Intramural Sports Handbook

Invitation to Activity

The Oregon Institute of Technology intramural program is planned to offer a variety of individual and team events in three divisions: men, women, and co-ed. We hope that our program and its diversity will invite each of you to participate in at least one event during the academic year.

Participation in the Intramural program is organized through teams. Teams of individuals from your immediate residence area, classes, or friends compete the entire year for the same ultimate goal: to accumulate enough participation points and bonus points to be declared the outstanding intramural team and /or the outstanding individual participant of the year. The outstanding team and individuals have their names posted on the intramural bulletin board and engraved on the intramural plaque displayed in the lobby of the athletic department. Participation is more important than winning. Everyone receives participation points for effort; additional points are accumulated based on sports standings and playoff victories.

In the Intramural program you have the opportunity to exercise with new and old friends within an organized structure of physical activity.

Goals and Objectives

For the purpose of the Oregon Tech intramural program is to provide an opportunity for all students, faculty, and staff, regardless of skill level, to take part in a well-organized program of sporting activities.

All individuals are urged to participate in as many IM sports as time, interest, and knowledge allow. The overall success of the program depends on each participants full commitment to the activity by showing up for each scheduled contest and playing to the best of ones ability in a sportsmanlike manner.

The following objectives may be obtained through participation in the Oregon Tech intramural program:

A. To provide an opportunity to spend ones leisure time in organized sports and recreational activities.
B. To develop and/or maintain a physical fitness level.
C. To maintain and/or gain greater physical skill in a sport.
D. To increase social contacts.
E. To test ones physical skill against others.
F. To release mental stress in a positive manner.
G. To provide opportunities for leadership to students.

Team Eligibility Rules

1. All students enrolled at Oregon Tech are eligible to participate in the intramural program except as listed in rules 14, 17, and 19.

2. Faculty/staff may play on an IM team.

3. There will be no maximum membership indicated for a team roster, however, the most needed on any given sport/activity team is ten players. A roster may split into several teams. Points will be summated. (See IM participation numbers and entry points).

4. It is recommended that individuals remain on the same team for the academic year to give the team the best chance of winning the Outstanding Team Award.

5. Additions to IM team rosters after the start of a season are permitted, provided the individuals have not been registered previously with another IM team, All IM rules have been observed, and the IM office is notified. An addition must be reported on an entry form and placed in the IM directors mail box in the athletic office before 5:00 p.m. if the new participant plans to play during that evenings contest. A team member must play in at least one of the teams regular season contests to be eligible to participate in any playoff or tournament contests.

Forming a New Team Regulations

6. In order to enter all sports/activities throughout the year; organize your roster (student-faculty-staff) according to the number necessary for that sport. (See IM participation and entry points). If you are having difficulty finding a team on which to participate, ask other students or contact the IM Director.

7. Fill out an IM roster entry form with all team members listed. To register your team, return the completed entry form to the IM office. Restrictions on playing times and days must be making very clear on your team entry form.

8. Choose from the names on the roster a team manager/captain. (See IM Team Managers and Captains).

9. Keep the same team name the entire academic year to have a chance at wining the Outstanding Team Award. A team is considered the same team as long as it does not add members to its roster who were previously registered with another team and it keeps the same team name.

10. Once there has been an exchange of membership from one team to another, the team that adds a member who was previously on another roster, and every team member of that team lose all points and start over again at zero.

EXCEPTION: If an individuals team has not entered that IM sport/activity, then he/she may be borrowed by another team for that sport/activity without penalty. He/she must return to his/her primary team for the next IM sport/activity participation.

11. To be eligible for competition in a particular IM sport/activity, the team manager or team captain (see IM Team Managers and Captains) must sign-up their team in the IM office by 5:00 p.m. in the IM office on the sign-up date for that sport (see IM Sports Meeting Calendar). Competition entry forms are to be completed with all restrictions on playing times and days listed carefully. No more than tow former varsity or jayvee players of a sport may be on a single roster for that IM sport or related sports.

12. No officials will be used in intramural sports. Captains will be expected to keep their teams under control. A knowledgeable arbitrator will be hired for some sports only to settle disputes that cannot be resolved by the captains. The arbitrator will not be making calls.

13. The intramural supervisor will act as an arbitrator in some sports, but in all sports will be the scorer and /or timer. There will be no officials hired. Each captain will make sure that the teams make their own calls.

Varsity Athlete Eligibility Rules

14. No varsity or junior varsity athlete may compete in intramural sports during his/her official sport season, unless he/she is officially dropped from the varsity/jayvee team.

15. If a student who is trying out for a varsity or jv sport has been participating in a given IM sport prior to the date of the first varsity/jv schedule, then that student may finish out the given IM sport season if the coach permits.

16. Students who intend to try out for a varsity/jv sport in an athletic season later in the academic year may participate in that IM sport or related sports unless they have participated in that varsity/jv sport in the previous academic year at Oregon Tech or at some other institution, in which case they must be waived by the intramural director for participation.

17. Participants in a varsity/jv sport in the previous academic year at Oregon Tech or other institution, shall not be eligible to compete in that particular IM sport or related sports during that academic year.

18. A former athlete of a varsity/jv sport at Oregon Tech or other institution who is not participating in that sport during an academic year, or has been cut from or dropped out of the intercollegiate program is eligible to compete in that IM sport or related sports. However, no stacking of players is permitted. Only two former varsity or JV players of a sport are allowed on any one-team roster for that IM sport or related sports.

19. Any student classified as a professional athlete and barred from varsity/jv competition in a sport shall also be barred from equivalent and/or related IM sports.

Organizational Meeting Regulations

20. Organizational meetings are mandatory for participation in a particular sport or activity. The team manager or team captain (or a roster member substitute) must be in attendance at said meeting, or make other arrangements with the IM Director prior to the meeting, or the team will run the risk of being disqualified from competition.

21. Special rules, procedures, and playing arrangements for the sport will be arranged and agreed upon at the organizational meeting of team managers/team captains with the IM Director. Check the IM Sports Meeting Calendar or the IM bulletin board for meeting times. Please be on time.

22. All questions regarding the sport and the tournament structure will be answered at the organizational meeting.

23. If you are not affiliated with a team, but wish to participate, contact the IM Director before or at the meeting.

Participation Rules

24. A team member must legally play in at least one regular season contest to be eligible for playoffs.

25. If a team fails to appear at the appointed place, the contest shall be declared a no show. If a team is not ready to play (rule 27) at the scheduled starting time or if a team has one member present, but falls short of the minimum number (see Participation Numbers and Entry Points), the contest shall be declared a forfeit. One no show or two forfeits voids all IM team and individual participation points earned to date in that IM sport/activity season for said parties and places that team on probation. Once on probation, one additional no show or forfeit will eliminate that team from competition on that sport.

26. A team forfeits any contest in which it uses an ineligible player. The responsibility of checking on eligibility rests entirely upon the team manager of team captain. The IM director will check on players eligibility only when requested to do so. The illegal player does not receive points toward awards for that contest.

27. Being ready to play means that a team must have (on the playing site) the official number of players needed to start a contest in that sport. The team lineup must be properly recorded on the official score sheet by the team captain prior to the start time of the contest.

28. In sports without a sport supervisor, the team captains shall correctly enter the scores on the official score sheet and submit it to the IM Office within 24 h ours following the conclusion of said contest.

29. Any player or coach ejected from an IM contest by and arbitrator or the sport supervisor shall be disqualified for the remainder of that contest as well as the next regularly scheduled contest. The ejected party may be subject to further disciplinary action (See Rule 35) if the IM director feels the individuals un-sportsmanlike behavior to merit such action.

Health and Safety Regulations

30. It is the students responsibility to consider his/her own state of health/fitness before becoming involved in intramural sports. If you have questions about your level of conditioning or readiness, you should consult with the health clinic or your physician. The college can not be held responsible for students who participate with out a sensible training period.

31. The college does not accept responsibility for injuries resulting from intramural competition. First aid will be the intramural participants own responsibility and may be obtained at Merle West Medical Center at the participants own expense, or at health service during the clinic hours at the participants own expense.

32. The IM program does not carry insurance to cover those individuals who are injured while participating in IM contests. It is strongly recommended that all participants provide themselves with some form of accident insurance if they are not covered either by their own or their guardians insurance program.

Equipment Regulations

33. In intramural competition, no one may use equipment hazardous to others, such as: football equipment, baseball/ softball metal spikes, track spikes, or any other equipment or devices deemed hazardous by the IM Director, the sport supervisor, or the game arbitrator.

Tie Breaker Regulations

34. If two or more teams are tied, the following rules will be followed in order to determine the league regular season standings or the league bonus points after the playoffs:

Whoever does not have a no show or a forfeit on their total record. A no show is a more serious offense than a forfeit.
Head-to-head competition
Difference in points scored for vs. points scored against in contests involving just those teams
Difference in points scored vs. points scored against in all common contests excluding forfeit and no show contests.
Flip a coin.

If a situation occurs which is not covered above, the IM Director will make a decision on a process to handle it appropriately.

Sportsmanship Rules

35. Any individual who is found guilty of acting in an un-sportsmanlike manner may be disqualified from all IM participation for the balance of the individuals college career or any part thereof. The opinion of the game official or the sports supervisor will be the deciding factor in the suspension of a participant. However, the IM director will review all suspensions. If another member of the team is a party to the unsportsmanlike conduct, that individual or the team may be barred from IM participation for the balance of the year or any part thereof. Some examples of the infractions which would be considered as an unsportsmanlike act are:

A. Playing under an assumed name.
B. Playing illegally on more than one team.
C. Misrepresenting a score.
D. Being a varsity /jayvee participant and withholding the fact.
E. Willfully taking action to injure an opponent.
F. Behaving grossly or unruly at an IM contest either as a player, coach r spectator.
G. Using swear words toward another or searing loudly.
H. Any other unsportsmanlike or unacceptable action displayed in any manner or degree.

Protest Rules

36. No protest will be considered which concerns itself with the question of judgment exhibited by an arbitrator or the sport supervisor during an IM contest.

37. All protests, other than those concerning eligibility, must be made at the contest site at the time of the dispute to the proper official (an arbitrator or sport supervisor) indicating that the game or contest is being continued under protest along with the rationale for it. The proper official will take time to write a note on the back of the score sheet before the game is resumed. The official and both opposing captains must sign said protest. The signatures show that each party knows of the protest. It does not hold you to what is written on the protest. No consideration will be give to a formal protest that has not been made in the manner described above. In most instances problems can be satisfactorily resolved on the site by the IM sport supervisor or game arbitrator.

38. All protests, except those regarding eligibility, must be made in writing and given to the IM director within twenty-four hours after the contest in which the protest arose. If protest is filed after the standard 24-hour time period, it must further include a rationale for why the protest should be considered when it is beyond the usual 24-hour period.

39. A contest in which a non-eligibility protest is sustained, after the IM director has reviewed it, shall be replayed from the nearest actual point and condition of the game as was in force at the time of the protest or, as in softball, from the beginning of the half inning in which the protest occurred. A team found to use an ineligible player should have voided any victory gained in any contest in which the ineligible player participated.

Contest Postponement Regulations

40. With an extraordinary circumstance prevailing, it may be possible to reschedule a contest should conditions permit. A scheduled contest may be postponed only by a unanimous agreement of both team captains and the IM director. Such a postponement must be done not less than twenty-four hours prior to the originally scheduled contest time to enable adequate notification to all parties affected by the postponement. With the large number of entries, the comparatively short playing seasons, and the limited playing minimum. No game will be rescheduled if a request by either team to postpone occurs on the originally scheduled date.

IM Awards System

Outstanding Team Award

The IM team in both the mens and womens divisions which has accumulated the highest total of IM participation and bonus points throughout the academic year will be posted on the IM bulletin board, and will have its name and year engraved on the intramural plaque displayed in the lobby of the athletic the gym.

Outstanding Individual Award

The individual participants name in both the mens and womens divisions who has accumulated the highest total of IM participation and bonus points throughout the academic year within his/her division, and the coed division, will be posted on the IM bulletin board, and have his/her name and the year engraved on the intramural plaque displayed in the lobby of the gym.

Sports/activities Championship Awards

The members of the championship team in each IM sport/activity will receive a championship IM T-shirt. A team member must have participated in at least 50% of the teams regular season contests or, if a playoff is held in a sport, participated in at least on regular season contest and in one playoff contest to be eligible to receive a T-shirt for that sport. However, a team member not qualifying for an IM T-shirt award will receive individual participation points for each of the contests participated in which will accumulate toward the Outstanding Individual Award.

IM Participation Numbers and Entry Points *

	Max	Min	Entry
Sport/Activity	#	#	Points
Basketball	5	4	40
Bowling	4	3	40
Flag Football	7	5	40
Indoor Nerf Flag Football	7	5	30
Indoor Soccer	5	4	40
Slow Pitch Softball	10	6	40
Soccer	7	5	40
Tennis Singles	5	3	30
Tennis Singles & Doubles	2	2	30
Three Player Volleyball	3	2	30

* Maximum number means number actually participating at a given moment, not roster size.

IM Point System

Participation Points

Participation points are earned by each team and individual participating in an IM sport up to a maximum number of entry points for playing in all of the regularly scheduled contests in that sport. Any player who plays in all of a teams regular season contests will earn the same number of participation points toward the Outstanding Individual Award as the team does toward the Outstanding Team Award.

If an individual does not play in all of a teams regular season contests, said player will be awarded only the number of entry points equal to the allotted amount for the actual number of contests played by that individual. To determine the allotted amount of entry points per contest, divide the total entry points for the sport (See IM Participation Numbers and Entry Points) by the total number of regular season contests for that team. (Example: 40 entry points / 8 contests = 5 participation points per contest).

In selected IM sports, such as coed sports or coed or mixed special events, no team may earn participation points toward the Outstanding Team Award, but individuals playing on said teams may earn participation points toward the Outstanding Individual Award.

Bonus Points

League bonus points are awarded in addition to participation points according to the order of finish in the final league standings. The number of teams in the league determines the number of bonus points for each sport. The winner of six-team league would get six bonus points while the last place team would get one bonus point. For a tiebreaker see rule #34. Any player who plays in 50% of the regularly scheduled contests in a sport will receive that teams league bonus points.

Playoff bonus points are awarded according to winning or losing a playoff contest: two points for a win; 1point for a loss. The winning team of a four-team playoff would receive four bonus points and the runner-up team would receive three bonus points. Any player who participates in a sport playoff will receive playoff bonus points awarded only for the contests in which he/she has played.

League bonus points and playoff bonus pints earned in coed or mixed sports or special events may be used by individuals toward the Outstanding Individual Award, but may not be used by teams toward the Outstanding Team Award.

IM Team Managers and Captains

If an IM team is to receive maximum benefit and the best success in the IM program it must select a responsible person to serve as the IM team manager or captain. This person is the chief coordinator for all items of business between the team and the IM office including such responsibilities as:

Becoming knowledgeable in all IM matters by frequenting the IM bulletin board located in the Lobby at the athletic office, calling the IM office (5-1632), and attending the organizational meeting for each sport. (See the IM Sports Meeting Calendar).
Communicating to your ream all the important information received.
Registering our team by placing all team members names on an IM roster entry form and returning it to the IM office with accurate restrictions listed regarding times and days of competition.
Entering your team in the desired sports on or before the posted sign-up date for entries. (See the IM Sports Meeting Calendar).
Being a positive and active IM participant and promoter by doing everything possible to keep your team in consideration for the annual Outstanding Team Award as well as encouraging individuals to seek the Outstanding Individual Award.
Seeing that each sport/activity team has a capable captain, if not you. Experience has shown that teams having the best level of participation have had excellent team captains.
Daily do the following or instruct a TEAM Captain to:

a. Notify the team members of the date, time, and place of each contest.
b. See that team members are on hand for all contests at the scheduled time.
c. Be thoroughly familiar with the eligibility rules as contained in the IM handbook and abide by them.
d. Write the full name of each player on the score sheets before each game.
e. Be knowledgeable of the sport rules.

Only those students who are vitally interested and have the time and ability to organize a group should be appointed or elected as team managers or team captains. Inadequate managers or captains will be asked to relinquish their duties to someone better able to shoulder the responsibility.

IM Contest Arbitrator

Qualities of an arbitrator

In IM sports/activities where there is fast action, potential for physical contact between opponents, and team sizes of five or more players, an arbitrator will be assigned to a contest.

An arbitrator is a student employed by the IM program and selected on his/her ability to make good, quick decisions and knowledge of the rules. With some sports/activities the sport supervisor is also the arbitrator.

Procedures for Hiring and Firing

Individuals interested in arbitrating in the IM program must contact the IM director. A contest arbitrator is a paid position. Arbitrators are subject to removal by the IM Director based on input by IM Team managers, captains, and supervisors.