Running Passion Back to IM Sports
Author: Amanda G. Editor: Grace C.
Intramural sports are a way for Panhellenic sororities to practice team bonding while engaging in friendly competition. Gamma Phi Beta is a chapter that takes pride in its sportsmanship, especially when flag football is involved. Being a champion is not always easy, but Gamma Phi does it with grace.
Sydney P. has been Gamma Phi Beta’s IM Sports Chair since October 2020. This was a position that was on her radar because of the hardworking women that preceded her and the support that surrounded her. The fall of Sydney’s freshman year presented a defining moment for Gamma Phi. It was a cold, final flag football game and supporters gathered to watch the women of Gamma Phi win the championship. “Our whole chapter came out and they were huddled in blankets and had big posters,” she says.
Following the win, supporters rushed the field and formed a tunnel for the women, reinforcing the idea of sisterhood and community. At this moment, Sydney knew that she loved intramural sports and kickstarted her extensive involvement in them.
While serving as IM Chair, studying International Relations and Media/Communications, Sydney is also a member of Florida State’s club soccer team. Her involvement models to other women that they can devote time to activities both within and beyond Greek life. She also demonstrates how chapters have all kinds of opportunities for their members to exercise their passions, for Sydney, this works perfectly with her love of sports.
On a weekly basis, Sydney has certain responsibilities as IM Sports Chair. These responsibilities include registering for sports, scheduling with sisters, and coordinating with other chapters. In addition to these responsibilities, Sydney puts her passion to work and keeps the energy surrounding her high. During the spring, when COVID still kept many people apart and indoors, she spent time making hype videos as a recap of each week’s sports in order to encourage her sisters to get out and play. Even those who may have never played a certain sport, Sydney invites them in the same way. “Come out and play, the worst that happens is you lose, and then it’s like ‘okay, good game,’” she says.
Sydney advises any woman who wants to eventually become IM Sports Chair to first participate in them so they can get a feel for the energy and what it’s like to be a player. With weekly responsibilities, she says it is important to “commit to the time to go out and be at games and interact with the other players.” Keeping the morale high with positivity is also an important part of the position, in order to keep participation going and get the women excited about working as a team to play a good game.
There are many benefits to joining an intramural team. Sydney has been able to meet so many incredible women through the casual setting established by IMs and they have made “a very big campus into a smaller community.” This is because everyone gets together for one common sport and has fun. There is also an element of stress relief when it comes to being active. “There is a lot of studying to do throughout the week, a lot of classes, and it is a good break to do something different,” Sydney says.
Meeting new people and becoming a familiar face in Gamma Phi is what Sydney loves most about being IM Sports Chair. Sydney’s favorite part is “getting people excited about something that I’m excited about.” The positivity and passion that Sydney brings to her chapter’s IM Sports are contagious and very encouraging to anyone wanting to have lighthearted fun with their chapter and the rest of the Panhellenic community.