HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) –

With the start of the semester Monday for Marshall University comes the start of the rec center’s intramural sports.

Marshall University officials spoke about how these competitive contact sports are also taking precautions for COVID-19.

Teams of three showed up to Marshall’s intramural soccer tournament, the first contact intramural sport of the school year.

Alan Mack, a graduate assistant at the university runs the tournament and helps enforce the COVID-19 guidelines.

The intramural tournament started a week after incoming freshmen moved to campus.

“This is our little test run to see if contact sports like soccer and flag football are doable for the semester,” Mack said.

He said this is a trial run for to find out what works and what does not to keep players safe.

Marshall University made the decision to lower team sizes hoping to minimize. contact on the field.

“Typically for soccer it is 8v8, for this is 3v3,” Mack said.

He said about 10 teams showed up, around 30 people played all together.

Mack said referees also stopped using whistles, teams are directed to stand socially distant and on opposite sides of the field, and players wear masks when they are not playing.

Mack said what he checks for most of all is if a player has taken Marshall’s Daily Health Check.

“If they have the green screen on the app then they are able to play,” said Mack. “If not we ask them to please leave.”

Contact sports like soccer are only played outside, so inclement weather means that day is canceled.

Mack says if someone is not following the rules he will ask them to leave.

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