Ashley Gorze and Alysha Hellbusch are working on a new project. Upon arriving this fall as first-year students, they found the aquatics program disappointing. They decided to help change that. They’re starting a new club — water polo­ ­— but they’re finding the process more difficult than they anticipated.

Hellbusch started playing water polo her junior year at Reynolds High School and, as a child, had been on Mt. Hood swim team. Gorze, who lives close by, used to come and swim at MHCC’s pool, and has played water polo since her freshman year at Reynolds.

Now that they’re in college, the women want to continue playing, but there is no team. In creating the club, they hope to spark interest and hopefully encourage those who’ve played in the past to do it again, as well as bring new people in. “I think water polo, in general, is just king of (the) overlooked, and I think there are a lot of people out there who are interested in it or involved in it,” Hellbusch said. “We want to plant the seed in hopes that it (would) grow into something bigger here,” adds Gorze.

They say, water polo is like wrestling, basketball, football and soccer all in one, but it’s in the water, and “there are no horses,” Hellbusch said. Like soccer, the object is to get the ball into the opposing team’s guarded net. A huge part of the game is swimming, but you don’t have to be a champion swimmer. “You learn how to swim and play water polo at the same time,” Hellbusch says. If a person enjoys aggressive sports and competition and likes being in the water, then water polo could be for them.

They are not lacking in enthusiasm, but getting through all the formal processes for starting a club has been a challenge. To form an official club at MHCC, there are three basic essentials: at least eight committed students, a constitution, and an adviser. A packet outlining all the details can be picked up at the College Center. The adviser requirement is often the most difficult part because they must be employed at MHCC and be willing to attend all the club’s events and follow the Student Clubs and Organizations Adviser Agreement found in the packet. The constitution states the purpose of the club, the club’s name, its officers, and other information.

When they meet all these requirements, club organizers can turn in their packet to Amy Bohanon, the director of student organizations, and she will present it to the Associated Student Government, who approves it, and then it goes to the student senate. All new clubs then receive $50 to start out. If they wish to, a club can work to get SPIF, Special Project Incentive Funding, which is $100 per term, per club, if they have one member attend the weekly Student Organizations Council (SOC) meeting, complete extra paperwork for events, and do one all campus activity at Welcome Week in fall, Club Fair in winter, and Rites of Spring. Clubs can also petition for additional money by submitting funding requests to the Associated Student Government.

Unfortunately, some new clubs don’t last. In the last 1.5 years, Bohanon has watched three clubs start and then dissolve. However, she still encourages students to pioneer clubs. “If there’s not a club you’re interested in, then, yes, I suggest you start a club. That’s how you can get together with people with the same interests,” she said. Her advice to club starters: ask for help from herself, or Dick Magruder, the student events and center coordinator.

For Gorze and Hellbusch, the most difficult step so far has been finding an adviser, and they’re still looking. They don’t expect to find someone who knows much about water polo, but whoever it is must be willing to lead Gorze and Hellbusch in club activities and supervise club events. They have four other students willing to support the club, but they still need at least two more willing to commit. “Once we get official, it will open up so many doors for us,” Gorze said. Even though the process is daunting, what they are doing is important enough that they are not giving up without a fight.

Once they actually start, they want to be very low-key in the beginning. They don’t want students to feel like they have to show up to every meeting or practice time. To join, a person would just sign up and start attending. “There’s no initiation, there’s no candle-burning ceremony that you have to go through,” Gorze assures. The club will be coed because they won’t have official teams. They plan on having time set aside at the pool every Tuesday and Thursday at 8:30-closing to practice, drill, and work on basic skills until everyone is comfortable to do a little “scrimmaging,” a practice game against one’s own team. This would allow new people to learn the game and former players to get back into it.

On top of practices, they would hope to provide a workout plan to students who wanted to come to the pool during the morning lap swim to build endurance. Club members could take advantage of the current public lap swim hours at 5:45-7:15 a.m. and 5:45-6:45 p.m. Monday-Friday, and noon-1 p.m. Monday-Saturday. (Admission is free to MHCC students).

However, even the committed students would not be required to attend everything the club would offer. They understand the average college student’s schedule and because they plan on running the club year round, would even expect some students to be available one season and not the next.

Besides the practice times, they would provide periodic meetings outside of the pool just to keep everything in order, and they would plan other water polo related activities such as watching the State Games, hoping that, someday, they may be able to form their own club team and participate. They would fundraise for protective headgear (“caps”), and, eventually, new cages (goals), because the ones they have are worn out.

Eventually, they would like to have a coach, but for now, Gorze and Hellbusch are willing to take on the initiative and work without one, and they welcome the help and ideas of other students. They don’t want it to be just them. As for the journey, it’s more work than they anticipated, but they’re excited because they’re passionate about the sport. “We love it,” they agree.

For more information on getting involved, or if you are a faculty member interested in working as their adviser, they will have a table set up in MHCC’s main courtyard on Tuesday, Nov. 1, from noon-12:45 p.m. and then again at 4 p.m. until people stop coming. They can also be reached through email at [email protected] or by phone, for Alysha Hellbusch call 503-781-6447 and for Ashley Gorze call 503-341-6070. For more information about starting a club, pick up a packet at the College Center, call Amy Bohanon at 503-491-7224, or Dick Magruder at 503-491-7269.