Trends in Collegiate Aquatics
Jack Patton, director of RDG’s sports studio, explains how aquatic facilities are a huge growth area in College Recreation. Particularly leisure pools, with lazy river rides, slides, zip lines and climbing walls. A lot of students don’t want to swim laps, but a leisure pool is a great equalizer: I can get my toes wet, I can play, I can study, I can watch a movie, I can socialize. Pools can be expensive components of a collegiate recreation facility, so it makes sense to find creative ways to fully utilize them and engage more students. The shift in pools for play, comes with an overall shift in how recreation centers are not just a place to sweat – but a place to socialize, relax, have fun, and hangout. Students are looking for collegiate recreation amenities that offered more health and well-being options to every day exercise routine.
Battleship H2O is just one of the intramural programs offered by Iowa State University Rec Services. Teams of 3 will man a canoe and try to sink their opponents’ canoe (battleship) by trying to fill their canoe with water using a bucket. The last “battleship” floating wins.
Portions of this article originally appeared in The New York Times September 2014
