Inner Tube Water Polo

I am a sophomore at Marquette, and one thing that I learned in college is that it is important and extremely beneficial to experience and learn new things. One way to branch out and get involved in something new is to join some of the many clubs that Marquette has to offer. I interviewed someone in the water polo club and another student in the Brazilian jujitsu club to get a look at a couple interesting clubs Marquette has to offer. I will also share my experiences playing soccer on my intramural team.

One of the most unique clubs that Marquette offers in my opinion is inner tube water polo. The club is made up of a bunch of teams depending on how many students sign up. It is Co-Ed, and encourages students of all skill and experience to make a team and compete. One cool thing about the water polo matches is that your team can submit times that you are able to compete, and you will be matched with another team that is also available at that time. Because of this there is no worry of the games interfering with class or other important activities.

I researched the rules of the game on Marquette’s rules and regulations and found out that each team consists of seven players (one goal keeper and five field players). Each goal counts as one point, and all players, including the goalie, must stay in their inner tubes at all times. It is a quick game, lasting only 24 minutes in total. There are two halves 12 minutes each, with a five minute break in between. Both teams are give two, one minute long, time outs per match. Other than halftime or timeouts, the clock does not stop. A defensive player can not touch the player with the ball, but is allowed to touch/push the players tube as an attempt to steal the ball or mess up the pass. In order to move the ball forward, you can either pass the ball to a teammate or simply move while holding it.

To gain a different perspective about inner tube water polo I talked with Liam Pie, a two year member of the club. Liam first heard about the club when he toured the campus for the first time. He had never heard of it before and figured it would be fun to try something new. He gathered some friends and made a team. The games that him and his teammates participate in are on Sunday nights at the Rec Center. When I asked him what he would tell somebody to convince them to join he responded saying, “Students do not need any prior experience or skills to play and have fun…because it is such a different sport, most, if not all players have no experience so the skill gap is very small”. This is very rare to find a club that has a small skill gap. For example, if somebody were to join a basketball club with no prior basketball experience, it would be difficult to play because there would most likely be players competing that have played their whole life. Inner tune water polo is different because most students are just learning the game as well. Liam’s favorite part about competing is flipping over opponents in their inner tube. He followed that up by telling me it is all done in good fun and that he has made many friends from opposing teams, and that a game has never gotten out of control before. He ended our talk by reminding me that it is important to do new things. It payed off for him because he learned a new sport, made new friends, and used competing to distract himself from his class workload.

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