By Daniel Johnson, Sports Editor

Get out the bathing suit – intramural waterball is coming.

The intramural sport known for dunking, diving and polo caps starts Monday; all games will be played in the Gibson Health and P.E. Center swimming pool and the season is scheduled to
last three weeks.

“I’ve never actually played it, but every game is always really exciting to watch,” said Gamma Sigma Phi intramural director Clark Packer, senior management major from Dallas. “It’s different than just about every other sport out there.”

Waterball is the only intramural water sport at ACU and is a combination of water polo, basketball and even a little football. A score is recorded when one person holds a ball on the end of the pool. The teams are composed of seven players, and the team that scores the most wins. And it’s not a tame game of Marco-Polo either, splashing, dunking and holding a player under water while they have the ball are all allowed.

“I know a lot of people are scared of it because they’re worried about getting held under water,” said Ko Jo Kai intramural director Robin Soechting, senior nursing major from Katy.

Frater Sodalis is the defending men’s champions, and Frats intramural director Cole Watts, junior accounting major from Abilene, said he expects the Frats team to be a contender for the title in 2008.

“Waterball is the first major sport we’ve won in a while,” Watts said. “So it’s a big pride issue that we’ve got to keep up. We may not have the most guys like the other teams do, but we can still compete with everybody.”

Frats beat GSP in the championship game last season, but Packer said he expects every team to have a shot at the title.

“It’s one of the sports that all the clubs have a shot at winning every year and even teams that are not club teams have a good chance,” Parker said. “So I would say we’ve got pretty good competition across the board.”

On the women’s side, Ko Jo Kai beat the women of Sigma Theta Chi for the title last year, and although the rival clubs will more than likely clash in the pool again this season, Soechting
said any team has a shot at the title.

“Whenever we play the Siggies it’s always a very intense game,” Soechting said. “But I know that Alpha Kai and DT are also gonna be good games.”

-RULES OF WATER WAR-
Waterball is the only intramural water sport at ACU and is played in the swimming pool in Gibson P.E. and Health Center.

* There are seven players on each team
* A team scores by placing the ball on the end of the pool
* You can hold a player under water as long as he/she has possession of the ball.