INDIANOLA, Iowa — Having a love for competition and sport isn’t just a trait exclusive to athletes. So for those who hung up their athletic careers after high school and need a place to unleash their competitive edge, there are intramurals.

Senior Tanner Augustine is one of those people.

Augustine came to Simpson to play football but quit after his freshman year to focus on academics. However, the itch to compete against others was still there, so he gave intramurals a shot.

“After I quit football, I needed a competitive outlet, so I decided to take up flag football, basketball and floor hockey,” Augustine said. “It helped to have a place where I could still compete but also not have to dedicate a lot of my time to it.”

Intramurals not only provided Augustine a place to feed his athletic and competitive side, but it also allowed him to meet and become friends with people that he normally wouldn’t have interacted with.

“Just by consequence of playing intramurals for three years, I met some people through random teammate assignments that have become friends of mine. Without playing intramurals I don’t know that I even would have met some of them,” Augustine said.

On the other end of the spectrum is junior David De Haro.

De Haro has participated in 12 different intramural activities in his three years at Simpson, ranging from five-on-five basketball to kin-ball. The Juarez, Mexico, native has dominated the intramural circuit, collecting championships in outdoor soccer, kin-ball, three-on-three basketball and most recently, five-on-five basketball.

De Haro played sports in high school, and, like Augustine, wanted a place to be competitive in college.

“I love to compete and I always give 100 percent, but I enjoy it more than an actual game because it is just for fun,” De Haro said.

Intramurals not only provides a place for students to have fun and be competitive with one another, but it provides a distraction from the hectic and stressful college experience.

“In the past, I have had a heavy workload with school, internships and all of the other things that come with being involved on campus and intramurals was a nice escape from all that,” Augustine said.

For those that aren’t involved with any club, team or organization, intramurals is an easy way to get and stay involved on campus.

“I would encourage more people to play,” De Haro said. “It is always fun to play your favorite sport with friends or even make new friends.”