Freshman football is also scheduled differently than upperclass intramurals. Because of the large numbers of touch football forfeits in the past, Light changed the way games are scheduled. Instead of a regular schedule, teams now "contract" for a game on a week-by-week basis. Barnard says, "There has been less forfeiting and still pretty good participation."

But not everyone appreciates the contract system. "It would be nice to have football regularly," says Craig Katz '91, a Canaday C intramural representative. "Unless it's regularly scheduled and people have to be there, people sometimes wimp out."

Light has expanded the number of teams, which has also added flexibility to scheduling. "It used to be that each dorm had one team for a sport," the economics graduate student explains. "Now we allow as many teams as want to form to do so."

As a result, Light reports that the 16 freshman dorms fielded 40 basketball teams and 48 volleyball teams this fall, as compared to 20 for each sport two years ago. This "open registration" helps the program because "the dorms are not limited to one team," Light says. "This increases the number of people able to participate."

It increases scheduling flexibility as well. In the past, "You never knew when the games were going to be played until the last minute," says Daniel A. Kaufman '89, a freshman intramural referee. Under the new system, the schedule is made in advance, and teams choose which night they want to play. In basketball, freshmen can choose to play in the Sunday, Monday, Tuesday or Thursday league, depending on their own schedules.

While students says that the change has made the system more complicated, they also say they like it. "[The system] is a little more complicated, but it gives more people a chance to play and encourages people to come out," says Rocky Lee '91, a Hurlbut intramural representative. "Intramurals are for fun, not just for competition."

The system allows freshmen to play at different levels. Thomas F. Callahan, a Grays Middle resident, says that his entry has two volleyball teams, a very competitive one and more casual one. Two years ago, says Eddie F. Brown '89, who referees freshman games, "What happened was a lot of the time you had a really dominant team, and there was no `A' or `B' team, so the scrubs just sat on the bench."

"It's better to have the option to have more than one team. It's no fun to go to a game and just sit on the bench," says John J. Ducey '91.

For basketball aficionados, Light implemented a fall three-player basketball program in the fall of 1986. These half-court games are a throwback to playground hoop, with the teams calling their own fouls and playing best two out of three games to 10 baskets.

"Three-man basketball is great," says William H. Dillon '91, Mower intramural representative. "It allows people with a little less ability to compete. It's a little less athletic and a little more fun."

Ducey says, "Three-man basketball helps cut down on forfeits. There were times that we could only get three people."

While some dorms which can field a five-man team may prefer more traditional basketball, they agree that three-man hoop does have its advantages. "We would prefer playing five-man full court, but that's only because we have five guys," says Wen Shen '91, a Straus resident. "But in the end, the three-man league is probably better."

However, Lee adds, there is a drawback. "Because there are fewer players, it doesn't really allow girls to play."

Others agree that the freshmen intramurals in general are too male-oriented. "There are at most two girls on a team in volleyball, and basketball is almost exclusively male," says Benson Chu '91, a Matthews intramural representative. Says Katz, "A lot of women are scared off by all-male teams.

While Light tried to organize a woman's league last year, he could not garner enough participation. This year, he is asking intramural representatives to suggest how he might get more women involved.