Students at NYU Shanghai are finding that intramural sports and recreational activities are more than just about getting into shape—they’re a great way to meet new people, make memories, and find your crew.
Senior Program Coordinator for Fitness and Campus Recreation Jeremy Liu, who supports student-led recreational activities on campus, hails their popularity as the result of committed student leaders. “When they have a clear vision and plan for their clubs, we’re better able to support them and help them succeed,” he said.
“We want to encourage students to make sports and fitness a central part of their daily lives,” he added. “It's easy to get overwhelmed with classes and deadlines, but student-led recreational activities offer students another way to interact and get energized.”
It seems there’s something for everyone: students have proposed and launched clubs for running, badminton, basketball, cheering, volleyball, boxing, jiu-jitsu, and weightlifting. Liu has organized one-off student activities including taekwondo, a basketball training camp, hiking, fencing, and outdoor runs. Even more activities are being planned this spring, including golfing, dragon boating, mat pilates, baseball. He’s always welcome to new ideas, he says.
Four student leaders share their experiences building community through sport at NYU Shanghai.
Qilin Hoops
Wil Engalla ’27, co-founder and event manager
Tell us about Qilin Hoops.
Our main goal is to create an environment where everyone can have fun, improve their skills, and bond through basketball. The potential for a new basketball community was huge and untapped. With so many talented players, the competition would be intense.
How did you get into basketball?
I come from a family of basketball players, so you can imagine their disappointment when I chose to play soccer for five years. I wasn’t the worst, but I definitely wasn’t the best either. Then when my soccer career finally picked up, I had my growth spurt—at 5’10", I was officially a giant in the Philippines. From there, I joined my JV basketball team, brought home some trophies, and even earned a couple of MVPs, you know the usual. But the biggest influences were my parents—my dad as my coach and my mom as my biggest fan in the stands. I wouldn’t have the love I have for this game without their support.
What do you enjoy most about being in Qilin Hoops?
Basketball is the best ice breaker: adrenaline is running high, everyone is having fun, there’s lots of trash talk; it's the full package. I enjoy getting to know new people through basketball. Everyone who I consider my close friends are all people I met on the basketball court. Being in this community also gives me a place to go during my spare time. Since I have lots of free time, the majority of it is spent on the court balling out with friends or meeting new people.
What have you learned from playing basketball?
Besides making friends, it's the challenge of basketball that drives me. Every day, I strive to be better than I was a day ago and rise to the challenge of playing against better players. Throughout my basketball career, I’ve never started as the best player on my team, and I’ve always been okay with that. Being at the bottom of the totem pole is an opportunity to improve, and I embrace the mindset that iron sharpens iron—I can only grow if I compete with those at or above my level.
Basketball has no ceiling; there are always new skills to master—dribbling, moves, shooting. The endless possibilities will keep me going until I’m dunking on my son in my 50s.
Birdy Badminton Club
Adriana Zhou ’27, co-founder and vice president
What inspired you to start Birdy Badminton Club?
I’m on the school badminton team and at tryouts, saw that there were a lot of people who were interested in or already play badminton, but there are limited spots on the official team, so we [Adri and her co-founder] wanted to provide an opportunity to form a larger community around badminton.
Tell me about the club’s events and goals.
We have three major events. The first one is Carnival. The goal of this event is to expand the pool of people who play badminton beyond the super skilled, so this event is more about having fun games rather than a competition. The second event is a competition-based internal tournament. We made sign-ups available to students, faculty, and staff to build a larger badminton community on campus. The third event is a friendly competition between NYU Shanghai and ECNU. We invited 16 of their students to campus to foster more friendships between us.
What do you enjoy most about badminton?
I’ve been playing badminton for ten years now. It’s a great stress reliever for me, my break time from the busyness of university. It’s different from working out by yourself; you can socialize and it builds teamwork. I love that the club is about having fun.
Run Club
Zoe Kalamaros ’25, co-founder and president of Run Club
Why start a running club?
I have been running through all of college and found good friendships through it. Running has been a way of grounding myself through all the inconsistencies that the Class of 2025 faced. The goal was to create a community where students could run with people, instead of alone, especially if they were beginners and wanted extra help in their journey.
What do you enjoy most about being in Run Club?
Meeting people with similar interests and goals to me and getting the experience of facilitating this kind of activity for others and supporting them in their goals. It is quite rewarding at times, especially when people start to improve.
What have you learned from running over the years?
Running is more of a mental challenge than a physical one. Everyone is more physically able to than they think. The real challenge of running is having enough mental strength to continue, even when you don't want to, when there is nothing forcing you to keep going except your own mind. This sort of training has been invaluable and applicable to pretty much every challenge in my life.
Cheer Club
Ayla Ingram ’28, founder and team leader
What inspired you to start Cheer Club?
I have been cheering since I was three years old and as someone who moved around constantly as a kid and lived in many different places, cheer has been my source of consistency. I have cheered on a variety of teams in the US, Korea, and Germany.
Due to my experience with cheer I really wanted to continue doing it in university. When I realized the school did not have a cheer team, I saw it as the perfect opportunity to leave my own mark on the school. Our goals are to build a large team so we can cheer at as many events as possible, and we want to create a sense of energy, positivity, and pride in the student body at NYU Shanghai.
What do you enjoy most about being in Cheer Club?
What I enjoy most about leading this team is watching the team grow. Many of our members barely understood what the sport was when they joined, but watching them progress into a skilled team is very impressive. I also love the friendships we make as a team.
What do you enjoy most about the sport?
I love the positive, competitive energy of cheer. It’s great for building confidence, making friends, and brightening spirits.
You can follow student clubs on Instagram to keep up with opportunities to get involved.
@runyushanghai @nyushanghaibirdy @nyush_cheerclub @qilinhoops @nyushanghaistarvolley @qilinboxingclub @qilin_jiujitsu @nyushbarbell