Campus Recreation offers variety of physical activity

Former high school athletes and armchair quarterbacks will be able to get back in the game this fall. Campus recreation offers intramural sports ranging from flag football to Nintendo Wii sports games. Last year was the first that Wii games were presented at UNO. Session one, which lasts from Sept. 14 to Oct. 16, features "Wii Bowling." Later in the semester, "Wii Tennis" will be available.

Intramural sports gives students a venue for friendly competition and an opportunity to play the sports they loved growing up. Many intramural athletes competed for their varsity teams in high school but campus recreation offers different leagues based on competitiveness.

Students looking to try something new can find a beginners league just for fun, or athletes looking for competition can find a more competitive league.

Some students might wonder why pick Nintendo Wii over Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. Well, playing Nintendo Wii actually puts the player in the game. They have to emulate the motion to produce results while playing.

If someone is playing "Wii Boxing," they would have to actually throw a punch. In "Wii Golf," they have to swing the club.

"We did research and found they were health benefits to playing the Wii," said Mike Kult, assistant director of intramural sports.

According to BBC News, playing the Nintendo Wii could burn up to 1,800 calories a week when playing an average of 12 hours each week. In a study done by Liverpool's John Moores University, that kind of activity could lead to a weight loss of 27 pounds per year.

There have been obstacles in getting participation for the leagues, but Kult said the popularity is slowly growing. The problem, Kult said, was that they were not getting a great location to play.

Also, Wii is not offered for free during the week due to the expensive cost of the system.

"We are going to focus on special events that last one night to grow the participation," Kult said.

Like other sports offered, the Wii leagues would be five to six weeks long and a tournament would be held at the end. If a student is a beginner, novice leagues are offered so the competition is fair.

The most popular intramural sport is expected to be seven-on-seven flag football. Soccer is also growing in participation.

The winner of the top division in flag football will receive free entry into the regional tournament. That tournament is located at the UNL campus and draws teams from all over the Midwest. The top two teams from that tournament will receive a travel stipend to the national tournament - this year the competition will be held in New Orleans.

In addition to soccer, football and Nintendo Wii, Campus Recreation will have leagues in sand volleyball, outdoor tennis and three-on-three basketball.

A deposit is required to sign up for a league, but if a team participates each week they will receive all of their deposit back.

Any students looking to get back into the games have until Sept. 11 to sign up for the first session of sports. More information on how to get involved is available by calling Campus Recreation at (402) 554-2634.