Sporting Eye

Genteel Hoops

THIS IS ONE OF THOSE "ONLY IN THE IVY League" stories. A new system implemented last winter at Dartmouth grades intramural teams not on their physical prowess but on their "conduct."

Intramural refs can rate teams from A ("Exemplary conduct. Any questions to officials phrased courteously by the team captain.") to D ("Unacceptable sportsmanship. Fights during the game. Disregard for the spirit of the game in the intramural setting."). To be eligible for the playoffs, teams must maintain a Baverage ("Respect for officials and opponents evident in most cases. Very little profanity.").

"Acceptable sportsmanship should be a required, rather than optional, ingredient of the program," explains Intramurals Director Noah Yannie. "The onus is on the players to be in charge of their own behavior."

One can imagine a team captain saying: "Excuse me for my impudence, kind sir, but I do not agree with your call." Such polite phrasing seems more appropriate in a Dickens novel than in Alumni Gym, but the moral is clear (Vince Lombardi take note): In intramural sports, what counts isn't winning or losing, but how politely you play the game.