This section is devoted to all the clubs having to do with water. Whether it’s frozen solid or as big as the ocean, these clubs know how to slip, slide and splash past the competition.

Ice Hockey Club

The Ice Hockey Club isn’t exactly well known at FAU, yet it still draws talent from around the U.S. Ten out of the 25 players on the team are not from Florida, and three of those 10 are not from the U.S.

However, because of limited funds and not being an official school sport, the team can’t offer scholarships or any of the normal perks associated with being an athlete. According to assistant coach Scott Grosky, the club relies on each player’s ability to pay $3,000 a year in order to compete.

Despite these setbacks, the team continues to draw players dedicated to the game.

“These guys are serious athletes, they aren’t wannabees,” said Grosky. “They train hard.”

The 8-year-old team practices and plays home games at the Saveology.com IcePlex in Coral Springs and is a part of the American Collegiate Hockey Association, Division III. The season started in October and will run through February if the team qualifies for ACHA regionals.

Click here for the UP’s 2010 season preview and schedule for the Ice Hockey Club.

Skim Club

FAU is one of only 10 schools in the country with a competitive skim team.

Skim boarding, where athletes use short boards to “skim” across the surface of a body of water, got started on the collegiate level only about two years ago through the National Collegiate Skim Association. FAU’s Skim Club has been around about the same length of time, and they placed fourth overall last year at the conclusion of the season.

Despite the newness of the club, the sport, and the association that brings the two together on the collegiate stage, plenty of people are interested in competing in it, according to Skim Club President Alex Fanaian.

“There have been a lot of guys contacting me, curious about the club, to see how big we are, to see if they would come to FAU, or if they should consider another school,” said Fanaian. “So we’ve been actually getting people to come to FAU just for the club.”

Surf Club

The Surf Club went to nationals for the first time ever last season and, according to club President Collin Grimm, the contest in California was the best thing he’s ever experienced.

The team tied for 10th, but that did not diminish the accomplishment of qualifying for the National Scholastic Surfing Association’s National Championships. Three surfers, including Grimm, made it as far as quarterfinals, which were nationally televised.

“It was pretty surreal and really cool to be a part of, not only as an individual but as a larger team representing FAU,” said Grimm of the nationals contest.

The team members hope to make it back to nationals this year so they can build upon last season’s experiences and place higher in the contest.

Click here for the UP’s 2010 profile on the club.

Sailing Club

All hands on deck

Almost every weekend during the school year, Matt Bradley is out on the water, enjoying the South Florida sun with his friends. But this isn’t the normal idea of a college student hangout — it’s a sailing competition.

Bradley has been sailing since he was 8 years old and competing since he was 10. Now the senior ocean engineering major is the president of FAU’s Sailing Club and uses the sport as way to relax.

“I use sailing as a huge stress relief from school and all the stressful things that I have going on,” said Bradley. “I can just get on a boat and go have a great time out on the water.”

However, the club members do more than just take it easy. They compete in sailing competitions, called “regattas,” against other schools throughout the southern United States as a part of the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association. To prepare for the competitions, they practice three times a week in Hollywood, Fla., where seven FAU boats are stored.

According to club treasurer Kara Bushman, the art of sailing requires a lot more concentration and thinking than most would suspect.

“You think you just fill the sails and that’s it, but there’s a lot of tactics involved,” said the senior biology major. “You always want to be able to read the wind, preferably better than the other people so you can beat them. It’s really competitive actually out there in the regattas, but it’s fun and a good time.”

The club is open to every FAU student, even those with no sailing experience.

“People who have never sailed before are welcome to come out and learn a new hobby, said Bradley. “We live in South Florida where most of us are surrounded by water, so it’s a pretty interesting sport to learn — all you need is a sail to make yourself go fast.

Sailing 101

•    Sailing competitions are called “regattas”

•    Generally, thirteen separate races make up a regatta

•    Two sailors crew a boat

•    A minimum of four sailors per school are required to compete in a regatta

•    Boats can be no longer than 19 feet

•    First place in a race gets one point; second place gets two points, etc.

•    Scoring is like golf: The school with the lowest score wins the regatta

[Source: Sailing Club President Matt Bradley and Treasurer Kara Bushman]

Here are more clubs from the watery blue: