After one year of hanging in the balance, Auburn's Water Polo Team will finally have a full-time support organization.
The University will approve or deny the Water Polo Hostesses Oct. 13. The Water Polo Hostesses occasionally helped the team out last year.
This year the 15 hostesses are traveling as far as New Orleans to support the team.
Patrick Gilday, the president of the water polo team, is thrilled to have them support the team full-time.
"We're excited for several reasons," Gilday said. "When they travel with us they bring Gatorade and other things. They're also going to help us with recruiting."
The team is hosting a tournament in February, and the hostesses are going to be all over campus telling students about it.
During home games, the hostesses are there to cheer on the players.
The hostesses also raise money by setting up fundraisers for the team.
This includes benefits such as the one they had last Wednesday at Cheeburger Cheeburger.
Logan McKenney, the team's treasurer, said they're a big financial help.
"We only have to pay $120 in dues because of the money they raise helps go towards stuff that dues would normally cover," McKenney said.
The organization has 15 members and a faculty member representative who help raise money. Now they just need the approval of the University.
During tournaments there is only about an hour in between games. The players don't have time to run to the store and buy Gatorade.
Once again this is where the hostesses come into play. The hostesses prepare a bag of goodies to help each player out.
President of the Water Polo Hostesses Kristina Saul said the hostesses cater to each player as well as the team.
"We travel with the team," Saul said. "We have players fill out a player bio and whatever the player wants he usually gets."
The player usually puts down his favorite drink, magazine and favorite item. After games the hostesses have a bag with the goodies ready.
As its first president, Saul was worried that the interest level would be low, because water polo is a club sport and many students don't attend the home games.
Saul, who admitted she's still learning things about water polo every game, is excited for this year's team.
The interest level and turnout was better than she expected.
"We told people about it, and we had a lot of people get excited about it," Saul said.
Saul said the application process isn't that long, and they are always looking to add people. Prior knowledge of water polo helps, but is not necessary.
"We need people that are going to represent the best of Auburn," Saul said. "If you're a motivated Auburn student and you want to socialize and meet new people, come see what we're about."
If interested in joining the Water Polo Hostesses, they have a group on Facebook.
Students can also e-mail Kristina Saul at kzs003@auburn.edu for more information on joining.
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