For many incoming freshmen, sports might not be the main reason they chose Dartmouth, but the College offers many ways for athletes and non-athletes alike to enjoy sports.
Nestled cozily in the Upper Valley by the Connecticut River and close to the White Mountains, Dartmouth's location gives many opportunities for recreational, intramural and club sports.
An average of 1,600 participants per term take part in the more than 30 different intramural sports at Dartmouth. Many teams are formed through residence halls, fraternities, sororities and coed Greek houses, as well as academic departments.
Taking advantage of the College-owned skiway and cross-country skiing course, winter sports are popular among Dartmouth students.
Ski racing debuted this season as the newest intramural sport, and ice hockey has traditionally been the most popular intramural league. This past winter, 70 teams of more than 1,000 students participated in the hockey program.
The intramural hockey games are played in Thompson Arena, but since Dartmouth varsity teams and other local teams use the same rink, the games are usually held in the late evenings, which many students find convenient to their college schedules.
Time is not the only thing flexible about intramural sports.
There are three levels of play ranging from A-level where most players played the particular sport in high school, to C-level which mostly consists of beginners.
Although the competition sometimes gets very intense, the purpose of intramural sports is "to have a good time," Director of Intramural Sports Steve Erickson said.
Some graduate schools at Dartmouth also compete with undergraduates.
Ten ice hockey teams from the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration participated last season. Several teams from the Thayer School of Engineering and Dartmouth Medical School also played soccer and hockey.
Getting involved with intramural sports is as easy as sending a BlitzMail message to Intramural Sports, Erickson said.
The Intramural Office will send a calendar to every freshman through the Hinman Box in September. The calendar will include "almost everything you need to know about sports here," Erickson said.
The three most popular IM sports are ice hockey, softball and soccer, but other intramural sports include touch football, an 8-ball tournament and 3-on-3 Basketball.
Eight-ball Champion, Lukas Cadil '00 said he organized all the IM teams for the residents of his cluster and played 10 different sports himself.
"Since the opportunities at Dartmouth are so great, I took advantage of it and I am planning on doing that again next year," Cadil said.
Balancing the fun of IM sports and academics is not difficult, Roberto Miki '98, a biochemistry and economics double major, said.
"It's not a big deal. IM sports are not really any kind of commitment," he said. "But it's a fun thing to do with friends."
But intramural sports are not the only way students can keep physically active.
Physical Education classes, of which every student must take three by the end of sophomore summer, offer a wide selection of activities.
Ice Hockey, aerobics, rock climbing, and tae kwon do were just some of the PE courses offered last year.
PE credits can also be obtained by attending non-athletic courses. Some of these programs include Peer Education Action Corps and a course called "Well-being with Chinese medicine."
Club sports offered at the College include ultimate frisbee, karate, rugby and water polo.
"The cool thing about club sports is that they are open to everybody, just like a PE class, but it is more of a commitment," said Nathan White '99, a men's ultimate frisbee club member.
"You get a chance to become part of a team," White said.
Although club sports do compete against other colleges and universities, clubs tend to require less time commitment than varsity sports.
On the other hand, if you are looking to try out for varsity teams, you had better be ready.
Zach Hafer '99, a prominent player on the varsity hockey team this year, was cut when he tried out for the team during his freshman year.
Although he was shocked when he was cut, Hafer didn't wait long to make a big jump on his hockey career. He took his freshman Winter term off, and went to play in the United States Hockey League, one of the three Junior A hockey leagues in the country.
He played the whole winter with the Waterloo Black Hawks and came back to school in the spring to make the team.
Although Hafer said that the idea of try-outs isn't a bad one, "walk-ons should expect a hard time."
Hafer said he sometimes feels that coaches give priority to recruited players since they've spent so much money scouting them.
Dartmouth crew teams are a notable exception to this observation, taking many walk-ons compared to other sports.
Last year, approximately 50 freshmen tried out for the 18 spots on the men's lightweight crew squad.
"Although training is not easy, crew is a great opportunity, if you want to try a new sport," Varsity Lightweight Rower Christopher Rea '99 said.
