Intramurals have been some of the most popular extracurricular activities at Bellarmine. However, Bellarmine students have been turning out less and less for the sports offered. The main belief as to why the numbers are struggling is simple:  Bellarmine students simply are not interested in playing organized volleyball, basketball, or ultimate frisbee after school.  This lack of interest hurts the program that director and teacher Christopher Clifford tries so hard to promote.

One solution the ASB has come up with to solve the decreasing size of intramurals is allowing JV, but not Varsity players to play intramurals. ASB Executive, Eden VanDevanter, believes that, “Intramurals is all about having fun. The biggest draw for any sport comes from those actually in the sport. Varsity players cannot play because of the risk of injury, and honestly no one wants to play volleyball against Courtney Schwann. Allowing JV players to play raises the intensity level and encourages others to come test their skills,” Students attend games and watch their friends play on their respective teams, and times comparing themselves to the athletes. The temptation of being allowed to play against the schools’ best appeals to many. “Playing against the best talent in a relaxed situation allows me to have the most fun playing a sport like, basketball. I mean, playing against Carson Hollyoak is much more fun than playing against Joey Bottjer,” Brodie Bordeaux says.

This also appeals to the Varsity and JV players who love their sport but need a break from the constant intensity yet still want to participate. JV bench players, like Carson Hollyoak thinks “It’s fun to play your sports outside of an intense environment; it’s an easy way to play with your friends.”

The idea always comes to mind that this makes the competition unfair, that the JV and Varsity players are too good to compete with the regular students. These athletes, however, love the sport and are more likely to encourage their friends to come play, and those who are critical of players’ skills can see if their beliefs are true. As long as teams are divided to avoid All-Star intramural teams, JV should be allowed to compete.