A reflection on my intramural journey / how intramurals changed my perspective of law school
When I started law school, I could’ve never imagined that some of my best memories would be from playing intramural sports. As a washed-up high-school athlete, I thought my athletic career was behind me. I thought my time would be spent reading countless legal cases and racking up hours in a library cubicle, and my days on a basketball court would become a distant memory. But this was before I experienced the simple joy of playing adult dodgeball, or playing a whole ultimate frisbee game with no subs. When I stepped into the Athletic Centre fieldhouse for my first 10:05pm intramural game, two words came to my mind: “I’m back.”
In all seriousness, when I look back at my time in law school, intramurals were a large part of it. Besides the late start times and disorganized management, intramurals were a great way to meet new people and try new activities that I otherwise wouldn’t. Whether it was sharing time on the court or going for drinks at The Maddy post-game, I developed more genuine friendships through intramurals than I have in other areas of law school. I also found the athletic drive that I had been missing for some time, even if intramural games came with weird rule modifications. Despite these modifications, I was surprised at how serious the level of competition was. But what surprised me most was that the Faculty of Law could compete, and we were actually good at sports: in the past three years, I’ve been a part of eight championship teams (and I have the intramural champion t-shirts to prove it).While my time in U of T intramurals has come to an end, I hope that this is just the start of an illustrious rec-league career (though my right knee begs to differ). If you’re thinking about trying intramurals next year, go for it! I know it takes a lot of courage, especially in 1L, to try new things and put yourself out there, but I promise that joining an intramural team is worth it. Intramurals are open to all skill and experience levels, and our teams are always looking for players—unless you’re one of the people who “un-likes” the WhatsApp message right before game time so we forfeit (in that case, you’re my #1 opp). So, what are you waiting for? You won’t be getting any professional offers from playing, but intramurals might be some of your favourite memories of law school too.