teams with 2 or more forfeits will be automatically withdrawn from the league s tournament. D. Tournament Withdrawal Due to the number of teams in each tournament, it will be necessary for Intramural Sports to potentially schedule teams to play on different days and different time slots than which they played their regular season games. Teams wishing to withdraw from the tournament or change leagues must do so in writing to the Intramural Sports office 7 days prior to the end of the regular season. E. Schedule Once a tournament schedule has been posted, teams may not withdraw, cancel or default games without penalty of forfeit. F. Changing Divisions Teams may change divisions of play for the tournament by requesting in writing to the Intramural Sports office 7 days prior to the end of the regular season. A team that changes from the regular season to the tournament will be seeded with a.500 record. Final decisions on league changes are at the sole discretion of the Intramural Sports office and may be made without consultation with the captain. G. Tournament seeding Teams are seeded into a single elimination tournament bracket based on regular season winning %, head-to-head, sportsmanship rating. Standings are used as a guideline for seeding. The Intramural Sports office reserves the right to adjust seeding based on other factors.
FORFEIT POLICY The following forfeit policy will be in effect for all intramural contests: A. A team will forfeit a contest when: 1. The team is not ready to play. Game time =Forfeit time 2. The team leaves the playing area before the contest is completed. 3. The team is found to be using an ineligible player. 4. To start a game, you must have the minimum number outlined in the rules for that sport or it is a forfeit. B. 2 or more forfeits will eliminate a team from participating in play-offs. After three forfeits the team may be disqualified from the league. PROTEST A. All protests must be reported to a game official by the team captain. The game official will then notify the supervisor on duty. These protests will be handled onsite. B. If a team still disagrees with the ruling of Intramural Staff onsite, they may submit a Protest form completed by the Intramural staff onsite. The next business day, the team requesting the protest must present a protest fee payment of $25 to the Campus Recreation & Fitness Office prior to 5pm in order for the Protest to be investigated. C. Only protests regarding rules application will be allowed during the play of game. These will be decided by the Intramural Sports staff on duty. Protests based upon judgement calls of the officials will not be allowed. D. Protests regarding player eligibility must be made onsite with the Intramural Staff on duty. They must complete a Protest Form to be submitted to the Intramural Sports office. E. The Intramural Sports office will investigate all properly submitted protests and render a decision after obtaining all relevant information. F. Players found to be ineligible to participate upon protest will result in the team using an ineligible player to receive a forfeit. PLAYING RULES The rules of each sport will be discussed at the captain s meeting for that sport and are also available for download on the Campus Recreation & Fitness Website. POSTPONEMENTS A. Inclement Weather. Decisions prior to games starting will be made by the Intramural Sports Office. Decisions will be made prior to 4pm on weekdays and 12pm on weekends. Teams will be communicated with via IMLeagues. Decisions after games start will be made by Intramural Staff onsite. Teams will be communicated with via
IMLeagues. Every attempt will be made to reschedule regular season games. Due to time and field constraints, it may not be possible to reschedule all postponed games. B. Poor Field Conditions. The Intramural Sports office will decide if games will be postponed due to poor field conditions. Teams will be communicated with via IMLeagues. Decisions will be made prior to 4pm on weekdays and 12pm on weekends. Every attempt will be made to reschedule regular season games. Due to time and field constraints, it may not be possible to reschedule all postponed games. RESCHEDULING Games WILL NOT be rescheduled due to team conflicts. Games will only be rescheduled for a team in which 51% of the roster is involved in another Intramural Sports playoff game at the same time. BLOOD-RELATED INJURY RULE Any player who is bleeding must be replaced with a substitute until the bleeding stops. An intramural staff member or game official has the authority to remove the player. If by removing the player who is bleeding the team falls below the minimum number necessary to play for the specific sport, the game clock will stop and a maximum of (5) five minutes will be allowed for the player to stop bleeding. An intramural staff member must approve the player re-entering. If the bleeding is not stopped within the allowed time, the team will default the game. The fiveminute time allowance is only for teams who have no substitute when the player is bleeding. ALCOHOL, DRUGS AND TOBACCO Alcohol, drugs and tobacco are prohibited at or near all Campus Recreation & Fitness facilities. Players or spectators who show evidence of current or previous alcoholic consumption or drug use will be required to leave the playing area and are subject to ejection. Any teams, including identified spectators, having alcoholic beverages at an intramural game site are subject to being charged with a forfeit, and possibly referred to the Office of Student Conduct. AWARD SYSTEM Intramural Sports Championship shirts will be awarded to the winner/winners of each sport. An allotted amount of t-shirts will be awarded to the winning teams of each division. (Flag Football - 14, Dodgeball - 12, Indoor Volleyball - 12, Team Bowling - 10, 3-on-3 Basketball - 6, Soccer - 14, 5-on-5 Basketball - 10, Softball -15, Kickball - 15, 4-on-4 Sand Volleyball - 8). All dual sports will receive 2 shirts and single participant sports will receive 1. RULES OF CONDUCT SPORTSMANSHIP A sportsmanship rating system will be used to promote good sportsmanship with a winning attitude. Intramural Sports officials will rate teams after each league game on a five-point scale for sportsmanship. Team displaying less than a 3.0 average sportsmanship rating will not be allowed to participate in their league playoffs (regardless of the team's win/loss record).
The following is a description of the point system: 5 = Excellent conduct and sportsmanship. Players cooperate with officials and team members. The captain calmly converses with officials and has complete control over their team. 4 = Acceptable conduct and sportsmanship. Team members show minor dissent that may or may not warrant a warning. Captain exhibits some control over their team. Teams that earn 1 unsportsmanlike/technical foul will not receive higher than a 4. 3 = Below average conduct and sportsmanship. Team shows verbal dissent towards officials or opposing team that may or not warrant a warning. Captain exhibits minor control over their team. Teams that earn 2 unsportsmanlike/technical foul or one ejection will not receive higher than a 3. 2 = Poor conduct and sportsmanship. Team constantly shows dissent. Multiple instances of poor sportsmanship that could include minor and major infractions towards officials and opponents. Several warnings and/or one ejection. Captain exhibits little control over players and spectators, unnecessary roughness. Team captain exhibits no control over their team. 1 = Unacceptable conduct and sportsmanship. Team completely uncooperative. Team captain has no control over team. Any team receiving 3 unsportsmanlike/technical fouls or more than one unsportsmanlike ejection in game will receive a 1 rating. If a 1 is issued, the team captain must meet with the Intramural Sports staff prior to the next scheduled game. 0 = Forfeit AUTHORITY OF STAFF Intramural Officials have the authority to remove a participant from a game, without warning, any player who is playing in a dangerous manner, displaying unsportsmanlike conduct, or shows evidence of drug or alcohol use. When a player has been ejected from a game, he/she must leave the facility immediately. Intramural Supervisors have the authority to remove participants, coaches and spectators from any intramural contest without warning who shows inappropriate behavior. A. Unsportsmanlike Conduct Unsportsmanlike conduct includes but is not limited to: 1. Attempting to influence a decision by an official or supervisor. 2. Disrespectfully addressing an official or supervisor. 3. Indicating objections to an official or supervisor s decision. 4. Using profanity, insulting, demeaning or vulgar language or gestures. 5. Any form of baiting or taunting, including any form of taunting which is intended or designed to embarrass, ridicule or demean others under any circumstances including on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin.
B. Ejection Sports Specific Examples: A. Basketball (1) Technical foul = warning (2) Second technical foul = ejection (3) Three technical fouls on one team = forfeit B. Football (1) Unsportsmanlike conduct penalty = warning (2) Second unsportsmanlike penalty = ejection (3) A second ejection = forfeit (4) 4 unsportsmanlike penalty = forfeit C. Soccer (Indoor & Outdoor) / Volleyball (1) Yellow card = warning (2) Second yellow card or first red card = ejection (3) Two ejections = forfeit D. Softball (1) Verbal admonishment = warning (2) Second verbal warning or first severe act = ejection (3) Two ejections on one team = forfeit Ejections may be issued without warning. 1. If an individual is ejected, they must leave the premises. If this requirement is not met, a forfeit may be called by the Intramural Sports staff on duty. 2. Any player, coach, or team fan receiving an ejection must meet with the Intramural Sports Staff before participating in any intramural contest. Penalties for ejection may range from a minimum suspension of one game up to a lifetime ban. 3. Team captains are responsible for the conduct of their players, sidelines, and spectators. Team captains who cannot fulfill this responsibility will be issued a warning and a subsequent ejection if necessary. 4. The Assistant Director Competitive Sports will hear all ejection cases. They will take in to account all information provided by persons present during the ejection. They will also provide the ejected participant an opportunity to state their case regarding the ejection. The Assistant Director will then render a decision regarding the ejection and impose sanctions as necessary. 5. The Assistant Director Competitive Sports will have final say in all matters unless it is a suspension of more than one year. These suspensions may be appealed to the Director of Campus Recreation and Fitness. 6. In the case of extreme misconduct, teams and/or individuals may be referred to the Dean of Students. 7. An ejected player s rights will be relinquished to represent TAMUK in any extramural event. 8. If a team continues to have sportsmanship issues, it is at the discretion of the Intramural Sports staff to remove that team for the remainder of the season.
C. Fighting Fighting is defined as a participant intentionally striking, pushing, slapping, punching, elbowing, tackling, or committing any other malicious act toward any other person (contact does not need to be made). Any action which causes an opponent to do any of the above acts will also be deemed as fighting. Fighting is never permitted in Intramural Sport contests. Participants who fight will be ejected immediately and suspended from all further participation until the outcome of a disciplinary action meeting with the Intramural Sports staff. INDEFINTE SUSPENSION AND REINSTATEMENT A. Email the Assistant Director Competitive Sports to set up a date and time to meet. B. Remember, an ejected player cannot participate in any intramural sport events until a decision has been rendered. C. Length of suspension will be determined by the severity of the act or behavior. D. A player suspended during play is ineligible to compete during the elimination tournament for that sport. SUBJECT TO EJECTION Participants are subject to ejection from intramural events from the time they arrive at the game site to the time they leave. Participants may be additionally sanctioned for any harassment of staff or other participants that takes place off SRC premises if reported by staff members, including electronic or internet forms of harassment EXTRAMURAL EVENTS Each year intramural teams represent Texas A&M University-Kingsville in a variety of events (i.e. flag football, basketball, softball) against champions from other universities. Information on extramural events will be provided to teams during the season. All teams that are interested in participation in an extramural event must have proper paper work completed in compliance with university student travel policies. Department of Campus Recreation and Fitness will only pay registration fees for events. If a player is ejected from an extramural event, that player will be suspended and have to go through the reinstatement process as if it was a game on campus.