Intramurals

Principles of Intramural Sports     INVOLVEMENT - Getting Students & Staff Involved in Intramural Sports Informing prospective players of the guidelines and procedures of being involved in Intramural Sports is a duty shared between IM staff and team captains. Captain’s Responsibilities — The team captain is responsible for informing his/her team, its participants and associates, of the applicable guidelines and procedures governing Intramural Sports and the rules specific to the sport in which the team is participating. Campus Recreation and Intramural Sports utilizes the team captain to communicate official business including rule and principle violations and sportsmanship-related issues. It is the responsibility of the team captain to communicate such information in a timely manner to the team's participants and associates. Captains are urged to notify all players and fans that drugs and alcohol are prohibited at all intramural facilities and that participating under the influence can result in player or fan ejection, team disqualification, and further disciplinary actions by the Dean of Students Office.   FAIR PLAY - Ensuring Fair Play in a Competitive Sports Atmosphere Intramural sports are competitive by nature. To best ensure fairness among all our teams and participants, numerous guidelines regarding individual and team eligibility have been developed. General Player Eligibility — Currently enrolled, fee paying students of Salisbury University are eligible for Intramural Sports leagues and events. Faculty and full-time staff (working 40 hours per week) are also eligible. SU alumni are NOT eligible. Restricted Players — Current SU student-athletes, former student-athletes from any college or university, ex student-athletes, professional players, and sport club members face additional restrictions to their participation in sports related to their previous or current athletic endeavors. Sport Club Members — A team’s season roster is limited to 2 sport-related club players. A player is considered a club player if he/she has appeared on the club’s roster at anytime within the last 12 months. This is a roster limit (not just those players in the game). Varsity Athletes — Current varsity athletes may participate in IM sports not related to their varsity sport. A player is considered a varsity athlete if he/she participates in a varsity practice. Former varsity athletes are eligible to participate in their sport beginning in the academic year following their final varsity season. Former varsity athletes must participate in the highest division available in their sport; such teams are limited to 1 former varsity athlete.   PARTICIPATION - Providing Equitable Opportunities for Participation To best ensure appropriate use of our programs by eligible participants, numerous guidelines regarding team rosters and participant pregame check-in and identification have been established. Valid ID Required — Each participant must present his or her valid SU Gull Card to check-in prior to each intramural contest. The IM staff may request photo ID from any participant at any time before, during, or after a contest. A participant attempting to register or sign-in for a contest when using a different student's SU Gull Card for identification or other form of fraudulent identification will be barred from participating in the contest. Such individual and his/her team may also face additional penalties. Team Rosters — A team's official season roster is comprised of those eligible players who properly register online and all rosters will become “frozen” one week after the start of the regular season. Number of Teams — Players are NOT allowed to participate on two teams in the same league (men’s, women’s, or co-rec) within a sport at the same time. Players may participate on 1 single-gender team (men’s, women’s,) AND 1 co-rec team within a sport at the same time. Team of Record — A participant is considered to have officially played for a team once he/she has been signed-in on a team's roster at the game/match site, regardless of whether he/she actively plays in the game/match. The first team played (or signed up for) is the participant's official team of record. A participant, having played for one team, may NOT change to another team during the season. Eligibility Violations — A  team which is participating with an ineligible player as discovered by IM staff at the game site shall immediately forfeit the game or match. This includes failure to produce valid SU Gull Card upon request of an IM staff member before, during, or after an IM contest. Eligibility violations discovered through post-game administrative review can result in the violating team being assessed a forfeit, dropped from the league, or eliminated from a tournament or the playoffs, and possible action by the Dean of Students Office.   SAFETY - Ensuring the Safety of Participants, Patrons, and Staff Intramural Sports is committed to providing a safe environment for participants, spectators, and staff by reducing unnecessary risks. Injuries and Insurance — Salisbury University does not provide insurance coverage for any injury or accident related to participation in intramural sports or activities or any "practice" or "free play". Each individual participant should provide his/her own coverage either through family policies. All injuries, including those which might occur during "free play", should be immediately reported to the intramural supervisor on duty.   FACILITIES - Maintaining Quality Recreational Facilities for the SU Community Intramural Sports is charged with maintaining quality indoor and outdoor recreational sports facilities for the SU community. Guidelines have been developed to best preserve these facilities for use by current SU students, faculty, and staff. Inclement Weather — In the event of inclement weather, teams should call the Intramural office after 4:00 pm or visit the Intramural Sports web site for information  regarding the status of their game. Games or matches postponed due to inclement weather during the regular season may or may not be rescheduled. Playoff games affected by inclement weather will be rescheduled by the Intramural Sports staff as soon as possible. In the event of bad weather during the playoffs, team captains should visit the IM Sports web site during the next business day for reschedule details.   Team Sport Playoff Qualification All teams with at least 2 wins and an average regular season sportsmanship rating of 4.0 or better and without an outstanding forfeit qualify for the playoffs.   ORGANIZATION - Providing Organization and Structure for Teams and Participants SU Intramural Sports schedules nearly 1,000 games and matches for over 500 teams in its sports every year. These guidelines and procedures help participants and teams assist us with keeping our games and matches on schedule each game day and throughout the season. Game Time & Optional Grace Period — Scheduled game time is forfeit time. A team is considered ready to play when the required minimum number of players for the sport are properly signed-in with IM staff, present at the specific field or court for its scheduled contest, and properly equipped for play at the designated game time. Teams must be ready to play at game time to avoid a penalty. At game time, the captain of the team ready to play may opt to wait up to 5 minutes for the opposing team to become ready to play or take a win by default/forfeit. The decision may not be changed. If the opponent becomes ready to play, the game time will be shortened by the number of minutes the team was late. The game result will count as a normal game. Defaults & Forfeits — A forfeit is recorded when a team appears with 2 (or more) less than the number of players required to start a game. A default is recorded when a team appears at the game site with 1 less than the number of players required to start a game. Number of Forfeits — Teams which forfeit 1 regular season game must contact the IM Sports Office by 12 Noon on the next business day following the forfeit to request to remain in the league. Teams requesting to stay in the league must also pay a $20 forfeit fee to hold their spot in the league. Payment is due by 12 Noon of their next game day. Teams that fail to contact the IM Sports Office by the day and time specified are subject to removal from the league to accommodate other teams from the sport’s wait list. Teams which forfeit a tournament game are automatically eliminated from tournament play. For tournament forfeits, the payment of the forfeit fee is not applicable. Defaulting a Game — Any team or individual unable to attend a scheduled contest should notify the Intramural Sports office at 410-548-3266. Teams or individuals must contact the Intramural Sports office by 12 Noon on Friday to default any weekend games or matches. Game-Site Defaults & Number of Defaults — A game-site default during the first week of play (showing up to the team’s first scheduled contest without enough players) will result in the team being dropped from the league. Teams which default other regular season games will be assessed a loss for the contest and remain eligible for further play. The second and subsequent defaults by a team in the same sport will result in a forfeit and the team will be subject to the provisions of the forfeit policy.   SPORTSMANSHIP - Promoting Sportsmanlike Behavior Among Participants, Opponents, Spectators, and Staff The mission of Intramural Sports is to provide a recreational environment for the University community which is safe and enjoyable. While the game atmosphere is often competitive, ensuring participant safety, providing a fun, social atmosphere, and promoting sportsmanlike behavior among participants, spectators, and team followers are among our primary goals. The game atmosphere should remain good-natured at all times. Participants shall maintain good sportsmanship throughout their participation in all facets of the intramural program. The Sportsmanship Rating System is intended to be an objective scale by which teams' attitude and behavior can be assessed throughout the intramural sports league and playoff seasons. Behavior before, during, and after an intramural sports contest is included in the rating. The team captain is responsible for educating and informing all players and spectators affiliated with his/her team about the system.  A team is responsible for the actions of the individual team members and spectators related to it. The team captain's efforts in assisting officials/staff to calm difficult situations and to restrain troubled teammates are key to controlling team conduct. Sportsmanship is vital to the conduct of every Intramural contest. In order to encourage proper conduct during games, officials, administrative personnel, and supervisors shall make decisions on whether to warn, penalize or eject players or teams for poor sportsmanship. These decisions are final. The Intramural Sports administrative staff will rule on further penalties as a result of unsportsmanlike conduct. Each participant should choose his or her team members carefully, as all team members will suffer the consequences of any disciplinary action taken by the Intramural Sports staff against that team for violation of the intramural rules and sportsmanship guidelines. The Intramural Sports administrative staff reserves the right to review any rating given to a team. Additional information regarding the rating method, factors, & scale can be found in the Sportsmanship section of the Principles of Intramural Sports. Player Ejections — A  player, spectator, or other visitor may be ejected by game officials or other Intramural Sports personnel for any conduct deemed unsportsmanlike or for not staying within the spirit of the rules. Any person ejected from a game or game site must leave the game site immediately. An ejected person is immediately ineligible for ALL intramural sports and activities, both in the sport of the ejection and all other intramural sports. Ejected persons must complete the reinstatement procedure within 7 days from the date of the ejection or will be subject to additional penalties including suspension from other Campus Recreation facilities and further action by the Dean of Students Office. An ejected person who does not complete the required steps in the reinstatement procedure will remain ineligible for all Intramural Sports leagues and events for the remainder of his/her collegiate career. Administrative Promotion — To enhance the competitiveness of a division and/or the enjoyment of the other teams in the division, the Intramural Sports staff reserves the right to promote or demote teams among divisions, as necessary and without consent. Playoff Draw Meetings — Team sport playoff meetings are typically held during the final week of the regular season. The playoff meeting date and time for each league is typically listed on the last week of the season schedule, available online at the Intramural Sports web site, or on the Intramural bulletin board in the lobby of Maggs gym. There is no rescheduling of playoff games once the brackets have been set.