The Campus Recreation center is looking for a few buccaneers to sink some ships.
The intramural sports program wants to turn "Battleship," the popular board game, into a reality. The newest intramural sport, on slate for next fall, will be played in the Mabel Lee pool with canoes and buckets.
"We discovered intramural Battleship through communication with rec sports professionals from Western Illinois University," said Zac Brost, the intramural sports coordinator for Campus Recreation. "The intramural sports staff here thought the event looked like tons of fun, so we wanted to provide our students with the opportunity to play."
Brost said teams of four get into one of four to six canoes in the Mabel Lee pool. Using buckets, the team throws water into opponent's boats and bails water out of their own. A team is eliminated from play when their canoe capsizes or when all the members bail out.
Brost said the games will be played in a tournament format, with the top teams from each heat facing each other in a final. Life-jackets would be mandatory for all participants.
Ryan Hansen, the assistant director of intramural sports clubs at Western Illinois, remembered "Battleship" from his Boy Scout camp days. At Western Illinois, participants are encouraged to wear costumes and are responsible for their own buckets.
"We don't regulate bucket size," Hansen said. "A lot of it is self-regulating. A five-gallon bucket would be very difficult to throw, but I guess if you could get in close enough, it would land a monster blow."
Hansen said the games take about 15 minutes to play and that Pirates of the Caribbean or other fun, nautical music plays in the background to add ambiance. He also recommended knee pads.
Brost said he thinks the event would be popular with the student population.
"We feel that students will enjoy the game because it is something new and different, and because most of the student population can take part," Brost said. "Team size is small, so it's won't involve the headache associated with gathering up a large group of friends at a certain time on a certain night."
Hansen said the games don't take a lot of athleticism, opening the event to people who might otherwise not participate.
"It doesn't take a whole lot of stamina to play," he said. "I may not be the best at basketball, but I can sit in a boat and throw water."
kiahhaslett@dailynebraskan.com
