A 3×3 intramural basketball tournament began January 2 during lunchtimes for high school students and teachers after various requests to add different sports to the lunchtime intermural program.

Due to the success of soccer intramurals High School P.E teacher Chapo Arango had the initiative to implement a new sport into the lunch games dynamic. Instead of doing regular basketball, Chapo’s innovative idea for 3×3 matches as used at the Olympics will take place.

“I think three on three is very innovative and allows us to have more teams and a bigger tournament,” David Murphy, High School Social Studies Teacher, said.

The rules have been changed to accommodate the 15-minute time limit per match. The games are played half-court with both teams scoring in one basket.  This variation is called horseshoe. Each team has three players on the court and one substitute.  

“I think it would be better if it were a complete team. But then again, a lot of people don’t really like basketball. There’s not a lot of people in the school that enjoy the sport, so I think it will be fine,” Andres Lopera, Grade 11, said.

Inscriptions closed on January 27 to start revising and finish assembling the selected teams chosen by students. The event’s programming was released on January 31 so the games can start that same week.  

“I don’t think we can choose the teams, I think it’s gonna be random. But I think a lot of people that are my friends got in the subscriptions so I’m good, and at the end, the event can make new friendships,” Lopera said.

The basketball intramurals will take place on different days from the soccer games to allow students who participate in soccer intramurals to compete in both sports. 

“I don’t mind if it’s during my lunchtime because it’s my free time. The only issue is that it’s a concise amount of time. So when we have class before and after lunch, it’s almost impossible to participate,” Murphy said. 

Teachers also can participate in this event as many of them enjoy playing sports in their day-to-day lives.  This will allow students to create a bond with teachers outside the classroom environment.

“Right now, we’ve got at least four teachers from high school: myself, Ms. Butters, Mr. Revels, and Mr. Beauchamp. I’m excited as I’ve always enjoyed playing sports with my coworkers,” Murphy said. 

The first round of games will end on March 14 and will continue if there is continued interest. There will be two matches going on at the same time, with a total of four teams playing per day. 

“I am participating because I think it’s an enjoyable activity to do with your friends and maybe distract a little bit from the whole school life,” Lopera said.