By Adam Cook
Staff Writer
Armed with a bucket and a canoe, students enlisted in a real life, action packed game of battleship.
On Saturday, Nov.14, students arrived at UNH’s Swasey Pool in the Field House to take part in a live version of the classic game battleship. Participants teamed up into groups of four members and went head to head with five other teams in the pool at once. About thirty individual teams came to play in the competition.
The event was put on by members of UNH’s Resident Hall Association, or RHA, which according to its website, is composed of volunteer students trying to make residential life the best that it can be for students.
‘3, 2, 1… Battleship!’ was heard from the megaphone, and the round began. All six teams in the pool began filling buckets up with water as they tried to sink the other boats in the pool by splashing them.
“We are going to try to sit on the floor and keep a low center of gravity,” said Megan McIntyre, a participant and senior at UNH, giving some insight of her team’s strategy going into the battle.
“We’re going to try to keep to the edge of the battlefield, not in the middle,” McIntyre said.
Members of the RHA who had been acting as referees, began shrinking the battlefield and forcing the canoes to get closer to each other in order to speed up the action. Onlookers and other teams in the crowd cheered loudly as each round came to an end.
As the first few rounds came to a conclusion, the participants returned to their seats in the stands in order to dry off and wait for their next round.
“It’s pretty enjoyable, I hope it continues next year,” said Mike Kehoe, a freshman who won his first round of battleship.
According to Kehoe’s teammate, sophomore Joe Leahy, there was a rumor going around that the live battleship game might be cut next year. Leahy said that if there were not enough people who showed up this year, RHA wouldn’t continue with the event next year.
The free event brought approximately 70 students to the pool on a chilly Saturday not to compete for a prize, but just for fun. Since the turnout was considered successful, members of the RHA are going to be in discussion about whether to hold this event again in the spring semester, as well as in years to come.
“I think we might have saved it for next year,” Leahy said.
