The Wake

After a Saturday night of partying, Sunday often dawns with headaches, sore throats, and exhaustion. But what better way to get over a hangover than by jumping from a thirty-foot platform into the deep end of the University of Minnesota’s Aquatic Center?

Or so is the case for a group of friends who have found a passion for plunging into water from great heights.

The group originated as three friends who went cliff jumping in northern Minn. during the summer. But the concept of diving caught on with their other friends and soon more joined in on the multi-faceted hobby.

Brian Trolander, and Andrew Thibodeau, seniors in the College of Liberal Arts, were among the original founders of the diving group. “We’d gone cliff jumping up north,” Thibodeau says. “Then we basically decided to go diving on Sundays at the Rec since it’s hard to get away and it gets so cold during the school year.”

While the friends yearn for the thrill of jumping from an eighty-foot cliff in Temperance, Minn. and landing in stinging, icy water, just feet in front of the jagged cliff-face, they have found solace in diving from the platforms of the University’s Recreation Center.

Originally, the main objective was to come up with the best trick possible. But it wasn’t long before diving became more than just a means of impressing each other with killer moves. Coming to the Rec each Sunday became a therapeutic activity for the group of thrill seekers.

Besides the obvious benefits of hanging out with close friends, the college students learned that diving was a great way to get over a hangover. All the friends agree, as they wait in line to jump from the springboard.

They start on the springboard to “warm-up.” I’m impressed at their responsibility. Then Trolander tells me about how he tried a flip off the platform once, and when he hit the water, his knee crashed into face resulting in much blood.

After a few dives, they move to the platform. Someone flies from above with his arms spread and hits water headfirst. Then Thibodeau jumps after him and does some sort of crazy, side-ways flip extravaganza. His trick arouses a few claps and shouts of encouragement.

Of course, it’s often not so pretty.

Thibodeau tries a new trick. He jumps from the platform, spinning clockwise. His legs rotate forward and his back smacks against the water diagonally. A large splash shoots into the air. A bevy of oohs and recoils emanate from his friends.

“That one’s gonna hurt a little,” he says as walks back up the stairs to jump again. “That’s when it’s the most fun, when you get hurt.”

He may be in pain, but you can’t tell. To these college students, there are only tricks, air, and hangovers to worry about.