First Pool Party of the Semester: Water Polo Edition

The LaHaye Aquatic Center hosted its first pool party of the semester Sept. 17 – water polo edition. 

Liberty University Campus Recreation will host pool parties throughout the fall semester at the LaHaye Aquatic Center. To kick off the semester’s series of parties, the aquatic staff hosted a tournament-style water polo competition where four teams of seven competed in four matches. The prize for the winning team was a $10 Amazon gift card for each player. 

With the lane lines removed and lifeguards on duty, the pool was full of students as they scrapped with each other to make
a goal.

Luke Leach, the aquatics coordinator, said he wanted the pool party to bring attention to this unique part of the LaHaye Recreation and Fitness Center. 

“We put on this water polo tournament — it’s kind of the first thing we’ve done like it — just to try and get more people out here to the pool,” Leach said. He hopes to introduce students to the pool and what the center offers. 

Leach said there’s a lot more people interested in water polo than he thought.  

“We might turn it into a possible reservation system for dorms, like hall versus hall water polo,” Leach said.

Justin Kunz, the manager at LaHaye Aquatic Center, participated in the competition on a team of all boys.  

He noted that the main goal is to provide a place for “people to have fun, (and) we want people to destress. (With this event) we’re trying to showcase what aquatics has to offer.” 

Liberty student Paige Robertson participated in a coed team. 

“Honestly, this has been a really humbling experience, but I’m grateful for it,” Robertson said. “I’d say my team is doing amazing personally, but we’ve had our ups and downs.
We’ll overcome.” 

Campus Recreation’s next event is Pool Party: Penny Dive Edition on Oct. 22. The more pennies you pick up at the bottom of the pool, the more chances you have to win a prize. Registration for this event closes Oct. 15. For more information, students can visit https://www.liberty.edu/campusrec/events.

Napier is a news reporter. Follow her on Twitter