After initially saying no, UF is giving water pong a second shot.
On Wednesday, the Center for Student Activities and Involvement approved student group A Spring of Hope's plan to host a charity water-pong tournament on the Reitz Union north lawn after initially denying its request for a permit because it resembles beer pong and because water-drinking contests can be dangerous or deadly.
"There have been students who have become ill or even died from consuming a large amount of water," said Beth Waltrip, UF's director of campus programs.
The policy also extends to eating competitions, she said, with several permits for wing- or hot dog-eating contests denied over the years.
UF officials also frown upon activities that promote heavy drinking, she said.
"The university [makes] a very specific effort to try to discourage binge and underage drinking among students," she said.
In the fall UF passed changes to the Student Conduct Code that ban drinking games, kegs and activities encouraging the"rapid, excessive consumption of alcohol" on campus.
UF President Bernie Machen has also made his opposition to binge drinking clear and has recently tried to get the city of Jacksonville to limit alcohol sales during festivities at the annual UF-Georgia game.
But Nancy Chrystal-Green, director of the student center, said the issue was more about the dangers of a water-drinking contest.
"There's really no regulation that says that we can ban events that resemble [beer pong]," she said."That wasn't the concern."
Jonathan Ossip, president of the group hosting the tournament, said the group has always maintained that students don't actually need to drink the water in order to compete. The group held a water-pong tournament last year with the same rules, he said.
Chrystal-Green, however, said that wasn't made clear on the group's permit this year.
Ossip said he's glad UF finally allowed the event, which will raise money to build wells for schools in rural Africa. Last year, the event raised between $200 and $300, but Ossip said he expects to raise more this year because he has recruited sponsors like Domino's Pizza and Gainesville Health & Fitness Center Inc.
The wells cost between $2,000 and $10,000 to build, he said.
Ossip said the tournament is popular with students, who pay to compete, resulting in more money raised through entry fees, donations and the sale of T-shirts and bracelets.
Ossip said the group met with UF officials five times before the initial denial was overturned.
