For any college student that played sports in high school, intramural sports are their secret to athletic glory – that is, if you aren’t good enough to be on a club or varsity sports team in college.
You are supposed to be reading about how “intramural referees suck,” as was assigned to me. However, I do not share the opinion the majority of athletic college students hold. As a member of Maryland’s club dodgeball team, I view referees as a completely necessary and completely useful tool.
In the game of dodgeball, referees play an important role that doesn’t exist in other sports. The players in a d-ball game are sometimes dishonest and sly – saying they hit someone when they actually haven’t or not going out when they actually got hit.
Dishonesty and the stretching of the rules, as the players would say, is a tactic used nationwide. After playing in various national tournaments involving schools like Ohio State, Kentucky, Kent State, James Madison and Miami (Ohio), I have seen firsthand the lying that goes on every dodgeball match.
The solution to this problem that negates absolute chaos from breaking out every match is the better-than-average refereeing that exists in the sport. Because of this, I support referees in intramurals and club sports. Without them, I’m convinced that an all-out brawl would occur due to the arguments of who is in and who is out.
Referees exist to keep the game fair and make sure everyone is playing by the rules. Since I have the most experience on the college-level in dodgeball, someone with this job description is worshipped. Also from what I’ve witnessed, the referees call a fair game in dodgeball.
The refs know that every game they officiate is treated like the Super Bowl for college students. The last thing they want is a hormone-filled frat guy cursing at them. They do the best they can.
Now I’m sure there will be people who disagree with me here and say something like, “Intramural refs suck! The guy guarding me in our three-on-three game basically tackled me every time I got the rock in the post!”
To that, I say: Man up, and hit the gym ya bum.
