Even during the summer, University Student Recreation is never at a standstill.While most other sports are currently in the offseason, summer intramurals are going at full strength. Three intramural leagues are currently running at the UREC  — softball, 3-on-3 basketball and sand volleyball.All regular season games have been played, and playoffs are currently underway. Matt Boyer, assistant director of leagues and tournaments, said they are shooting to have all playoffs completed by the end of this week.The 3-on-3 basketball championship is set for Thursday night, along with the men’s softball final.The men’s sand volleyball championship, which will pit UREC Purple vs. Package, will take place tonight.The co-rec softball final is also set, with UREC Diamond taking on the Baton Rouge Bombers. That game will take place Wednesday night.In total, the basketball league had five teams sign up, the co-rec and men’s volleyball leagues drew seven teams, and the co-rec and men’s softball leagues drew 15 teams.”The turnout wasn’t great but about normal for summer … comparable to last year,” Boyer said.Along with hosting summer league games, the UREC staff is currently finalizing the schedules for the rest of the school year.”Our fall calendar and spring calendar are set,” Boyer said. “Right now we’re getting approval on some new ideas and inventions we have. We’re looking for some new ideas for the fall to get people excited for the leagues.”One new idea that will be added to the fall schedule is the sport of futsal.Futsal is a 5-on-5 indoor soccer game that is played on the basketball court with a small, weighted ball. The official rules and regulations will be discussed and finalized in the coming weeks.”Futsal is pretty much finalized,” Boyer said. “We’re going to do some exhibition games to find out how the rules need to be worked out to fit our clientele and our facilities.”Boyer said futsal emphasizes team play and requires a bit more finesse and skill than standard soccer.”It’s more about skill rather than just kicking it as hard as you can … there’s more strategy involved and a lot more team play involved,” Boyer said.Along with futsal, Boyer said UREC is looking to spice up the fall and spring semesters’ schedules with new games, along with variations of old games.”There’s going to be a lot of changes … for the better,” Boyer said.A new game that will be tested out this summer is what UREC likes to call “almost golf.””Almost golf” is a modified golf game played on a custom-made course. The “almost golf” ball reacts off the club face the same as a normal ball but travels only a third of the distance.”It’s not a hard ball … it’s a softer ball so it can bounce anywhere,” said Matt Katz, graduate assistant of leagues and tournaments. “It’s for those that like miniature golf, or par three courses.”Boyer said “almost golf” emphasizes accuracy rather than power and is a sport even beginning golfers can enjoy.”It’s not something the elite golfer will enjoy,” Boyer said. “People who maybe have never played before who are interested in it, or maybe just the average golfer … they’re the ones who will probably enjoy it.”The first “almost golf” tournament will be held this Friday, July 23, and will cost $10. Nine unique holes will be created by the UREC staff and participants will play the holes twice to make a full 18-hole course.”It’s fun … it’s different. The setup will be kind of challenging and unique,” Boyer said.–Contact Mark Clements at [email protected]