Flag football kicks off Simpson’s intramural program this week with half as many teams registered.

Only 10 teams signed up, while 20 teams participated in last year’s flag football contest. But that won’t slow down competition

Nicole Darling, assistant director of student activities and intramurals, is not worried about the low registration.

“We always get some last minute registrations,” said Darling.

Registration for all intramural activities can be completed on the Simpson website, which makes it easy and convenient for teams to register.

In the past flag football has been a favorite sport of the intramural program. Now volleyball and basketball seem to be the favorites, according to Darling.

“I think it has to do with the fact we added coed teams for volleyball and basketball,” said Darling who added that the coed events make the game more competitive between teams.

The flag football teams are split into three categories: the men’s intramural cup, the men’s open and the women’s intramural cup.

“We would have a women’s open, but there aren’t enough women teams for a separate category,” said Darling.

The intramural cup is for housing units and the open category is for anybody who wants to have a team.

Each flag football team will play on a round robin schedule. After league play, a tournament schedule is formed. The final game is between the top two teams in each category.

Winners will receive the coveted intramural champion T-shirt and, new this year, an intramural can koozie.

Football games began Sept. 16. and continue through Sept. 25. Games are played on the intramural field, located north of the softball and baseball diamonds, weekdays from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Up next for the intramural program are volleyball and 3-on-3 basketball. Sign-up for 3-on-3 basketball begins this week and can be completed online.

Intramurals has new features planned for 2002. Students and faculty can now rent bikes to ride on the trails in Indianola. Intramural tennis will start in the spring.

For those students who want to participate in the intramural program but do not want to participate in the athletic events, the Intramural Council is open to all students to help in the planning process. During meetings, the council discusses any problems that may occur during events and evaluate the rules for each event.

The Intramural Council is always looking for volunteers to help during events and to provide new ideas as well.

The council is working on getting more student tickets to sporting events such as Iowa Cubs games and planning an event at Strike Zone Sports.

“My goal is to get more students involved and have more diverse activities so everyone can have fun,” said Intramural Council President Joel Parker.

The intramural council meets once a month at 7 p.m. in Camp Lounge. Students interested in attending should watch for e-mails and posters for the next Intramural Council meeting.