Participant’s Guide

Contact Information

Questions? Email imhub@uw.edu

Intramural Activities Budget

The Intramural Activities program is funded by the Services and Activities Fee students pay with tuition. Active fee paying UWB or Cascadia College students are not charged an additional fee to participate.

Health, Injuries and Insurance

The Intramural Activities program will provide initial emergency care, such as the provision of bandages, ice or immobilization to any participant injured during their contest (notify staff of all injuries). Participants need to bring their own tape, etc. to prepare themselves to play.

The Intramural Activities program DOES NOT carry health or accident insurance for participants. A low-cost medical insurance program is offered by the University of Washington to students
It is the responsibility of every person participating in Intramural Activities to ascertain whether they have any health conditions which make it inadvisable to participate in a given activity/sport. The University and the Intramural Activities program DO NOT assume that responsibility. Persons who are uncertain should consult their physician
The Intramural staff should be notified of ALL INJURIES sustained during intramural competition. If needed, the participant will be given first aid and referred to their physician. An ambulance may be dispatched to asses an injury—particularly in the event of head, neck, back and major joint trauma. There is no cost for injury assessment, but you will be responsible for the cost of an ambulance if they transport you. An accident/injury report will be completed for all injuries. If you need a copy of the form, please contact UWB Recreation & Wellness as this form may be necessary for your insurance company

Assumption of Risk

Participation in Intramural Activities is strictly voluntary. There are risks inherent to participation in sports and recreation. The University does not assume responsibility for personal injuries or loss of property. Injuries and their resulting costs are the responsibility of the participant. All participants MUST sign an Assumption of Risk form before participating in any activity/sport at UWB.

Captain’s Responsibilities

The captain is responsible for informing their team of the rules governing the specific activities, as well as the time and place they will play their games. Captains will be held responsible for the behavior of the teammates and spectators. Prior to the game/activity, the captain is responsible for ensuring that all players have signed in with the Intramural Staff person on site. Captains are urged to notify all players and fans that alcohol, tobacco and other illegal substances are prohibited on all Intramural playing sites and that no one is allowed to participate while under the influence of said substances.

Captains should also explain the schedule to their teammates, making sure they know where and when the game is being played. Teammates should be directed and reminded to bring a valid Husky Card or CC Card to all events.

Illegal Equipment

Jewelry (rings, watches, necklaces, ankle bracelets, earrings, rubber bands, etc.) and casts are prohibited. Placing tape or band-aids over jewelry will not be allowed. Participants will be required to remove any band-aids, tape or head/sweat bands which, in the opinion of the Intramural Activities staff, may be covering a piece of jewelry. Religious medallions may be worn so long as they are taped to the body or tucked into clothing. Medical alert bracelets must be taped with proper information visible. Proper shoes are required in all sports except sand volleyball. Combat boots, barefoot running shoes and metal cleats are strictly prohibited for activities where physical contact could occur. Knee braces are permitted with approved protective covers (neoprene or pants).

Coaches

Captains may also choose to utilize a coach for the purpose of providing direction to a team. A coach is defined as a non-player who is appointed by team personnel to represent the team in communicating with the Intramural Sports staff. A coach must be a current student of UWB or a Rec Pass fee paying CC student. Coaches in all sports are allowed to call timeouts. Coaches are not allowed to confer with officials about plays or question the judgment of a call. Coaches will be required to sign in with a team and designate themselves as a coach. Coaches will be penalized for inappropriate conduct in the same manner as any other participant, with the coach’s actions affecting the team’s sportsmanship points and playoff eligibility.

Divisions of Play

Any student, regardless of skill level may participate in our leagues/tournaments. Different divisions may be offered to allow for students to compete against others of similar skill level, same gender (Men’s, Women’s) or mixed gender (Co-Rec). A participant is allowed to play on one Co-Rec team while a member of a Men’s or Women’s league. Activities/leagues may be offered as an “Open” league where anyone of any skill level or gender may participate.

Open

An Open Division allows all participants to compete against each other, regardless of gender and skill. All students at UWB and CC are eligible to participate in these leagues.

Co-Recreational (Co-Rec)

Co-Rec leagues offer men and women with varying skill levels an opportunity to participate on the same team. All students at UWB and CC are eligible to participate in these leagues.

Men’s

This category of single-gender leagues offer men the opportunity to compete against each other. All students at UWB and CC are eligible to participate in these leagues.

Women’s

This category of single-gender leagues offer women the opportunity to compete against each other. All students at UWB and CC are eligible to participate in these leagues.

Eligibility

All current activity fee paying students and Rec Pass fee-paying faculty/staff may participate in Intramural Activities. All participants must present their own valid UWB Husky Card or CC ID card. Proper identification should remain on-site for the duration of the game. Failure to do so may result in a team default and the player/s being suspended for the remainder of the sport. The Intramural Staff will not allow anyone to play without a proper ID that has the picture and all information clearly visible. It is the responsibility of the team captain to ascertain the eligibility of their players prior to game time.

Improper Use of Identification

If an Intramural Staff person determines that an individual is attempting to check-in with false identification in order to participate in an Intramural Activities contest, the ID will be confiscated and that individual will not be allowed to play. The individual will be ejected and asked to show proper identification. If the individual refuses or fails to show proper identification or cooperate fully with the staff on site, the team captain may also be ejected from the contest. If a captain is ejected due to a participant not providing proper identification, the captain will have the right to remove that player from their roster for the remainder of the quarter. If the Intramural Activities staff determines that the team captain was aware of the individual’s use of improper identification, then that team may default their game and be subject to removal from the league. Any individual caught trying to check-in with an ID that is not their own has jeopardized themselves and the owner of the ID to disciplinary action by the university.

If the rightful owner of a confiscated ID wishes to retrieve their ID the same day it was confiscated, they may do so at the site it was taken by simply showing their student ID or government issued ID to the Intramural Sports staff on duty.

Rosters

A participant may play on one single-gender team (Men’s or Women’s), and also play on one team in the Co-Rec division in the same sport. Alternately, there may be only one Open league offered, thus participants may only play on one team. Once a participant has played for a team, they may not switch to another team.

Those who have not played on any Intramural Activities team in a league, who are also eligible to play in the league, may be added to a team roster at any time. To be added to a roster, participants must create an account in IMLeagues. Through this site, participants may add themselves to a team’s roster electronically. Instructions for adding players to a team‘s roster are provided on the Intramural Activities website. Additionally, new participants may bring their student ID card to the game site, sign in with the Intramural staff and fill in their information on the supplemental roster form. Those participants choosing to sign-in at the game site for the first time are still required to add themselves to the team’s roster electronically following the conclusion of the event.

Nomad Rule

Purpose: To establish a guideline for teams short of the minimum number of participants at game time of a scheduled Intramural contest to temporarily field a full, competitive roster without compromising the integrity of the league.

Nomad Definition: Any current UWB Student/Faculty/Staff member with an active and eligible IMLeagues profile; rostered and playing an intramural sport.

How it works: Any team may pick up currently rostered player(s) from another team in the same league (ie “nomad”) to play for their team to avoid forfeit and play competitively. Teams must be scheduled for a sanctioned intramural game and have at least one less player than the required minimum per sport (see chart below) to sign in any “nomads”. Teams may only add enough nomads to bring their team roster up to league standard for the game.

For more information please review the full Nomad Rule explanation.

Defaults

Any team knowing in advance that they are unable to play a regularly scheduled contest may email the Intramural Activities office to let them know by 5pm the business day prior to the game to default.

When a team elects to default, they will be charged with a loss, but not assessed a forfeit
Once the default has been granted by the Intramural office, the request cannot be overturned
The opposing team will be contacted by Intramural staff to let them know they do not need to arrive for the scheduled event
Two defaults equal one forfeit
Defaulting within a tournament and/or post season play will eliminate the team/individual from further competition

Forfeits

Game time is forfeit time. Game time is determined by the Intramural staff person’s watch/clock. The minimum “start number” for the sport must be present in order to avoid forfeiting the contest.

If a team is not ready to play at game time, the following occurs:

The team ready to play will win the game by forfeit
The ready team can choose to grant their opponents a 10-minute grace period. If the required minimum number of players arrives within the 10 minutes, the game will be played and recorded. NO EXCEPTIONS ARE PERMITTED TO THE 10-MINUTE GRACE PERIOD. Length of game will be shortened according to the lateness of the new start time
If neither team has the minimum number ready to start at game time, a double forfeit is declared
If a team cannot fulfill their commitment to complete their schedule, they are encouraged to notify the Intramural Sports Program of their wish to be dropped from the schedule

In all cases, a team will automatically be removed from the league if it fails to show up for a second time.

Late Start Policy

Teams may choose to wait no more than 10 minutes until the opponent arrives with the minimum number of participants to compete by rule. The official contest clock will start running as scheduled. The contest will commence once the opponents arrive with whatever contest time is remaining on the clock. The waiting team will be given a scoring advantage. If the opposing team is not ready to play 10 minutes after the schedule contest time, a forfeit win will be declared for the waiting team. If neither team has the required number of players at the schedule contest time, both teams will be given 10 minutes to complete their team. No scoring advantage will be given to either team in this case.

For more information please review the full Late Start Policy.

Cancellations and Rescheduling

Games may be canceled due to poor field/court conditions or poor traveling conditions. During inclement weather, any Intramural staff person may cancel games. Teams will be contacted through email and text via IMLeagues if games are canceled as early as possible. Do not assume games will be canceled, as weather is very unpredictable. Unless you are informed by the Intramural Activities Office or on-site staff, games will be played.

Regular season games normally will not be rescheduled for any reason
Playoff games will be canceled and/or rescheduled only due to weather and/or poor playing conditions

Lightning Policies

The Recreation & Wellness Lightning Policy is based on a study published in the Journal of Athletic Training. If thunder is heard within 30 seconds of seeing lightning, games will be postponed. All participants must leave the playing area and seek shelter until the supervisors deem the area safe for play. Games will resume 30 minutes after the thunder and lightning have moved away.

Protests

Only protests based on questions of player eligibility and rule interpretation, when the misinterpretation affects the outcome of the game will be accepted. Protests which challenge the accuracy of a judgment call made by the officials or Intramural Sports staff will not be accepted. The team captain must make any protest involving rule interpretation to the Intramural Staff on site at the time the incident in question occurs. Once a situation has passed, it is no longer subject to change or protest.

Any team protesting eligibility must provide the player(s) in question’s full name. During the regular season, any team found to be using an ineligible player will default all games which that individual played and be subject to removal from the league. All regular season protests must be filed before the final record deadline, which is 4:30pm of the day following the end of the regular season. In the playoffs, if an eligibility protest is found valid, the protesting team advances, but the previous rounds remain the same. Once playoffs have started, any team protesting the eligibility of a player must do so by Noon of the next business day to allow the Intramural Sports staff adequate time to determine the validity of the protest. If the next playoff game is that same day, the protest must be turned in immediately following the protested game. Teams may be randomly screened for ineligible players without a protest being filed. In cases where a team chooses to protest eligibility at any point after a championship contest has begun, and the protest is upheld, the specific league will not declare a champion is the offending team wins. No championship game will be rescheduled and no awards will be handed out.

Ejections

The Intramural Activities program reserves the right to eject any individual, team or spectator who interrupts the flow of a game in any manner. Players may be ejected before, during or after a contest and ejections can be made by any official on the contest or any Intramural Activities staff. The jurisdiction of the Intramural Activities staff begins when the participant/spectator/team enters the field/court and ends when involved persons leave the facility in which the contest is being held and the visual confines of the playing area. Any ejected player(s) must leave the playing area and facility immediately. If the player refuses to leave within a reasonable time, the game will be defaulted. Captains must assist Intramural Activities staff with retrieving the ejected participant/spectator’s identification. Ejected players are ineligible to participate in all Intramural Activities until they meet with the Intramural Activities professional staff.

The following behavior results in ejection from an Intramural contest and may impact areas of academic life outside of Intramural Activities:

Verbal or physical abuse, by participant(s)/spectator(s) in the form of fighting, baiting, and/or wrestling with an opponent and/or teammate before, during or after an Intramural contest
Any threatening behavior (verbal and/or non-verbal) towards any Intramural staff before, during or after an Intramural contest
Any unwanted and/or uninvited physical contact with any Intramural staff
Technical fouls for unsportsmanlike conduct, multiple unsportsmanlike penalties and/or any excessive celebration
Failure to cooperate by providing information requested by any Intramural staff
Persistent infringement of the spirit and intent of the game rules
Public indecency or obscenity
Individual playing after the consumption or suspicion of consumption of alcohol and/or drugs. If the contest has begun, player will immediately be removed from the contest
Damage/destruction of facilities/equipment
Any violations of the University of Washington Bothell’s policies and procedures governing the conduct of students
A previously ejected player participating in another Intramural event before meeting with the Intramural Activities professional staff
Individuals playing while under suspension will receive a minimum sanction of one quarter and will have the incident escalated with the University
The Recreation & Wellness professional staff reserves the right to suspend any participant or team from Intramural events for conduct, behavior, or attitude they perceive as interfering with the orderly conduct of activities and/or safety of the individuals participating in the Intramural Activities program

Injuries

Participation in Intramural Activities is completely voluntary. These activities intrinsically involve risks of physical injury greater than those encountered in daily life, and by taking part in sports and other activities; participants acknowledge and assume risks inherent therein. Intramural Activities does not carry accident or injury insurance to cover participants in sports activities. Therefore, all students are strongly urged to purchase health insurance before participating in any activity.

Return to Play

Any participant who has sustained an injury that requires a physician’s referral (including concussion) will be required to be cleared by their physician prior to resuming participation in Intramural Activities. The Intramural staff will then flag the player as ineligible until they bring a signed note from the physician to the Intramural office indicating they have been cleared for participation.

Playing Rules

The rules in all sports are based on national association rules with modifications, when appropriate, to make the activity safe and enjoyable for the players while attempting to maintain the identity of the game. Intramural Activities reserves the right to modify playing rules at any time to meet the best interests of the league. The rules of each sport are available for download on the Intramural website. Recreation Supervisors have the authority to rule on items not specifically covered in the rules in cases which the contest officials cannot come to a decision. The Intramural staff may also assess conduct penalties which the game officials do not call in order to ensure proper safety and sportsmanship, and may default, end games prior to normal conclusion, if deemed necessary. A game becomes official after half of its normal length has been completed.

Many of our leagues have a point differential at which a contest is ended at no penalty, default or forfeit, to either team. This point will not take place until at least half of the game has been completed. A game will be concluded when the mercy rule is reached regardless if both the winning and losing team wish to play.

Individual sport rules are posted on our website. Included are minimum numbers to start/end a game, as well as mercy rule scores for each sport.

Sporting Behavior

Intramural Activities expects all participants and spectators to conduct themselves in a sporting behavior-like manner. In order to be eligible for the playoffs, a team must have an average sportspersonship rating of 3.5 on a scale of 5. During playoffs, each team must maintain an average sportspersonship of 3.5. A winning team with a sportspersonship average of less than 3.5 will not advance in the playoffs. Following the game, officials and/or supervisors evaluate team behavior and issue sporting behavior points to all teams. In the regular season, captains may view their sporting behavior score online and questions about particular scores should be directed to the professional Intramural Activities staff. In playoffs, captains should not leave the playing area without checking to see what they received.

The breakdown of Sporting Behavior ratings are as follows:

5	Normal Game: Respect shown to the game and staff by participants, coaches and spectators at all times. Participants speak to staff members appropriately in all situations. Game defaulted one business day ahead of time.
4	Some Static: Participants display disagreement/frustration with decisions of staff/officials. Questioning of judgment/rules interpretation not presented in a respectful manner. Minor incidents of unsportsmanlike behavior towards opponents, spectators or staff. Examples include, but are not limited to, trash talk, cursing in any manner, publicly questioning an official’s abilities, mocking the skill level of an opponent, or forfeited game.
3	Difficulty: Repeated question of judgment/officiating abilities. Unsportsmanlike call in volleyball and football; yellow card in soccer; technical foul in basketball; team/player warning in softball; ejection(s) prior to the contest for illegal use of an ID.
2	Harassment: Multiple unsportsmanlike calls and/or technical (not the same participant), yellow cards or spectator’s harassment of the officials/opposing team.
1	Ejection: Any ejection other than ejection prior to the contest for illegal use of an ID.
0	Fighting or contest ended due to extenuating conduct circumstances (includes threatening an employee). If involved in a fight, your team could be removed from the league for the remainder of the season.

Sporting behavior ratings are affected by team, participant and spectator conduct before, during and after a contest.

Playoffs/Post-Season Tournament

League sports play a regular season followed by a post-season single elimination playoff tournament to determine the champions. The following guidelines will apply:

All teams, which do not forfeit twice or have a forfeit and two defaults (regardless of the reason), are eligible for the post-season tournament. All teams will make either the competitive or recreational playoff bracket. Teams will be divided based on league record
A bye will be recorded as a win
A tie will be recorded as half a win
Teams must participate during the league season to be eligible for post-season play
Games canceled due to inclement weather shall be rescheduled whenever possible
Tournaments brackets will be posted on imleagues.com. Teams are responsible for knowing when playoff games are and making sure they have enough players for the game
Once play begins for any Intramural activity, initial bracket pairings will be final
Teams may play on different nights during playoffs than during the regular season, including Sundays. If the majority of the players on a team will have an academic or religious scheduling conflict with a night during playoffs, the team captain must contact the professional Intramural Activities staff by the last day of league play. Intramural Activities will try to accommodate requests. Please be sure you have enough players on your team to avoid not having the required minimum number to start a game. During playoffs, only requests due to an academic or conflict with another Intramural event for a majority of the team will be accepted. This does not guarantee a game will be rescheduled

Awards

Champion teams in each division will receive champion t-shirts. While efforts will be made to ensure champions receive the proper size t-shirt, we cannot guarantee accommodation of all team members. An assortment of shirt sizes will be given to the team captain to distribute to players not present at the championship.

Employment Positions Available

Intramural Activities hires and trains student officials each year. Officials are needed for all Intramural Activities team sports, activities, and events. No experience is necessary! We will train you in all offerings. With competitive pay and flexible scheduling, our jobs are some of the best student employment opportunities on campus. Employement is open to UWB and Cascadia College students. Interested individuals can email Intramural Activites at imhub@uw.edu to inquire about current openings.