Intramurals Participation Guide

The Intramural Program within the Campus Recreation Center at Georgia Tech has several opportunities for student involvement through employment, including Intramural Officials and Competitive Sports Office Managers. The great part is, no experience is necessary; we will provide all the training! Any interested students should contact the Competitive Sports Office.

NOTE: To appeal an eligibility status according to any of the criteria below, please submit a request to the Competitive Sports Office. Requests should be submitted and confirmed at least two days prior to a player’s first game to ensure participation.

Ineligible players will result in a forfeit at the time of sign-in.

Student Eligibility Requirements (as outlined in the Georgia Institute of Technology Catalog):

• Must be enrolled in a degree-seeking program.
• Must maintain a schedule with at least six (6) credit hours or be participating in an Institute-approved internship or co-op that is recognized by the Registrar.
• CRC Recreation Fee provides the opportunity to participate in intramurals.

Faculty/Staff

Must be full-time employees.
Must have a current CRC Membership.

Spouses

Only eligible to play on teams of which spouse is a member.Must have a spouse ID and a CRC membership to participate. NOTE: Spouse IDs can be obtained at the BuzzCard Center.

Professional Athletes

• Definition: Any person who has played at any level of professional athletics, which includes signing a professional contract.
• Professional or former professional athletes are ineligible to play the equivalent intramural sport in which they were a professional.
  • Equivalent sports maintain similar skill and rule-sets (i.e. sand volleyball and indoor volleyball, outdoor and indoor soccer, baseball and softball, or squash and racquetball), at the discretion of the Assistant Director of Competitive Sports.

Current and Former Varsity Athletes

• Definition: A student who has been listed on a NCAA D3 or above varsity sport’s roster. Current varsity athletes are ineligible to play the same intramural sport in the same athletic year.
• Only one roster member may be a former varsity team member for an equivalent intramural sport in which they were a varsity athlete.

Sport Club Participants

• Definition: Any person who is listed on the roster or competes with a sport club that is sponsored by the Student Government Association and under the Competitive Sports Office. Such a person is considered a member of that sport club for the entire academic school year.
• Sport club players are allowed to take up as many spots on the roster of an equivalent sport as half the number of players (rounded down) allowed on the field at any given time. Ex: An outdoor soccer team consisting of 11 players on the field may have up to 5 club players on the roster.
  • For all teams, the number of club players in total on the roster, between both men’s and women’s teams for that sport, may not exceed half the number of players allowed on the field at any given time.
  • Exception: Indoor volleyball teams are allowed a maximum of 2 club players on their roster.

An intramural team found to have ineligible players will forfeit each game those players participated in. In addition, those players may be deemed ineligible for future intramurals by Competitive Sports Professional Staff.

Captains must register teams via IMLeagues. Registration times for each sport and league may be found on IMLeagues. Captains are only permitted to register for one team per sport (Co-Rec sports are considered separate sports for registration purposes only). Captains must agree to the captain’s responsibilities when registering.

The person delegated by a team to attend the preseason captain’s meeting is
responsible for fulfilling the following duties:

• Enter their team in the desired sports on or before the announced closing date for registration and ensure their teammates are on the IMLeagues roster.
• Keep fully informed of eligibility rules and abide by them; the captain is completely responsible for the eligibility of their members.
• Know how and where to contact Competitive Sports staff with issues.
• Notify team members of the rules of the game and game schedules.
• Represent their team at the preseason captains’ meeting, protest negotiations, disciplinary meetings etc., for which they are asked to be present.
• Ensure that their team is never credited with a loss because of a forfeit or a no-show.
• Cooperate fully with the Competitive Sports staff on all matters to maintain successful operation of the program.
• Keep thoroughly informed of behavioral guidelines and maintain high standards of sportsmanship for their team.
• Ensure that the team has the minimum number of players with a GTIM pass required to play by the registration deadline.

• Teams can add to their roster only through their respective team’s regular season.
• Players are added only after agreeing to the online waiver.
• No player may play on two teams in the same sport. Co-Rec is considered a separate sport for these purposes. A woman is allowed to participate in either the open or women’s leagues, but not both.
• The second team that an individual plays on will forfeit the games in which they have signed in. The rule is imposed at the time of check-in. Further penalties will be at the discretion of the Competitive Sports Professional Staff.
• Players may change teams during the regular season if they haven’t already checked-in for any games with their first team.

• Proper athletic attire is required for all intramural play and is subject to variation depending on the sport. It is CRC policy to require closed-toe athletic shoes and athletic attire without exposed metal. Non-metal cleats are allowed for outdoor sports.
• Teams are required to wear shirts/jerseys of the same color. Each player must have a unique number 01-99 of a contrasting color measuring at least 6” tall permanently affixed (no tape or staples) and clearly displayed on the back of their shirt/jersey.
• Jewelry is prohibited from all intramural play. This includes, but is not limited to, bracelets, earrings, necklaces, belly rings, and wedding rings. These must be removed before the start of play. Religious or unremovable jewelry may be kept on but must be entirely covered and affixed so as not to become a hazard to other players. Medical jewelry should be fastened to minimize risk to other players, leaving any information still visible. Players must affix such jewelry themselves before signing into the game.
• Casts and splints of any kind are not allowed on participants. Soft braces may be worn, but components made of hard material must be completely covered with rubber or foam padding that is at least ½” thick.
• Students must sign in to games by showing a valid Buzzcard or government issued photo ID to the Intramural Supervisor on duty. Photos of IDs will not be accepted. 
• Students are not permitted to use another student’s BuzzCard or ID to sign in to play. If found to be using someone else’s card, the team will forfeit the game, and both the player who signed in and the name on the ID will be required to meet with Competitive Sports Professional Staff and may be deemed ineligible for intramurals.
• Any intentional or unintentional act by any player or team that attempts to undermine or circumvent the policies explained here may result in a forfeit loss. This will be applied retroactively if needed.
• Georgia Tech Intramurals does not carry any insurance for injuries that occur during play or during activities sponsored by the program.

Poor behavior is detrimental to the success of our program. To encourage sportsmanship, the following policies have been developed.

Anyone ejected from an intramural event will be documented by the Competitive Sports Office. The offender must contact the office to schedule a meeting discussing the infraction; the offender will be deemed ineligible for play until they have met with Competitive Sports Professional Staff.

Behavioral Ejections

• Disrespect Toward Officials and Intramural Supervisors:
  • Any player addressing an official or supervisor in a derogatory or discourteous manner may be grounds to disqualify them immediately for the remainder of the game.
• Shoving or Striking an Official or Intramural Supervisor:
  • In addition to immediate ejection from the game, this shall result in suspension for, at minimum, the remainder of the school year to possible permanent suspension and referral to the Dean of Student’s Office for further disciplinary action.
• Fighting:
  • Fighting is defined as pushing, striking, or otherwise intentionally causing reasonable apprehension of such harm to any person outside the bounds of play.
  • In addition to immediate ejection from the game, an indefinite suspension from ALL intramural sports and possible disqualification for the remainder of the year may be levied.
• Code of Student Discipline:
  • A student, upon registration at Georgia Tech, agrees to conform to its regulations and its policies and is subject to disciplinary action by the Institute for any violation of the Student Code of Conduct. Georgia Tech intramural participants are subject to this code at all times.

Administrative Ejections

Players ejected for non-unsportsmanlike reasons (i.e. slide tackles in soccer, technical ejections in basketball) may be asked to email the Assistant Director of Competitive Sports in lieu of scheduling a meeting at the discretion of office staff.

Illicit Substances:

• Illicit substances are not allowed at any intramural events. Any substances found in the area will result in the alert of GTPD. Any individual found to be in possession will face disciplinary action.
• Further, any person thought to be intoxicated will be asked to vacate the event. Any person not cooperating when asked will cause their team to forfeit the game and face disciplinary action.
• Any individual found facing disciplinary action for violations concerning illicit substances will be suspended from intramural activities indefinitely. They must also meet with the Competitive Sports Professional Staff. Failure to comply may result in the offender’s name being turned over to the Dean of Students’ Office for further action.

During the season, teams are expected to show proper sportsmanship, respecting other teams and officials. GTIM uses this rating system for team and spectator sportsmanship for intramural games. After each game, the officials and supervisors rate each participating team on their sportsmanship. The final judgment is with the Intramural Supervisor.

• 5 points – Exemplary Behavior – Team goes above and beyond in portraying the spirit of the game. The team exhibits behavior towards opponents and staff that exemplifies the ideal for the league and program.
• 4 points – Very Good Behavior – Team shows good sportsmanship. Opponents and staff are treated with respect, and players have an obvious good attitude. No unsportsmanlike warnings, technical fouls, or yellow cards.
• 3 points – Acceptable Behavior – Team cooperates with opponents and staff with few complaints and grumbling. Good attitude is missing on occasion, but there are no blatant displays of bad attitude. Captain is in complete control of the team. No unsportsmanlike technical fouls or yellow cards.
• 2 points – Below Acceptable Behavior – Team complains often about officials’ calls and interpretations and/or occasionally confronts the opposing team. Captain is not in strong control of the team. One or more unsportsmanlike technical fouls or yellow cards, but no unsportsmanlike red cards or ejections.
• 1 point – Poor Behavior – Team does not cooperate with staff and/or frequently confronts the opposing team. Captain has little to no control of the team. One or more unsportsmanlike red cards or ejections.
• 0 points – Dangerous Behavior – Reserved for fighting, touching staff, dangerous play with intent to injure opponent. Generally associated with multiple unsportsmanlike yellow cards, red cards, or ejections.

Teams may be penalized for any fouls, cards, or ejections earned, even if they are not enforced during the game.

Teams will be held to the same standards during the postseason. Therefore, if a team receives a sportsmanship score of 1 or less in any game during the postseason, they will be removed from the playoff bracket immediately. In addition, if a team receives a sportsmanship score of 2, they will be placed on probation for the duration of the playoffs. A 2nd sportsmanship score of 2 or less will remove them from the bracket. If a team has won their game but is removed from the bracket due to sportsmanship, the Competitive Sports Office will communicate a decision to teams regarding the next round.

Playoff Determination

• The top two teams from each division in a league as well as one league wildcard will advance to the playoffs. 
• Teams must have a minimum mean sportsmanship rating of 3 to be eligible for the playoffs.
• Ties in division play will be settled in the following way:
  • Ties will be broken based on the head-to-head competition first, then point differential and sportsmanship.
  • If a team has forfeited any of the considered games they will be eliminated from the tie first. 
  • If three or more teams are tied, the head-to-head will be the first tiebreaker, and then the point differential, taking only the scores of the respective teams involved versus each other. Points scored for will be compared to points scored against as shown in the following example:
    • Team A
      • vs. Team B 16 – 8
      • vs. Team C 16 – 24
      • Point differential is 0
    • Team B
      • vs. Team A 8 – 16
      • vs. Team C 32 – 8
      • Point differential is +16
    • Team C
      • vs. Team A 24 – 16
      • vs. Team B 8 – 32
      • Point differential is -16
  • Team B would advance due to a superior point differential. If two of the teams would advance, Team A would advance with the next highest differential.
  • If point differential is a three-way tie, point differential for all regular-season games will be the tiebreaker. The next tiebreaker is the mean sportsmanship rating. 
• Wildcards:
  • All leagues will allow one wildcard team to advance to playoffs.
  • Wildcard teams will be determined using the same tiebreakers as standard playoff advancement, but will be compared against all other teams in the league.
  • When determining record, win percentage will be considered, not number of wins or losses.

When a team is unable to field enough players and cannot reschedule the game, they
are encouraged to default:

• To secure a default, teams must fill out and submit a default form by 12pm the day of the game, or 12pm Friday for games scheduled on Sunday or during breaks.
• The penalty for defaulting is an unscored loss with a sportsmanship score of 3. Opponents will also receive a 3 for Sportsmanship. 
• A team that defaults more than twice will be disqualified from playoffs.
• Games outside of the listed division time on IMLeagues (rainouts, reschedules for Institute holidays but NOT playoff games) may be requested to be rescheduled using the following procedure:
  • Captains should contact the opposing captain to discuss potential reschedule times.
  • Both captains must notify the Competitive Sports Office that a reschedule is desired by 12 p.m. the day before the game, or 12 p.m. Thursday for games scheduled on Sunday or during breaks. Captains should include several reschedule options in the email.
  • The Competitive Sports Office will contact both captains via email with either several options for new times, or to deny the request if unable to accommodate.
  • Captains must respond within 24 hours with their preference among the times provided. The Competitive Sports Office will respond with the new game time. If no time works for both teams, the original time will be reinstated.
  • Captains are encouraged to notify the Competitive Sports Office as early as possible for the greatest chance of accommodation.

When a team fails to meet requirements to play (not enough players, improper equipment, arrives after game time, etc.) and does not complete the default process, they will receive a forfeit.

• A team that forfeits twice will be removed from the league.
• Game time is forfeit time. A 10-minute grace period (from the start of the game) may be extended to a team with consent from their opponent, provided the opposing team has the minimum number of players signed in and ready to play.
• The clock will start at game time.
• The penalty for forfeiting is an unscored loss with a sportsmanship score of 1. Opponents who show up ready to play will receive a 4. 

Protests will only be accepted when challenging a rule interpretation or player eligibility
according to the following procedure (judgment calls cannot be protested):

1. All protests must be made to a supervisor immediately following the play in question (once another play has occurred, the protest becomes invalid).
2. The supervisor will stop play and log the protest in IMLeagues. Once the protest has been logged, play will resume.
3. The team that files the protest must contact the Competitive Sports Office the next day to set up an appointment with the Competitive Sports Professional Staff.
4. The respective team will be required to bring a check to the meeting made out to “Georgia Tech” for $10.00. This is a protest fee.
5. If the ruling is overturned, the check will be returned and the game will be rescheduled, starting from the point that caused the protest. If the ruling is denied, the final outcome stands.