As much of the Riverside population knows, intramurals has just recently started with Riverside teacher Mr. Jeremy Neufeld as the sponsor. When asked about the intramurals, Neufeld said, “The order of games being played this year are volleyball, basketball, soccer, handball, and dodgeball.” Mr. Neufeld was also asked what his favorite sport is to watch the students play, to which he replied, “soccer.” Change this year will be in numerous technological advances, states Neufeld. “The only change this year will be that we will try and incorporate the video into intramurals maybe with video replays and music (because of the new Jumbo-Tron.) We will stick with the five sports (Volleyball, Basketball, Soccer, Handball, and Dodgeball).” For athletics, Mr. Neufeld is inspired by multi-sport legend Bo Jackson for his dedication, work ethic, and passion for not just one sport, but two (baseball and football.)
Riverside’s very own senior volleyball athlete, Grade 12 student Shannon Mason, is enthusiastic about the program. She is also a supervisor of the fitness club. I think as a form of general school involvement, it’s great. It’s a load of fun, you get to know different people, and it’s a good way to expand your comfort zone,” Mason said. “There can also be a sense of support with it because people you know will come and watch intramurals, so it’s a cool feeling when someone is cheering you on. On the flip side though, straight up, losing sucks.” Mason described how she thinks that the organizers should be more lenient with how many people from a school sports team are allowed per intramural team. Mason believes the more competitive the play, the better. “I like to win y’know, so that’s why I think those things,” said Mason. Although, the staff that run the games believe that too many athletes on one team would give them an unfair advantage.
For all the athletes out there or people who just want to have a good time, come to the gym for intramurals. Anyone that is interested in sports/athletics is invited to watch actual sports games as well, such as senior girls volleyball at 8:00 on Thursdays.