For any student who might be tired of the monotony of standard sports, despair no more. Saint Louis University probably offers a sport obscure enough to please even the toughest customer.
Handball
After a brief hiatus, SLU’s handball club is currently in a rebuilding year. Junior club president Elise Monaco decided to revive the club after attending a tutorial at Simon Recreation Center.
“We had a state champion just a few years back,” Monaco said. “We would love to have people come out and try out the game. It’s a fun experience and equipment is provided.”
Otherwise known as American handball or court handball, the sport is comparable to both squash and racquetball.
Played either in an enclosed room or a three-wall outdoor court, a ball smaller than a racquetball is served between the two teams. Games are either singles or doubles.
“Since we are in a building year, we haven’t involved ourselves in too many tournaments. But next year we’ll be going to several tournaments, including nationals,” Monaco said.
The club is seeking female participants in particular, though males are certainly encouraged to give handball a shot.
“I’m the only girl on the team and could use a few handball partners,” Monaco said.
Kendo
Meaning “way of the sword” in Japanese, Kendo is a sword-fighting based martial art. SLU’s Kendo club, just in its second year, uses bamboo instead of actual swords for safety reasons.
“It’s very close-knit. It really feels like a club,” sophomore president Alex Wilson said.
The club is one of the few groups in St. Louis to practice the relatively unknown art of Kendo.
Allied with the Washington University in St. Louis group, the club’s members practice twice a week and attract people from outside the school community.
Aside from practices, the group has weekly dinners and monthly visits to a sensei, or teacher, in Illinois. There are also taikai, or tournaments, where people can compete, earn ranks and eventually receive the honor of black belt in kendo.
“We like to take on mostly beginners. But higher level people are able to coach lower level [students],” Wilson said.
Table Tennis
Senior Nate Williams and Forrest Gump do not have much in common-but one thing they do share is a genuine love for the game of table tennis.
Last summer, Williams picked up table tennis and explored the potential to participate in local tournaments. This led to the creation of the table tennis club, which is fluorishing in its first ever year at SLU.
“I’m thrilled with it. Good players are helping less-experienced players and it’s a place to have fun,” Williams said.
The team has about 25 members and hopes to host a fundraising tournament at SLU in the future.
“I want to incorporate the whole campus,” Williams said.
Table tennis is a coed sport. At the tournaments, everyone plays four singles matches and one doubles match. Players are ranked according to skill level prior to the tournaments to ensure fairness.
Williams encourages those of all experience levels to come and participate in the table tennis club.
“It’s a great opportunity to meet people, especially international students. [Table tennis] may be considered obscure in the U.S., but in other countries it’s a very important sport,” Williams said.
