Students looking to get involved on campus and meet other students can join a club or intramural team.

There are several intramural sports with January registrations now open and there are club sports with open registrations including the Esports Club which is new this year.

Last semester, sophomore Jacob Halfman was surprised not to find any specific PC gaming clubs on campus and decided to start an Esports Club himself.

“I knew there was a Smash Bros Club, but there was no competitive PC gaming club so I kind of got this mad idea in my head that maybe I would start the club,” said Halfman, who is now president of the Esports Club.

“Esports is different from regular gaming in the way that Esports is built around skilled competitive gameplay, so you need to put in that effort to learn the intricacies and strategies to succeed,” said Halfman. “It takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions between teams.”

According to Halfman, a semester after his idea to start the club there are around 70 unofficial members. Most members are Whitewater students, but there are also a few from different universities, and he is working on an outreach program to get UW-Rock County more involved as well.

“It’s amazing how many different people you can connect with through this common interest. Gaming in itself is such a popular pastime,” Halfman said.

Some of the games they play include Overwatch, League of Legends and Rainbow 6 Siege.

It is free of cost to join the Esports Club. However, students will need a microphone and a computer capable of running the programs and games.

There is no in-person meeting or necessary skill needed to join although there are tryouts to join certain teams.

The club meets and plans through Discord, which is a skype equivalent designed around gaming and voice chat.

Despite the fact that the club doesn’t have to meet in person Halfman said he has still made many friends through the club.

“My favorite thing is just how many people I’ve met and how many good friends I’ve made from putting out this network,” Halfman said.

Whether a student wants to join a physical sport or an online competitive sport, there are options for all students through club and intramural sports.

“Most clubs are very welcoming to anyone at anytime of the year, but definitely at the beginning of each semester is a great time for students to get involved,” said senior Mykaela Harrington, who is the club sports coordinator and women’s lacrosse club president.

Registrations for intramural basketball, volleyball, wheelchair basketball, floor hockey and inner tube water polo are currently open until Jan. 30.

Assistant Director of Intramural and Club Sports Matt Schneider estimates there will be about 27 different activities that are going to be open for intramural registration at various points throughout the semester.

Club sports are slightly different. The list of club sports is generally the same from year to year, and the clubs remain active throughout the school year. The only major difference to club sports is the addition of the Esports Club this year

For more information or to sign up for the Esports Club, intramural sports or other club sports students can visit uww.edu/recsports.