Water polo is a very intense and competitive sport that requires a great deal of endurance and it is also one of the many club sports offered at DU.
Denver’s club water polo team consists of a men and women’s division. Historically, the teams were combined as one, but five years ago, the individual teams were created. The men and women have their own competitions but continue to practice together.
The teams at DU compete in a regional league with other Colorado schools such as Colorado School of Mines, University of Colorado Boulder and Colorado State University. Since DU is a lot smaller and has fewer players than these larger schools, the season is very competitive, despite being very short.
Water polo is a unique sport because it involves treading water, swimming, physical contact and scoring goals simultaneously. Fortunately, it’s a sport that any strong swimmer can learn. Club water polo is a hidden gem of DU club sports. It is fairly new, but the programs are already experiencing winning seasons.
According to senior men’s club president Jon Willis from Massachusetts, “Since we are a rather small team, we also spend a lot of time together when we are not at practice or playing in games. We do things like have team dinners or go to hockey games as a team. I think it’s really special because it connects people on campus who would not normally spend time together, and it results in people becoming great friends with each other.”
The men’s season is currently coming to a close, while the women’s season has yet to begin. All of the team’s game information can be found on the DU Club Men’s Water Polo Facebook page. The women’s club team also has a Facebook page with their information.
The club has also been planning an inner tube water polo tournament for the spring quarter. Students will be able to create teams and play water polo against each other while floating in inner tubes rather than swimming.
The men’s team had their final games of the regular season on Sunday Oct. 25. They defeated the Colorado School of Mines 13-6 and lost to Colorado State University 13-12. Stay tuned in the spring when the women’s team will kick off their season.
