Laurie Braden

Recreational sports will kick off this spring semester with expanded and new programs that will promote health and wellness among the campus community.

Last semester, the Campus Recreation Department offered intramural competition in flag football and volleyball.

This semester, it will offer intramural basketball, softball, soccer and tennis, along with badminton and pington tournaments.

Ultimate Frisbee also is on the schedule. A clinic will be offered where students, faculty and staff can learn about the sport and prepare for the tournament.

Campus Recreation wants to develop a successful fitness program.

“We look to, in terms of fitness programming, really grow that exponentially with a measured pace,” said Laurie Braden, Campus Recreation director.

In order to do so, they will offer yoga and Step Aerobics classes. These classes will have lessons on cardio sport and sports conditioning, Braden said.

The complete schedule of classes will be ready this week and classes will start next week.

Also new are seminars to improve fitness and health, such as women’s weight-training.

“I really want to provide three to four seminars this semester on health and wellness topics that students would like to attend,” Braden said.

The department also plans to expand its club sports program.

“I’d love to grow our club program through student interest, whether it’s more martial arts clubs or whether it’s other individual or team sport clubs,” Braden said.

Also new this semester is league play, where teams will compete for a month in search of a spot in a championship tournament. The league will have men’s, women’s and co-ed teams.

“It gives people more of an opportunity to engage,” Braden said.

League play will take place in the Manuel B. Garza Gym or on the lawn behind the Life and Health Sciences Building.

Last year, soccer was played in the City of Brownsville’s Gonzalez and Morningside parks.

“They do not have the ability to rent us their fields, so we are forced to use what we have,” Braden said about the city.

To participate in the recreational sports program, UTB/TSC students must have a grade-point average of 2.0 or higher. To register as a team or as a free agent for any intramural sport, visit the Campus Recreation office, which is located in the Village at Fort Brown. For more information, call 982-0172.