During a regular school year, IU Intramural Sports usually would be in full swing almost year round with all the different activities and leagues that are usually provided. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic however, IM Sports have been unable to host the yearly sports leagues usually provided to students. Most of the leagues, such as the popular IM basketball leagues, involve close contact with the opposing teams and other students, something that isn’t doable in a pandemic environment. Like many other organizations, once the initial wave of cancellations took place, IM Sports started trying to plan and coordinate events that could be possible even with social distancing amidst a pandemic. This is where the idea for the IU IM Home Run Derby originated and on September 20^th, the Home Run Derby was able to successfully take place.

Throughout the day on September 20^th, contestants would show up in time slots to hit and compete in the derby. Points were given for how far the contestants hit the softballs being used and outs were given when the ball did not reach certain distances. Once players recorded a specific number of outs, 5, during their plate appearance, their score was recorded. Participants got 2 attempts in their time slot and the top competitor from each of the hour long time slots throughout the day returned at the end of the day to compete against each other for the overall title of the Home Run Derby Champion.

Intramural Sports Assistant Director Ryan Fitzgerald was the supervisor of the event and felt that the competition was overall a success. Fitzgerald says students were laughing and enjoying themselves even though they had to stay far apart and all use different bats. Fitzgerald also mentioned that after seeing how successful the Home Run Derby was and how they were able to follow social distancing rules, he felt confident that future events in the semester would be able to run smoothly as well.

Stephan Walker was a competitor in the event and finished with the highest score in his time slot, which qualified him to compete in the final round later in the day with the rest of the time slot champions. While Walker only came away with 3^rd place in the competition, he said that the opportunity to compete and interact with other sports loving fans and athletes was a great experience.

As for IU IM Sports plans for the rest of the semester, they will be hosting a Soccer Skills Competition on October 4^th and a Kick Pass and Punt Football competition on October 12^th as well. For any students who don’t feel comfortable attending in person activities, IU IM Sports also will be hosting virtual gaming competitions for FIFA, NBA 2K, Madden and Rocket League. These events are open to any current IU students and Fitzgerald says that as long as the events continue to be run successfully, they will be looking to add events to the spring semester calendar as well.