Maria Ataya | The Chronicle
Despite efforts to bring intramural sports to Mason High School (MHS), a planned sand volleyball league failed to launch, raising questions about what prevents students from participating and the challenges of establishing intramurals.
Intramural sports allow students of all experience levels to participate in athletics without the pressure of making a competitive school team. MHS has offered intramural sports in the past, but previous efforts have struggled to attract enough students to continue.
MHS Associate Principal Brandon Rompies, who has worked to establish intramural sports, said getting students to commit to another activity can be difficult because of their busy schedules. Rompies hopes that by offering more opportunities for students to get involved, they will be encouraged to participate and stay active while balancing other commitments.
“My gut feeling is that students just have a lot on their plate, and they don’t have time for a lot of other things to be added,” Rompies said. “All we’re doing is trying to create opportunities, and some of them will stick, some won’t.”
Over the past few years, MHS has tried several intramural sports, including dodgeball, field hockey and soccer, but none drew enough interest to take off. This October, an attempt to start an intramural sand volleyball league fell through after students backed out of payments and interest declined.
MHS sophomore Sabina Nuriddinova, who looked forward to the opportunity, suggested that there were multiple factors at play that caused the fall-through. She said one component could have been people feeling like they were not good enough to play, but the goal of the league is to encourage students to step out of their comfort zones and try new things.
“People didn’t want to join because of intimidation from other people joining, and were scared that certain people would be better than them,” Nuriddinova said. “I think that’s messed up because that’s the whole point of this: learning.”
Nuriddinova said she was disappointed to miss the opportunity to play a sport she loves. After not making the girls volleyball team this year, she felt hopeful when she learned MHS was starting a sand volleyball league.
“My excitement was built up just for them to cancel [the intramural] last minute,” Nuriddinova said. “I didn’t expect it, and I was kind of disappointed that other people were the reason I lost this opportunity.”
Beyond the cancellation, Nuriddinova said she believes students may overlook the purpose of intramurals and the value of participating for fun rather than competition or college applications. She said it can also be a chance to step away from pressure to achieve; an opportunity to enjoy an activity simply for the experience.
“The reason [students may not be joining] is because people don’t take it as seriously because it’s not a professional team,” Nuriddinova said. “But what people need to understand is not everything has to be for a resume or taken seriously; you can divert your time to other opportunities just for fun, and that’s why I was interested.”
For MHS junior Michelle Mitchell, who is graduating early, the league offered a chance to enjoy her final year with friends. Its cancellation meant losing an opportunity to create carefree memories in her remaining time in high school.
“I think it was important because I want to make the most out of my high school experience,” Mitchell said. “I feel like having something that you can look forward to every week and hanging out with my friends as much as I can before I leave for college would be fun and help me kind of soak up the last moments of high school and get more involved.”
Although Mitchell saw intramurals as an opportunity to make the most of her remaining time in high school, she recognized that other students have their reasons for not signing up. Similar to Nuriddinova, Mitchell said some students may have felt intimidated by playing an unfamiliar sport or hesitant to join without friends, and others may have struggled to fit intramurals into their busy schedules.
“I think that a lot of people may have been scared to sign up because they don’t know how to play volleyball, or they just may not have any friends wanting to do it with them,” Mitchell said. “High school obviously can get busy, especially in junior and senior year, and I feel like people may not have time for [intramurals], focusing on academics or other sports more.”
Despite understanding the reasons students may have been hesitant to join, Mitchell said other students should not to let fear or inexperience prevent them from trying something new, as she has never played volleyball before either. She encourages students to be willing to try new activities and make the most of their high school experience; one of the main reasons she was motivated to try out intramurals.
“If you want to do it, just do it,” Mitchell said. “You only live once. High school is pretty short, so I would say if it’s something you even consider doing, maybe just see how it is; it could be fun for everyone.”
Not only that, but if intramurals gain enough interest in the future, it could be the beginning of students looking more into doing activities just for the fun of it. Mitchell said it can be a way to make students more used to branching out.
“I think that it would make people more comfortable to participate in other things and give them another experience that they could do outside of school,” Mitchell said. “Maybe even to have a community.”
For Rompies, that sense of connection is what motivates him to establish intramural sports in the first place. While academics prepare students for life after high school, he said the relationships and memories students make along the way are just as important.
“My wish is that everyone can look back and say, ‘I had a really good time in high school,’” Rompies said. “[That students can say], ‘I learned a lot, and I’m leaving here with a stockpile of these Mason moments where I can look fondly back at my high school career and say that was a good time in my life. I had people around me, my teachers and people in the high school building that were there to support me along the way.’”
Although the sand volleyball league may not have worked out this season, Rompies remains devoted to creating opportunities for students to come together. He believes intramurals offer more than just a chance to play the sport itself.
“There’s value in the experience of just having fun, being active, [and] pushing yourself, [as well as] the social element,” Rompies said. “You can miss out on these enrichment activities of getting to know people and going through this experience with them, [even if it is] as simple as intramurals.”
