For Bruce Kemp and other members of the Western Pennsylvania Paddlesport Association, there's nothing like getting hit with a sopping wet sponge on a hot summer day, or getting thrown overboard into a lake when one of the canoes tips.

Neither scenario is uncommon while playing dead fish polo, a unique elimination game that combines dodgeball, water polo and canoeing but no longer involves a dead fish.

	Annie O'Neill, Post-Gazette Robbie Hays, 7, tries to toss the "dead fish," a sponge, into another boat. Robbie and a group of others from the Western Pennsylvania Paddlesport Association demonstrated how to play dead fish polo. Click photo for larger image.

Members of the association, and anyone else who is interested, can play Monday evenings at Lake Arthur in Moraine State Park. The group meets around 6 each Monday during the summer, until the clocks change in October.

The group started as a trade association around 1985 and evolved into social club in the early '90s. Dead fish polo is not always on the agenda for the Monday gatherings, but food, boating and outdoor activities are always part of the evening.

Mr. Kemp, secretary and treasurer of the group, explained how dead fish polo is played.

"All the folks make a circle with their bows facing into the center," he said, and a sponge is placed in the water in the center of the circle. "All paddlers move toward the sponge in the center. Using only their paddle, they try to fling it toward another boat. If the sponge goes in a person's boat, that person is eliminated. We play until only one person is left."

Player Dave McQuaid added, "The object is either to get the sponge or get away from it."

Sometimes, more than one sponge is used, which makes the game more interesting, said Mr. Kemp, 58, a house painter from the Fenelton section of Clearfield.

"It's a unique event," said Patti Jo Lambert, media relations specialist of the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau. "It's for anyone who wants to have fun and improve and build their boating skills. It's an unusual event that allows you to get out on the lake and have fun."

A game of dead fish polo will be one of the boating events at this year's Regatta on Lake Arthur, scheduled for Aug. 5 and 6 at the park.

No one is certain how the game originated. According to Mr. Kemp, it started in the 1970s in Minnesota, and, at that time, was played with a dead fish. Donna McKee, a member of the association, said she heard the game got started when a paddler found a dead fish one day during a canoe trip and decided to throw it into a companion's boat. No one is sure about when the players decided to use a sponge instead of a dead fish, but the reasons for the change are obvious.

Players said the game allows for some fun moments.

"We do have a man go overboard every once in a while," Mr. Kemp said. "We think it's pretty funny when someone tips his or her boat over. We tease them about that."

Although dead fish polo is usually played for fun, some see the game as a way to improve boating skills. When people maneuver to try to get to the sponge or throw it, they don't realize they are learning boating techniques, said Karen Weir, a founding member of the association and co-owner of Middle Path Boats in the Edinburg section of Mahoning, Lawrence County.

And boating is the main focus of the paddle sport association, which is sponsoring the canoe and kayak races at the Lake Arthur regatta, along with Middle Path Boats.

"Sometimes, it's fun to just paddle along the shore," Mr. Kemp said. "There's a lot of streams around the area. Pittsburgh is rich in rivers. It's a whole lot of fun to be out and see the flowing water and to just see what's around the bend. It's very pleasant."

Mr. McQuaid, of Ellwood City, a member of the association, said that, when his children were young, they would take many canoe trips to the lake.

"We couldn't afford big trips, so we just bought a canoe. You can do so much with it. We would take along the kids from the neighborhood and have fun," he said.

"You can get out there and see the wildlife," said Paul Egbert, a founding member of the association and owner of Wind & Water Boatworks in Butler, which is sponsoring the dead fish polo game at the regatta.

"If you're by yourself, you can relax, and if you're with a group, you can socialize," he said.

The association doesn't limit its activities to Lake Arthur. Members have traveled to the Potomac River near Washington, D.C.,; Shenandoah River in Virginia; and other rivers and lakes. The group is planning a paddling trip on the Delaware River this year.

Mr. Kemp and others said one of the best things about the group and its regatta events are that they are open to everyone.

"Our youngest member is 7, and we have people in their 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and may still have one guy in his 80s," Mr. Kemp said. "It's just a bunch of people fooling around and having a good time."

Carolyn Lundberg, who is home during a break from teaching first grade at the Uruguayan American School in Montevideo, said joining the group had been the best thing she has ever done.

"It's a whole group of people who are just like me," said Ms. Lundberg, of Brookville, Jefferson County. "I enjoy being out on the water. I could hardly wait to come back here and get into my kayak."

The Western Pennsylvania Paddlesport Association welcomes anyone who is interested to its Monday gatherings at 6 p.m. at McDanel's Boat Launch in Moraine State Park, off Route 422, and to the canoe and kayak races it is sponsoring at the Regatta on Lake Arthur.