ISU Intramural officials have implemented a new policy regarding student participation this year. Beginning with the first sport of the year, all students participating in an intramural must bring their ISUCards and fee cards to the event they are signed up to play. In the past, identification was not required, said Linda Marticke, ISU intramural sports director. She said students would write their names down on the team sign-in sheet without any verification. This made it easy for people, such as non-ISU students, to play illegally. Marticke said the policy was changed mainly due to non-ISU students’ participation. These people included high school students, Des Moines Area Community College students, Ames community members and former students. The ISU intramural program is funded by student tuition and participation is free, Marticke said. “Because our program is funded by students, it’s not fair to them if people who aren’t students are participating,” she said. It’s impossible to say just how widespread illegal participation was, Marticke said. “I would say it happened in a majority of sports, especially in team sports. But we had people who weren’t students who would come in and play things like singles table tennis without even being students,” she said. “We were one of the few schools around the country that didn’t require IDs because we had always wanted to keep it flexible.” ISU students are generally understanding of the change but considered it an inconvenience. “I think it’s a good idea if it keeps people from cheating, but it’s a hassle,” said Bob Cohanim, junior in aerospace engineering and captain of an ISU intramural ultimate Frisbee team. Mike Krashin, senior in materials engineering, said checking IDs slows down the beginning of each game. “It slows down play because you have to wait for 20 people to check in before you can start playing,” he said. Others like Chad Wickman, junior in mechanical engineering, say the check-in is a necessity. “A guy on our team forgot his fee card. The referee knew him, and so did the other team. Everyone knew he was a student, and they still wouldn’t let him play,” he said. Marticke said she realizes the policy isn’t perfect, but the intramural department has plans to improve it by having scanners present at intramural events. This would make the check-in process faster and students would only need to remember their ISUCards in order to participate.