By Speedo, by trunks, by one-piece and tankini, five freshman males and their followers arrive at Lewellen Aquatic Center every Tuesday night for their mission: CANNONBALL!
Clevenger residents Matt Emenhiser, Dustin Frey, Noah Glick, Russ Van Natta and Buddy Wombold teamed up to create a Facebook group dedicated to cannonballs. The group, Cannonball Tuesday, has a following of 50 people, prompting the men to seek status to become a university-recognized organization.
"For some a hobby, for others a way of life," the five freshman said. That's how they view Cannonball Tuesday and its importance in campus life. It's also the group's motto.
The first week of classes, the group decided to take a less intrusive approach to get people to join. That didn't work.
"First, we tried to be polite and knock on the doors, but people thought we were creeps," Cannonball Tuesday President Frey said. "Then, we decided to be loud and crazy and we actually got more people to join."
It may not be the noise that turned people away at first. The guys are not embarrassed to wear any type of bathing suit, whether it be trunks, Euro cut, Speedo, or in Van Natta's case, a women's tankini from Wal-Mart.
"It's little mini shorts. They look like womens volleyball shorts," he said. "I actually enjoy the support, it's rather refreshing."
Inspired by the tankini and Glick's Speedo, the group decided to embrace creativity with its swim wear, it said. The group said it would not require a uniformed look if it were to be a recognized organization.
"It's what makes the group special," Frey said about the unique swimwear.
The group said the organization would bill itself as a social organization if it would become a university recognized organization. The group is working on steps to achieve the status, Frey said.
"We had to come up with faculty advisers, create officers, biggest pain of all is creating a constitution," Frey said. "Every possibility you have to look at."
One possibility is that the current officers, Frey included, could be ousted by the group's vote, Van Natta said.
The group said it doesn't want to make stipulations for grades, but would like to donate funds to charities if it would sell merchandise or hold contests. The group said it aims to hold a cannonball Olympics, of sorts.
If Cannonball Tuesday grows campus-wide, the group said it hopes to have ambassadors from residence complexes and possibly use the Ball Gym pool.
The group said it has lucked out that Lewellen has little activity on Tuesday nights. The lifeguard on duty, Colby Howard wasn't sure what to make of the group at first.
"When they first came, there were only eight guys. I thought they were being a little ridiculous doing their cannonball chant," she said, "I was surprised they came back the next week."
With the group multiplying and the large activity in the pool, unusual for Tuesday nights, she said she was happy the group returned and it makes the night go by quicker.
"It was dead after they left and I wish they would come back," she said.
Performing the best cannonball does not depend on body size, the group said. Frey, a lanky man, has the largest splash out of the five guys, the group said.
"It's the passion that determines the size of your splash," Frey said.
WHAT
Celebrate your right to cannonball
WHEN
6:30 p.m. Tuesday
VENUE
Lewellen Pool
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