What kind of sport can appeal to both the competitive athlete and the slightly corpus and unfit? Combine water polo and innertubes and you get innertube water polo, a sport that accommodates any type of spirit and body. Teams range from first-year dorm teams without a clue in the world to highly motivated, well-greased machines, like last year's champion the Ruckus, or the established dynasty they dethroned, The Great Ones. While some students, pumping away on elliptical machines and weights, may look down (literally and metaphorically) on the teams that gather at the Aquatic and Fitness Center poolside during cold winter months, these students do not know what they are missing.
Some come to play for fun, others for esteem and all leave satisfied: the sport of innertube water polo provides something for everyone. Presenting itself as real and serious, with rules, referees and standings, the sport lends itself to a certain absurdity as teams scrap for their favorite innertubes.While beginners grab any random tube, experienced players squeeze and measure, looking for the perfect tube combination of hole size and air pressure.
As much as a team can plan and organize, it is hard not to laugh when the star player goes shooting after a loose ball. The MVP is transformed into a mass of paddling limbs, fighting with all his might to move against resistance from the tube and the water. Even the most svelte and lithe get a feel for the world of clumsiness as they attempt to navigate their two-and-a-half foot synthetic doughnut around a pool clogged with 11 other tubes.Often, one team will score purely because the other team's defender cannot stay in his tube. Every substitution becomes a circus, as bodies jump into the pool and epicly struggle with the inanimate rubber to right themselves and resume the game.
Despite this proclivity for the absurd, the world of innertube water polo is divided into three schools of thought.
On one side is the mild mannered John Petersik, third-year College student. After playing for only two years, he has come to have a deeper appreciation for the game.
"People took it a lot more seriously in our second season. We were actually motivated to achieve and our fan base was bigger. We were finally getting noticed," he said.
Despite his turn towards the serious, he still recognizes the game as a place for novice and beginner players. "Wow, here's a sport that no one could actually be naturally good at, so at least we'll all suck from the start, so I won't stand out," Petersik said. "A certain disregard for self-respect is good to start with. It takes a lot of humility to get in a tube and paddle around in front of all the people that work out."
Mixed in with such good-natured players, though, are some truly competitive forces. They have an occult-like respect and love of the game -- almost an unhealthy obsession.
Describing the game as "intense," fourth-year College student Alex Bagden said, "I played on my first year dorm team and I became addicted. I play very aggressivly. I'm not afraid to mix it up. People that have never played before are surprised by the amount of contact in the support."
He added, slyly, "I observe all the rules ... above water." This antagonistic approach seems to be common among this breed of competitor.
Alex Wimbush, third-year Commerce student, recounting how he received a battle scar said, "My play was a little dirty, but it was in the spirit of the game. And this [expletive deleted] guy reared back and punched me in the face. I think he was just a silly first year."
This infection of ferocity is not for men only. Third-year College student Katie Wilde shared Bagden's "addiction," saying of her first season: "It hooked me. It reeled me in."
Not as aggressive as the other two, Wilde said, "the intensity of our own players during a semi-finals match was intimidating." Still though, she is no slouch. Reveling in her defensive role, Wilde said, "My main skill is a taste for blood."
The truly hardcore have gone so far as to schedule their lives around this sport. With one more semester left after his fourth year, Bagden said, "One of the main advantages of my extra semester is one last season of innertube water polo."
Rival Wimbush, recently arriving home from a semester in Singapore (SARS free) said, "I didn't want to miss the season, so I went abroad during the spring." To these innertube gladiators, missing a season goes beyond travesty. "You get better. Even with only two seasons, I'm a veteran," Wimbush stated.
Not only do players develop a bond with the game, sometimes the fever spreads to fans. Fourth-year College student Jonathan Fishman has never played, but week in and week out he supports his favorite team. "No, I never really wanted to play. I enjoy having a perspective of the full game and being able to watch it develop, instead of being in the heat of battle. I keep morale high and add energy to the team."
A self-proclaimed "rabid, fervent super-fan," Fishman fondly remembered past games, when "I ratcheted up the fan intensity through the use of personal and organized fan demonstration, such as the wave."
Sometimes losing control of himself, though, Fishman becomes no more than an innertube water polo hooligan. "If I feel we really need a spark," he said. "I try to start a fight with the other team's fans. I've succeeded one or two times."
Even with this tendency toward obsession, some players maintain both themselves and a healthy respect for the game. "I play it because it's enjoyable," fourth-year College student Kevin Sprong said.
Even having fun, he strives to be a better player. "I came into the season with more serious goals and I approached the game differently," Sprong said. Not seeking to proclaim a name for himself in the innertube water polo world as Bagden and Wimbush do, Sprong is comfortable with his role on his team."I'm not as mobile as I could be, but I'm a good shot. I'm not a franchise player, but I contribute."
The sport is not all glamour, however. Players often fear fellow athletes do not respect the athletic merits of innertube water polo.
Wilde, first seeing the game, thought "Hey, it's pretty unathletic, I can probably play it." After her game, though, she said "it was surprisingly draining."
Sprong voiced a similar sentiment. "I thought it was just water polo for unathletic people. I was a little right, but its far more intense than I thought it'd be. For the skeptics, I tell them to step up and play," he concluded.
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