A president’s game has arrived at Iowa State.

Hooverball, the game that President Hoover’s doctor created for him, has joined the ranks of sports clubs at Iowa State. It was created for President Hoover so he could stay active while being in the White House. This new club sport combines the likes of tennis and volleyball, but adds a slight twist.

The scoring system for Hooverball is similar to tennis: 15-30-45 and so on. To win a match in Hooverball, players compete to the best of either five or seven games. It is the volleyball aspect of Hooverball where the twist enters in.

Hooverball is played on a volleyball-size court and just like volleyball, players attempt to get the ball over the net. Typically, in volleyball, players bump, hit or spike to return the ball over the net. Players also return the ball over the net in Hooverball, but that is where the similarities end.

Instead of bumping, hitting and spiking the ball over the net, in Hooverball players catch the ball and toss it back over the net, and for good reasons.

In Hooverball, the game is not played with a normal ball. It is played with either a four or six-pound medicine ball.

When a players catches the medicine ball, it must be returned immediately back over the net. This is done so the pace of the game does not slow. Hooverball is intended to work all parts of the body.

Hooverball Club President Sean Wasion summed up Hooverball in one sentence.

“Hooverball does not need a lot of skill to play and it is a great way to get into shape,” Wasion said.

Wasion added that he has been thinking about creating the club for a while and when he was unable to participate in the National Hooverball tournament in August 2014 in West Branch, Iowa, he decided it was time to introduce Hooverball at Iowa State.

Initially, the club had seven original members but after ClubFest last fall, an additional 21 students signed up to participate.

Hooverball Treasurer Jesse Lumpa, who also attended West Branch High School with Wasion, compared Hooverball to other clubs and intramurals at Iowa State.

“Movement wise, Hooverball is just like volleyball,” Lumpa said. “You move side to side, but you have to be ready to catch the ball since it is weighted.”

Lumpa credited West Branch High School strength coach Phil Johnson as the person who encouraged him and Wasion to take interest in the game. Johnson made West Branch students play Hooverball as a warm up, which is how Wasion and Lumpa came to be fans of the sport.

Wasion and Lumpa are also in discussion with the Hoover Association about the possibility of hosting a regional tournament at Iowa State. The winner of the regional tournament would receive a free entry into the national tournament.

West Branch, Iowa, where President Hoover was born, is home to the National Hooverball Tournament. The tournament is held in August, and the Hooverball club plans to participate this year.

The Hooverball club currently practices every Wednesday from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. and every Sunday from 2 to 3 p.m. at the Lied Recreation Athletic Center. The club plans to move practices and games outside, where Hooverball is typically played, this spring.