A number of new sports have been added to the intramural resume this year, with doubles racquetball and floor hockey the latest to join the wide array of activities offered by Intramurals.

The doubles racquetball tournament was held as a one-day event on Feb. 25. The tournament saw 11 men’s teams, six coed teams and four women’s teams compete for the title in their respective divisions.

Holding the tournament on one day was a welcome change to singles racquetball tournaments held in the past. In those tournaments, participants were in charge of scheduling their own games throughout the week.

“I liked how the racquetball tournament was all one day,” said senior Nate Ruhland, a participant in the tournament. “It was nice so you didn’t have to keep track of getting in touch with the other people to try to set up your game.”

The inspiration for holding a doubles racquetball tournament came from the observation of how busy the racquetball courts are.

“I think the interest in racquetball is obviously there and there are several people playing year-round,” said Nicole Darling, assistant director of student activities/intramurals.

Of those who are constantly occupying the racquetball courts in Cowles Fieldhouse, most find themselves with a lack of variety in their competition.

“I play the same three or four people every time I play, so it’s nice to play some people with different styles and abilities,” Ruhland said.

For those racquetball players who didn’t get a chance to show their skills in the doubles tournament, there is no need to fret. A singles tournament with the same format as the doubles tournament is in the makings for later this year.

Another first for intramurals this year is an indoor floor hockey tournament. While demand for the racquetball tournament could be determined by simply observing the traffic in the courts, the demand for hockey had to be determined in a different way.

“I’ve been contacted several times in years past about people wanting to play hockey,” Darling said. “There have even been people who have wanted to start a hockey club.”

Although Simpson is not able to support a hockey club, it will do the best it can with intramural floor hockey. There will only be one division this year, consisting of seven teams competing in a double-elimination tournament.

“We only did a co-ed league this year to get our feet in the water and see what the response was,” Darling said. “I think it is something we can grow on.”

The floor hockey tournament provides a sense of nostalgia for many participants who may already be quite familiar with the sport.

“We brought that in because almost everybody played floor hockey in high school gym class, so we tried to bring gym class into college,” said junior Brady Buresh, a member of the Intramural Council.

So far the response has been positive for both doubles racquetball and floor hockey. The new sports are a part of a push to offer students more options when it comes to intramurals.

“We’re trying a lot of these new sports and we’ve had a good response by having a lot of teams signing up and getting excited about having more leagues to choose from,” said senior Reed Weston, a member of the Intramural Council. “The overall experience is improving by offering more sports.”