Every year, Intramurals is the highlight of the school year after many months of teamwork and toil. While competitions between volleyball, hallway, theme, mural, video and spirit between the grade levels are the only thing people can focus on, sisterhood is the foundation of it all. The 2025 Intramural season is not one to easily forget, with close competition, beautiful displays of art and the bond of sisterhood, this year will be engraved in everyone’s hearts.
Starting off with theme, each grade level is responsible for voting for a theme that corresponds with their grade color prior to Winter Break. These themes should also incorporate the colors of the other grade levels in a cohesive way. Above all, the themes must emphasize and highlight the spirit of sisterhood. The Freshmen chose The Princess and the Frog as their theme to start their first ever Intramurals at Ursuline. The Sophomores chose Hannah Montana: The Best of Both Worlds, the Juniors selected The Greatest Showman and the Seniors voted on Alice in Wonderland. Ursuline alumnae give an award to whomever they think has the best theme, and this year they gave it to the Seniors!
Moving on to mural, each grade level must paint a large mural that displays teamwork, sincere effort and of course, the chosen theme. Every grade also must find a way to incorporate a small drawing of everyone else’s theme, the iconic plaid skirt and a volleyball. Murals take a long time to complete, but everyone’s art is displayed in Fox during Deco day and for the whole week. On the Finale Day, they are then transferred to the gym. This year the Seniors won first place, Juniors second, Sophomores third and Freshmen fourth.
“It’s so awesome seeing people come together to create the murals. I know it takes a lot of time and dedication, but everyone always goes out of their way to work on it. It’s great to see what we can do when we all work together,” said Ellie Bodwell, and Ursuline sophomore.
The decorations in the hallways must be made while the mural is being made, so there is a lot of creativity and art that spills into Intramurals her at Ursuline. Each grade level is assigned a section to decorate in Main Hall, and it is all assembled during Deco Day. Everyone must come together to hang paintings, streamers and much more. This year, the Juniors won first in hallway with the Seniors close behind, then came the Sophomores and then the Freshmen.
“It was a little sad on Finale Day for the hallway decorations to be taken down, but I’m really proud of my peers because we did a great job this year,” said Emily Zeigfinger, an Ursuline Junior.
Furthermore, the volleyball competitions between the grades is the main event of Intramurals. The volleyball games are split into three days. On the first day, the Seniors competed against the Freshmen and Seniors won their first game. Sophomores battled the Juniors, and after a close game, Sophomores came out on top. The next day, the Juniors went against the Freshmen and the Juniors were victorious. Sophomores went against the Seniors and after an even closer game, Seniors won. On the finale day, Sophomores went against the Freshmen and won and Juniors went against Seniors and the Juniors won. There was a tie between the Sophomores and Juniors, so there was a first-to-15 tie breaker. After a long week, Sophomores won it all.
“It was very stressful but so rewarding to win and it’s such a great experience knowing your whole grade is cheering for you and everyone’s so hyped up,” said Yuruani Torrealba, an Ursuline Sophomore.
Each grade level makes a video as well, showing off their theme as well as embodying sisterhood. Watching the videos is a long-anticipated part of Intramurals because it is so exciting to see what your peers have created. This year, Seniors took home the trophy, with Juniors second, Sophomores third and Freshmen fourth.
Spirit is a big part of Intramurals, with each grade trying to be the loudest. Spirit is measured all throughout the week, but even Serviam spirit makes the cut. There are secret judges placed around the school to see which grade is worthy of the title. Seniors were awarded first in spirit, Sophomores second, Juniors third, and Freshmen fourth.
Lastly, an unforgettable part of Intramurals is when the Senior Entrance takes place. The entire Senior grade level performs an incredible dance for everyone else to watch in awe. It always shows a little bit of their past themes from years ago, but it is mostly about their current theme. There are flashing lights, music, and many different outfits. It is always the highlight of Intramurals as many past Alumni come to watch.
Intramurals is always the best way to kick off Spring Break and everyone looks forward to it every year. It’s a core memory of every student at Ursuline and they will be sure to remember it for the rest of their lives.
By: Claire Caldwell ’27
THE BEAR FACTS 