Spring Break
Student balances campus life with kayak polo team
Whitney Zondor
Daily Reporter
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For anyone happy to don a funny-looking wetsuit in the middle of winter and climb into a half-frozen lake, an ideal sport exists.
Kayak polo, a sport that is increasing in popularity internationally but remains largely unknown in the United States, offers the chance to compete against other die-hard athletes who see hypothermia as no big deal.
Some call it canoe polo, even though only kayaks are used. Whatever it's called, the sport is always played in a still water pool or lake. The playing area is rectangular and goals are suspended six-and-a-half feet above the surface.
Players compete in two 8-to-10 minute halves, fighting off competitors and trying to score without losing the ball. Five players are in the water at a time, with two on offense, two on defense and one goalie.
Monica Palmer, NT sophomore, is one of the athletes. A member of the U.S. national team, she got involved in the sport while working as a lifeguard a as she attended The Colony High School. One night, as she was supposed to be closing down the pool and locking up, she a few unexpected visitors showed up.
"I was getting everything done for the night when people started coming in to the pool with kayaks on their shoulders," she said. "I wasn't sure what was going on, so I called my boss. She said she was letting a group of kayak polo players use the pool at night and since I was staff she said I could play for free."
She practiced a few of the techniques she learned watching the polo players, like doing a complete roll in a kayak underwater. Soon, she was hooked on the sport.
Now, Palmer plays with two teams: the Texas Tornados at her home pool in The Colony and her grueling schedule on the U.S. women's national team. She travels so frequently she has accumulated plenty of travel under frequent flyer programs.
The national team consists of 50 women from across the country. Palmer and 12 of the women on the U.S. team compete internationally. They assemble several times throughout the year for training sessions in California, Texas, Massachusetts and other states.
Palmer said her life revolves around kayak polo.
"I work at 6 a.m. [at the Student Recreation Center] until I have class at nine," she said. "I go to class from nine to noon and then I sleep for an hour or two. Then I get up and work out, practice, do homework, eat dinner and go to bed. Then I start the whole thing over again."
Each day Palmer is required to run two miles and practice throwing for at least 30 minutes. She also attends physical training sessions three days each week and works as a lifeguard.
But no amount of training has fully prepared her for some of the icy conditions she's encountered during the three years she's competed in kayak polo. After 20 minutes of being dunked and sunk in a frozen river in Grand Prairie, Alberta, Canada, Palmer caught hypothermia.
"I realized I was numb and shaking everywhere," she explained. "Almost immobile ... someone pulled me out of my boat since I was too frozen to do it myself and I was led to the indoor dining area. Eventually I made it to the women's restroom, where I spent about 45 minutes sitting under one of those hair dryers."
At the moment, Palmer is preparing for several upcoming competitions; her main focus, though, is on the World Championships this summer in Miyoshi, Japan.
"Oh, my gosh, World's," Palmer exclaimed. "Something most athletes only dream about and here I am with a shot at it."
She has studied films on some of the athletes she'll be competing against at championship event, and fears that she'll be competing against leviathans of the sport. "Some of those people will give you nightmares to watch," she said.
A humble person by nature, Palmer gives credit for her success to her three mentors.
"They took so much time out to teach me every thing I lacked," she said. "I lacked a lot of basics, and they were so patient. They didn't act like it was a big deal that I hadn't really learned the fundamentals before I started seriously playing."
Palmer also credits her best friend, Stephanie Schnorr of Boston University, for her success. Schnorr is also a member of the U.S. women's national team.
"She's my inspiration and my rival," said Palmer. "Playing with her is like playing with the other half of a puzzle. She gives me a nod or a look and I know what she is thinking."
Palmer, a communication design major, plans to continue competition in the sport after she graduates.
"I want to take this as far as I can and do everything I can to get better, stronger and be an influence on my team," she said.
