Water splashed, alliances broke and canoes sank on Nov. 3 at the Washington and Lee natatorium.
Students sat in boats in the university’s pool to compete in canoe battleship, an event hosted by the Outing Club and CampusRec.
Teams of three or four students worked together to have the final floating canoe in the competition. They sank the other teams by filling their canoes up with buckets of water and water guns, using shields to deflect their opponents’ attacks. Teams weren’t allowed to scoop water out of their own canoe or physically hit the other vessels.
The event began with two rounds, each with five different teams. The last two teams to stay afloat in each round advanced to the championship, where the winners received a special champion t-shirt and a $25 Get Downtown Lexington gift card that can be used at most businesses in Downtown Lexington.
(Ava Tallat-Kelpsa)
Jacob Teer, ’25, an outdoor education and recreation fellow, refereed and planned the event.
“We’ve been trying really hard to make intramurals fun things that people want to be at, and we thought this would be a new exciting thing people might want to try,” Teer said.
Team Canoemanders emerged victorious after beating their competition, the Poop Team, in the championship round.
“It was a great experience all around,” said Aiden Gray, ’27, a member of the Canoemanders. “My team really grew closer as both fellow students and co-workers.”
Other participants enjoyed their time during the event, despite their teams’ outcome.
“This is one of the most fun activities I’ve done here on campus because it’s totally out there,” said Kyle Patterson, ’27, a member of Team Just Float. “When you come to college, you don’t really think you’re going to be canoeing in the school pool.”
Teams stayed committed to their battles by devising strategies while other rounds were being played.
“I thought it was really brutal,” said Kelcie Comisac, ’27, a member of Team Go with the Float. “All honor went out the window. Everyone was going for each other’s eyes with water guns. Four different alliances were broken.”
Some groups strategized beyond game play. Team Ship Happens wore matching black clothing with purple sparkle tutus.
“We really just tried to coordinate the team spirit,” said team member Emorie Stockton, ’28.
By the final round, all attendees had the opportunity to get involved, including spectators that weren’t on a canoe team. Spectators got to fill their own buckets of water and throw them at the canoes when they got close to the edge of the pool.
“I’m super grateful for everyone who was into this strange thing that most people never played,” Teer said. “They were here for fun and we were happy for it to be a good time.”
