With COVID-19 protocols in place, Winthrop Recreational Services is finding ways to still bring sports competitions to campus.
Students have until Nov. 5 to register for a basketball skills challenge, and until Nov. 11 to sign up for a cornhole tournament. According to Assistant Director of Sports Programs Cameron Edwards, the basketball skills challenge will include a three-point contest, a hot shot contest, and a skills challenge, “similar to what is typically seen during the NBA’s All-Star weekend.”
The basketball skills challenge will take place on Nov. 10 while the cornhole tournament will be Nov. 17, and both will be held on the courts in the West Center. Students can register in teams of two or individually as free agents, but must attend a virtual meeting to discuss rules and procedures beforehand to be included in the contests. There is no deposit fee for these competitions.
Recreational Services had planned to host a flag football skills challenge earlier in the semester with kicking, punting, and passing contests, and there was going to be a volleyball skills challenge to test serve accuracy as well. However, the competitions received too little interest to be held.
“We did not have any teams sign up for the [football and volleyball] competitions,” Edwards said. “While there are many possibilities as to the lack of interest, all would be guesses at this point. Some combination of concerns for COVID-19 transmission, protocols in place at the events, uncertainty of the amount of interest from others and, in general, much of our core participant base still taking classes from home would all be feasible possibilities.”
One other way Recreational Services is engaging the Winthrop community is through weekly college football and NFL “pick ‘ems” contests. Participants select the outcomes of ten college football games and ten NFL games, and the person to get the most picks right wins a prize each week. Prizes have included t-shirts, water bottles, and other Rec Services items.
“We are currently averaging 29 responses per week in the college contest and 31 responses per week in the NFL contest for a total of 60 responses per week,” Edwards said. “According to feedback provided by participants in their individual responses, most participants find out about the contest via the promotional messages sent out via IMLeagues or via our Recreational Services social media pages.
Students can receive IMLeagues messages through the WU Rec Services app and look for updates on Instagram @wu_rec.
Edwards acknowledged that there has also been consideration of holding tournaments in games such as NBA2K or Madden.
“While physical, in-person recreation competitions will always be our preferred type of event, we are aware of esports and the possibilities that exist there,” Edwards said. “We are looking at adding some of these competitions in the spring semester, once the transition to the new generation of consoles – Xbox Series X and PS5 – has taken place in the United States.”
Recreational Services is continuing to host in-person and virtual fitness classes, and this month has held nine guided walks around campus and the Rock Hill area for its annual “Walktober” series.
Photo by Jamia Johnson
