Student Recreational Services now awards equal points to both men and women in all intramural sports.

The change was the result of a petition started last fall to change the scoring difference for men and women in intramural soccer, the only sport at the time that unequally awarded points. Males received one point per goal, while females received two.

“As an organization, we did not feel this was right,” said Ricky Lovell, the director of Student Relations for Kent Interhall Council. “We felt that it had unintentional consequences by sending the message that females were not capable of competing at the same level as their male teammates.”

Lovell and the Kent Interhall Council felt compelled to make a change and gathered the required 100 signatures after only two days. The organization heightened advocacy last fall through starting a Twitter campaign, which encouraged followers to tweet the hashtag #OneGoal at the Student Recreation and Wellness Center’s account.

Phelan Fletcher, the recreation program coordinator, said Recreational Services was very receptive to the council’s ideas and opened up a dialogue on this topic.

“Our intention was never to award someone more points for a perceived difference,” Fletcher said. “It was to encourage participation for both genders.”

The rule was following national trends, as most universities have the scoring of females counting for extra points. Fletcher said because there are no all-female intramural soccer teams, the rule was supposed to bring in more women to the co-ed leagues.

“We realized it wasn’t really doing any harm to make the change, so we did,” she said.

Fletcher said while some intramural sports have seen a decrease in participation, soccer is one that has gained about six teams.

“KIC is very appreciative of the rule change by the Rec center and feel that it is a testament to the positive change that can be accomplished when students and campus professional come together with a solution-oriented mindset to serve our community,” Lovell said.

Dylan Thacker is the recreation and fitness reporter. Contact him at [email protected]