While most places around campus are quiet around 8 p.m. on a Tuesday night, the UREC’s indoor pool was anything but. From the crowd’s excitement over teams celebrating their victories to the crashing of water and shouting of team members, the pool was abuzz with the spirit of battleship.
Drew Cantwell, the UREC’s Assistant Director of Sport and Camp Programs, and a team of lifeguards watched team after team duke it out in the UREC’s newly reopened facility.
“[The battleship tournament] was brought about two years ago,” Cantwell said. “Then when the pools went offline for our expansion and refurbishment of the pool area, we really didn’t have a space to play.”
The intramural sport, which now has leagues at universities all over the nation, is reminiscent of the childhood game where players try to sink their opponent’s ships. The major difference is that the childhood version was played on a board, and now it is played in the pool.
The rules of the game vary between hosting institutions because the sport is so new, Cantwell said. At the University, teams of three or four are provided a canoe, a paddle board as their shield and two buckets to try and “sink” the opposing ship. Successful teams win two out of three five-minute rounds.
“[If] the teams lasts the five minutes … we go to how much water is currently on the boat,” Cantwell said. “So there’s some competitive stuff to it and some strategic play that can take place.”
The tournament began with 13 teams, and over the course of two and a half hours, it dwindled down to two teams battling it out for the top spot: Alpha Phi B and AKPsinkit.
Tensions ran high as the two teams went head-to-head. After the first round, Alpha Phi B, comprised of members of the Alpha Phi Sorority, found themselves needing one more victory to win. AKPsinkit put up a strong effort, but in the end, Abby Rochelle, Missy Ross, Meghan Prieto and Raelynn Lambert of team Alpha Phi B pulled out the win.
“I feel like I just won the Super Bowl,” said one of the girls on the winning team as she celebrated their victory. “I’m going to Disney World!”
The battleship tournament is not the only non-traditional sport in the UREC’s intramural league, Cantwell said. The UREC also offers a badminton tournament, a table tennis tournament and seated volleyball tournament, to name a few.
“We want to offer those sports that really anyone can play,” Cantwell said.

Gallery • 8 Photos

Kelly McDuff

Students participate in the battleship tournament on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017, at the LSU UREC.