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Intramural Sports Policies

This section outlines the ways in which our leagues and tournaments function. We do our best to operate under these guidelines in ways which are equitable to all teams and participants. Team captains should review the following policies prior to participation and direct any questions to IMSports@bu.edu. Detailed policies of individual leagues can be found in the rule packets for each sport.

 

Jump To

League/Tournament Structures

Eligibility

IM Memberships

Forfeits

Sportsmanship

Free Agents

Ejected Players

Protests

Playoffs

Participants Safety/Drugs and Alcohol

Captains Responsibilities

 

League/Tournament Structures

Our sports function in leagues unless otherwise designated as a tournamnet. Teams are scheduled into leagues with a four or five game regular season with the possibility of playoffs. Each team plays approximately one game a week in the evening or on the weekend. Men's, Women's, and Co-Rec leagues are available in most sports and teams chose their ability division ("A" = Average or "AA" = Above Average) based on the experience level of team members. Many of our leagues have team limits and fill fast so registering well before the listed deadline is always advised.

Tournament structures are typically dependant on the number of teams/individuals who register. The exact structure will be explained at each tournaments' captains meeting.

 

Eligibility

All players must be current Boston University students with a Terrier Card or faculty/staff who hold a valid FitRec Center Membership (for sports held in the FitRec Center).  Alumni are not allowed to participate in spring and fall programs, however they are allowed to participate in Summer Softball and Summer Indoor Soccer. Eligible individuals who do not possess a FitRec Membership may purchase an IM Membership which gains them access to the building for their specific game times. Please see below for more information on the IM Membership option.

Within any one sport, each person may play for a maximum of two teams under the following conditions: Men may play for a maximum of one men's team AND one co-rec team. A woman may play for one co-rec team AND one women's or one men's team.

A team found using ineligible players may be ineligible for further play during that season.  It is the team captain's responsibility to determine the eligibility of his/her players.

Players may be added to the team roster anytime through the team's last regular season game.  New players must fill out a roster addition form with the Intramural Supervisor prior to their first game.  To be eligible for playoffs, players must be on the original roster, have participate and been legally added at a regular season game, or have been added at a contest which your team won by forfeit.

Club sport team members may participate in their corresponding Intramural sports. A maximum of two club sport members are allowed on any one Intramural team for the corresponding sport.

Varsity athletes who participated in a similar sport that school year are not eligible to participate except in the case of a senior with no more NCAA eligibility. Any member of a varsity team who remains with the team beyond the team's first contest of the season will be deemed ineligible except for the above case.

Intentional eligibility violations are very serious.  Violators may lose their privilege of participating in intramural sports.

 

IM Membership

Non-FitRec member BU students/faculty/staff who wish to participate in an Intramural Sports league that takes place in FitRec have the option of purchasing an IM Membership. This option gains a non-FitRec member access to the building during their scheduled game times. To purchase, click the button below and register for the "IM Membership" (do not click the specific sport). After registering, please e-mail IMSports with your team's name and sport in which you are playing. Players will not receive swipe access but will check in at the FitRec front desk prior to their games.

Please note that this membership option is for participation in Intramural Sports ONLY. Players will be allowed entry into the building roughly 20 minutes prior to the scheduled start of their game and will be expected to leave the building in a timely fashion after its completion. Individuals who abuse this policy will be subject to building use violations including but not limited to a fine, forfeiture of membership, and potential Intramural team repercussions.

Summer 2012

Register

 

Forfeits

Forfeits are detrimental to the program and to your team's participation. Team captains are responsible for making sure their teams play as scheduled.

At the discretion of the Intramural Supervisor, any team not prepared to play within five minutes after the designated game time shall forfeit the contest to their opponent. Captains are urged to notify IMSports if their team is unable to make a scheduled game. Efforts will be made by the league coordinator to reschedule the game if sufficient notice is given, however, this does not guarantee games can be rescheduled. Notification must be made at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled game to avoid paying the $10 forfeit fee. If a team is required to pay the fee they will be notified via e-mail. Forfeit fees must be paid online and ARE NOT ACCEPTED AT THE GAME SIGHT. To pay your forfeit fee, please click the register button below. After a team has paid their forfeit fee online they should notify the office via e-mail at IMSports@bu.edu. A team may be dropped from the league unless this fee is paid within two working days of the forfeited game. Two (2) forfeits will lead to automatic removal from the league.

If a team forfeits a game, the winning team will receive a result equal to the mercy rule for that specific sport (i.e. a soccer forfeit would net the winning team a final score of 7-0). If a team forfeits more than one contest and must be removed from the league, all results associated with this team are removed from the standings and any remaining games they had on the schedule are cancelled. Only results from teams still in the league will be used in the standings.

 

Summer 2012

Register

 

Sportsmanship

The Code of Student Responsibilities presupposes that there will be civility and respect for others within the University community at all times. Students violating the Code are subject to disciplinary action by the Office of Judicial Affairs. Any verbal or physical abuse to another person is inappropriate and will not be tolerated. The Intramural Supervisor will deal with any players, captains, or spectators who violate good sportsmanship. Disciplinary action may include ejection from the game, forfeiting the game, suspension from Intramural activities, and if necessary, further disciplinary action from the office of Judicial Affairs. Please note that taunting and/or baiting another player in an attempt to draw them into an altercation is handled in the same manner as an actual altercation.

Teams need to be aware that there is a sportsmanship evaluation system in place throughout all Intramural activities. The student supervisors and officials evaluate the sportsmanship of teams based upon fair play, attitude, language, "trash talking," and overall demeanor toward opponents and Intramural Staff. Evaluations begin the moment a player, coach and/or fan enters the playing arena and concludes when they make their final exit after their game.  These evaluations are also based on the conduct of a team's fans. The rating system ranges from 0 (meaning totally unacceptable), to 4 (meaning excellent conduct and sportsmanship). In order for teams to make the playoffs, teams are required to maintain a minimum average of 3.0 (meaning average conduct and sportsmanship). Intramural Officials and Supervisors are students who are providing an important service for Intramural participants.

 

Free Agents

If you cannot find enough people to make a team, you can submit your information to be included on the BUIM Free Agent list. This list will be viewable by all, either to find others who are looking to make a team before the registration deadline, or by captains who are looking to add players to their team after the registration deadline.

Please be aware that we here at BU IM Sports will not be personally forming teams from this list, this is simply a forum for people who want to play to find each other and form teams themselves. It is the responsibility of those on this list to contact each other and discuss the possibility of creating a squad prior to the registration deadline.

To add yourself to the list, simply click here to access online the form.

(Please be aware that your name, email address, and other information you choose to include will be viewable by any and everyone who accesses this list)

 

To view the free agent list, please click here.

(If you wish to be taken OFF this list please contact IMSports@bu.edu)

As always, if individuals are unsuccessful in forming their own team, they are more than welcome to attend the captains meeting to attempt to land on a team.

 

Ejected Players

Players ejected from any Intramural contest may lead to future suspensions or bans from participation in Intramural Sports. Communication for a simple (1 game) suspension will go through the team captain. Coaches and/or captains are responsible for making sure that all members of their team are eligible. Ejected players participating without having been reinstated subject their team to forfeit any game in which they have participated. Any offense warranting a longer suspension will require an in office meeting with the Coordinator of Intramural Sports and any intramural employees involved in the incident.

 

Protests

Only official protests concerning eligibility of a player or misinterpretation of a playing rule will be accepted.  No protests based on judgment of an official will be considered.  Rule interpretation protest must be made on the field in the presence of the officials and student supervisor at the time of the disputed play and before play is resumed. 

If the situation is not resolved at the time of the protest on the field, it is the responsibility of team captains, game officials, and the sports supervisor to note the EXACT situation at the time of a protest. Then it must be submitted via e-mail to IMSports@bu.edu by 10:00am the next day to be official.  Eligibility protests should be raised at game time, but a formal protest must be made by the team captain by 10:00am the day after the contest if the situation is unable to be resolved at the game sight.

 

Playoffs

In leagues with playoffs, teams will be notified prior to the season as to how many teams from each league/division will advance. The bracket will also be available for viewing at the start of the season so that teams can plan ahead as to when their playoff games might fall. When tiebreakers for entry into the playoffs must be used, BUIM follows some general guidelines in each sport.

Most of our leagues are structured such that two tiebreakers will satisfy the vast majority of situations where teams win percentages are the same. The tiebreakers are (in order) head to head, and season score differential (or average if tied teams did not play the same amount of games). In the case of a three-way tie (where A beat B, B beat C, and C beat A), the tie is broken using the season score differential of all three teams. In the case of a three-way tie where one of the three teams beat the other two involved in the tiebreaker, that team would advanced based on head-to-head. When calculating season score differential, a win-by-forfeit (wbf) is calculated as a mercy rule win for that team (i.e. 7-0 in soccer, 12-0 in softball, etc.). Only results from teams still in the league will be used in the standings/season score differential.

There is always the possibility of a league/schedule requiring further examination for playoff seeding (usually seen in leagues of 7) and in these instances further tiebreakers will be communicated to divisions. To be safe, never assume your team will be advancing and always play your best!

 

Participant Safety/Drugs and Alcohol

Intramural programs offer individuals the opportunity to participate in a variety of activities at selected skill levels. Generally, contests for each team are held once a week for the duration of one hour.  There have been few complications due to involvement in intramural programs, but the possibility exists for encountering problems related to exertion and physical activity such as (but not limited to) muscle strain, bone fractures, light-headedness, heart attacks and strokes.  It is recommended that each participant have a physical exam by a physician prior to participation in any type of exercise program, and that participants be in appropriate physical condition for their selected activity.  Furthermore, participants are required to abide by eligibility guidelines and the game rules of their sport for their own protection. Each Intramural participant enters the Intramural program willingly and at their own risk.

There is also to be no use of any tobacco product at any Intramural event. There is to be no consumption of alcoholic beverages or illicit drugs before, during or after any Intramural event or while present at any Boston University facility; this includes participants, coaches, fans, etc.  Intramural staff will have the authority to prohibit participation if they have probable cause that a person is under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance. Persons not abiding by these rules may face suspension from Intramural activities as well as disciplinary action taken by the Dean of Students.

 

Captain's Responsibilities

  • Represent your team at the Captain's meeting. Time and location information can be found on the IM Sports home page.
  • Represent your team at all games (the listed captain is not required to be present at all games, however another player must act as the captain and is held responsible for all captain responsibilities).
  • Know the eligibility rules and abide by them.
  • Read and understand the game rules.  Convey game rules to your teammates at your team meeting. (We suggest every team conduct a pre-season meeting, the majority of problems teams run into are due to a lack of communication regarding policies, procedures, and rules).
  • Direct team members to the online schedule.
  • After each game, check and verify the results on the game sheet.
  • Only the captain may address an official on matters of interpretation and/or for information during a contest. Respect the decisions of game officials.
  • Control your teammates and your spectators.

 

Contact IM Sports via email at IMSports@bu.edu or by telephone at (617)353-4364

  Boston University