Students who are passionate about swimming now have an official club on Loyola’s campus.

Loyola’s Student Government Association approved of the swimming club at its first meeting of the year on Jan. 11. The president of the organization, physics freshman Riley Mayes, said he noticed that the swimming pool in the rec plex was not getting much use and wanted to increase interest in swimming around campus.

Since Mayes proposed the idea in August he has received initial support from between 10 to 15 students.

“I used to use the athletic center swimming pool a lot, but I haven’t been in a while. Now that there’s a swim club, I think I’ll use the pool more often. I think it will be especially good to help me stay in shape for my marathon training,” said Hannah Dougherty, psychology junior.

The club wants to use their SGA funding to buy new swim equipment and to set up competitions against Tulane University, University of New Orleans or Xavier University. Eventually members would also like to compete with universities from other states.

“I’ve heard many students express interest in having a swim team, and Mr. Mayes is taking the first step toward this goal,” said Haley Hummiston, SGA vice president and mass communication junior.

However, the creation of a Loyola swim team will not happen right away. The club must first see how much support they can garner from students and then create a team through the athletics department.

Mayes said he believes the club will also help attract new students by catering to an area of the university that has been overlooked.

“It could be a great benefit for some people who weren’t interested in the school initially. It could help bring them to the school,” Mayes said.

Mary Jameson can be reached at [email protected]