When people think of college sports it’s always football, basketball, baseball, and hockey that come to mind. Sure, college kids love to throw on a little maroon and gold face paint and cheer on the people who are getting scholarships to play a sport, but what about you? You want your daily dose of physical activity, but you need more excitement than a boring ol’ gym. You could go for the intramural leagues offered by the Rec Center, but how about taking the non-traditional route? I have picked out four of the best sports clubs on campus that you may or may not know exist. Not only will these clubs help you stay in shape, but they’ll give you talents all your friends will be jealous of. I know all of you want to break out and try something new, so pick one and go for it.

 

Fencing
I don’t know about you, but learning how to fight with swords sounds like an amazing use of my time (especially compared to checking facebook every hour and watching online TV). It’s about time you took that inspiration you got from watching The Princess Bride, Rob Roy, or Pirates of the Caribbean and did something with it. Here at the U, not only do we have a fencing club that teaches you the sport, but a competition team that travels to intercollegiate events.

Now, you should know that fencing is not the “grab whatever weapon you have and go for it” fight that you see in the movies, but it isn’t tame either. There are three different weapons that are used in the sport: Foil, Épée, and Sabre. Each of these weapons varies in weight, shape, and flexibility. Also, each type of weapon has specific parts of the body you can score on. For example, in épée you can score by hitting any part of your opponent’s body, but in sabre you can only score above the waist. There are other rules and particulars, but you will learn those when you go to your three free practices.

That’s right! Unlike some other sports clubs where you have to make a monetary commitment right away, fencing allows everyone three free sessions to test the waters and see if it’s a good fit for them. Practices are on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights in Cooke Hall which can be accessed through the Rec Center, with a possibility for Wednesday night practices too.

For more information and practice times, go to: http://www.tc.umn.edu/~fencing/

 

Breakdancing
You know you want to. You’ve seen bboys and bgirls dancing on the streets and at campus events and you’ve been envious. You’ve always wanted to learn how to breakdance but never taken the initiative. Well, here’s your chance, just don’t go into it with the “I want to do head spins and flares right now” mentality.

The U of M Breakdancing Club is a perfect environment for those that just want to session, know the basics and want to learn more, or are completely new to the style. “Practices,” if you can call them that, are not so much structured lessons as they are open sessions. Music will be playing and people will be dancing, but everyone there is willing to teach you whatever you want to know. The club officers will break down the basics for you and get you to a level where you are comfortable dancing and mixing moves to the beat. From there, they can show you new moves and variations, or, if you see someone else do a move that you like, all you have to do is ask them to show it to you. That’s what hip hop and breakdancing are all about, being a community.

Don’t think of yourself as much of dancer? Try it anyways. While you may have been taught through bad TV or movie representations that breakdancing is all about power moves (windmills, flares, etc.), it’s more about originality and style—and everyone has their own style.

For more information and practice times, email breakdnc@umn.edu

 

Ballroom Dancing
When you started college, was “learn to ballroom dance” on your checklist of things to accomplish? I doubt it, but college is all about new experiences. Personally, I was walking around campus one day last fall and saw a poster for free dance lessons from the U of M Ballroom Dance Club. I had always wanted to learn these styles of dance and I thought it couldn’t be a bad way to meet girls. The next thing I knew I had 8 different styles of dance on lock and was going out to dance nights all around Minneapolis.

Have you ever been to a salsa or swing night and wished you could dance like the seasoned pros there? Well you can. The ballroom dance club teaches both of these styles as well as tango, waltz, foxtrot, hustle, rumba, cha cha, and others. You switch partners every couple minutes so don’t worry, you won’t get stuck with a weirdo and that girl or guy you’ve got your eye on will make it back to you during the lesson. If you’re hesitant, your first lesson is free so you can test it out without commitment. They have beginner lessons from 6:45 to 7:30 every Tuesday and Thursday in the Bierman Gym basketball court. Then there is general dancing from 7:30 to 8:30 so you can test out your brand new skills. Out of everything I’ve learned in college so far, I can confidently say that dance has helped me out the most.

Here’s a good idea, go learn some new ballroom moves that you can showcase at the Yule Ball! (See below.)

For more information, go to: http://www.tc.umn.edu/~bdc/

 

Quidditch
This is a dream come true for a lot of people, the chance to play the ultimate sport from their all-time-favorite books. While the U of M Quidditch team is immensely popular, this is a giant school and many of you probably didn’t even know we have a team, much less that there are teams on college campuses across that country.

This “muggle” quidditch (that’s non-wizarding folk, for you n00bs) has a few differences from the kind portrayed in the Harry Potter books. First, there is no flying, but players still hold brooms between their legs. Second, the bludgers have become dodgeballs. Third, according to president Luke Zak, “the snitch turned from a small flying ball into a full grown athlete, adorned in golden, tight, sparkly spandex.” Currently, the league has about 170 active participants, twice as many as their inaugural year. There is even a competition team that will play in the first ever Midwest Regionals (October 8th and 9th) and the prestigious Quidditch World Cup held in New York City (November 12th and 13th).

Whether your hands are shaking with excitement from all of this or you’ve never read the Harry Potter books and have no idea what I’m talking about, you can all experience it for yourselves. The teams play every Sunday, except October 9th, at 1 p.m. on the East River Flats. Also, the league is hosting a Yule Ball in early December as a fundraiser. Yes, you head me right, a YULE BALL. Everyone who loves Harry Potter can freak out now. It will be held at the DQ Club in TCF Bank Stadium and only 800 tickets will be sold, so you know it will sell out.

As for the future of quidditch, Zak had this to say: “Not only is it here to stay, but it is continuing to grow exponentially on campus and around the world.”

For more information about quidditch and the Yule Ball, go to: http://www.facebook.com/umnquidditch

Tags: feature, Sports, u of m