UTM winter sports: scouting report

Reading textbooks, restoring sleep habits, and eating three square meals a day are some duties that returning students have to deal with, but in the first two weeks of classes the RAWC was the centre for another one—athletics—as UTM’s host for team tryouts.

RAWC program coordinator Jack Krist and assistant program coordinator Cameron Walker explained how the first week’s tryouts have been, and what to look forward to in intramural sports.

With the ringing in of 2012 came life-changing resolutions that resulted in an explosion of new teams. According to Krist and Walker, the turnouts have been great for some sports and not so great for others. Men’s soccer seems to be a popular attraction; Krist and Walker estimated a turnout of around 70 players. The showing for UTM Intramural Women’s basketball has also been positive, and Krist believes there will be enough participants for a second team.

Krist and Walker are excited about women’s field hockey and indoor soccer teams, as they are fresh for the new semester, and many students have been vying for opportunities to be a part of them.

The excitement carries over to the UTM pitch, which will officially unveil its two new cricket teams, which were put together at the beginning of the fall semester’s tryout period and until now have trained and worked on team chemistry for the season that begins this semester.

Even with the new teams, some current squads see room for improvement.

The Men’s Division 1 basketball team held an open tryout, despite carrying over their roster from last semester.

“If a student came to UTM in January, we want to give him a chance for the coaches to at least take a look at him, and they could add him if he is up to that standard. He would be put on the roster, so he’d be eligible for the playoffs, because all you need is to make three games,” Krist said, as an explanation of the recruitment process.

While the basketball team opens its doors, men’s lacrosse will close theirs, as there has not been the same level of participation, leading to the team’s folding.

The women’s ice hockey and lacrosse teams are still looking for participants to join, with plenty of open roster spots for both teams. The teams will act as Campus Rec squads, but will play their games in the downtown intramural league.

Tags: sports, UTM, volume-38-issue-14, winter

Category: Sports