The Intramural Program at Iowa State is one of the largest in the nation, offering over 50 sports for students, faculty and staff. This spring and next fall the IM Program will grow even larger with the addition of several sports.

“Weightlifting and curling will be offered this spring sometime during dead week,” said Garry Greenlee, Intramural Coordinator for Iowa State. “Sand volleyball, paintball and inline hockey become part of the Intramural Program next fall.”

Greenlee and staff got the idea for weightlifting when they put together a tournament on Sept. 15 to give students something to do when the Iowa State-Iowa football game was postponed.

“We put on a bench press and squat tournament, and there were over 100 participants,” Greenlee said. “We decided to make it a spring event, because it seemed real popular among the students.”

With the help of ISU’s Weightlifting Club, Greenlee expects to have a more organized tournament with divisions and weight classes.

Curling, also being offered next spring, will not be a new event to the IM Program.

It was last offered in 1999, but was cancelled because the condition of the ice in the old Ames/ISU Ice Arena.

Curling is a winter sport played on ice by teams of four. Each player hurls a circular stone weighing 38 pounds toward a tee, or fixed goal. Around each tee a circle is drawn.

Each player is provided with a spiked metal plate, to get a foothold on the ice, and a broom to sweep the ice in front of the swerving stone one of the eye-catching features of the game. The players on both teams alternately send the stones toward one tee; the stones lying nearest the tee at the end of play count toward the score.

The play is then made toward the opposite tee.

Curling was a popular sport, according to Greenlee, with over 35 teams participating. With the new Ice Arena, Greenlee expects an increase in the number of participants this year.

“Students don’t realize that curling is a great game,” Greenlee said. “It’s very social and laid back. It is one of our least competitive sports.”

Mike Harvey, Associate Director of Recreation Services, said sand volleyball, incline hockey and paintball will not be offered this spring, but next fall because the facilities to hold these activities are in the construction phase.

“Sand volleyball and inline hockey have received approval and should be breaking ground in the next week or two,” Harvey said. “Facilities Planning and Management will be doing the design work and will have a part in constructing the facilities.”

By the time construction is complete, sand volleyball will have a total of six courts located at the Southeast Recreation Field Complex and inline hockey will have two or three locations found outside Beyer Hall and Towers Residence Hall. The third inline hockey rink could possibly be built near the new sand volleyball courts if funding is available, Harvey said.

Inline hockey and paintball will be put on the intramural calendar for the first time, while sand volleyball was last played as an intramural in 1997.

“Last time sand volleyball was played we had 164 teams competing,” Greenlee said. “I get the feeling paintball and inline hockey will see good numbers in their initial year.”