Love at first bump

“DTB.”

For most people, these letters carry little significance. For the members of Duke University Bumper Pool, they are the sexiest type of booty call: “Down To Bump,” a call to arms—and pool cues—meaning let’s play some bumper pool.

Bumper pool is a niche type of billiards involving an octagonal or rectangular pool table fitted with cushioned obstacles, called bumpers. Thanks to Duke University Bumper Pool (DUBP), or “Le Bump,” one of Duke’s newest student groups, bumper pool is a growing pastime on campus. Members gather at all hours of the day in resident assistant Tyler Glass’s room to practice and boost their official bumper pool Elo rankings.

My introduction to the bumper pool community came from the Bumper Pool Wikia page, which includes ranked player bios, the official Bump Playlist and a number of promotional videos. A friend convinced me to participate in Bump Madness, the 128-person bumper pool tournament held concurrently with the NCAA tournament. I played my first games in preparation for the first round. I went on to lose in the tournament, but it didn’t matter: it was love at first bump.

Bumper pool is addictive for many reasons. One is the game itself—bumper pool offers the perfect level of challenge so it is possible to improve quickly, yet rewarding to master. Since new members are constantly joining, novice players can always find opponents of a similar level. Games take about 10 minutes or less, so it’s a manageable time commitment—and not to mention the table is located in Kilgo!

I like to joke that bumper pool is one-half strategy, one-half skill, and one-half luck—which adds up to more than one because bumper pool is more than just a game. It’s a community that transcends affiliation, where people from all social groups find common ground. Outside of Cameron, such inclusive social spaces are rare, yet among the bumper pool community everyone is welcome to play and become ranked. Every time I have met someone new while playing bumper pool, we have introduced ourselves and enjoyed a short conversation inspired by our shared interest in the game.

Bumper pool teaches another important lesson: when work is stressful, it can be more productive to focus on something else. Part of the bumper pool community’s charm is that players make a big deal out of a simple game. The Bumper Pool Wiki features a long list of game-related terms coined by members, such as “Bump for Glory”, which refers to the situation when a player scores his or her final ball by playing off of a bumper. A common group activity is Pizza Bump Rodeo, where players eat homemade pizza and play high quality bumper pool. This weekend will be the Inaugural Bumper Pool Formal, where ranked players are eligible to invite a date to participate in an evening of formalwear, dinner, and a couple’s tournament. DUBP eschews tradition and shows you don’t need to be part of any selective social group to belong to a community.

When I applied to college, I imagined myself participating in unusual college traditions like an annual 8-mile unicycle ride to get donuts. As much as I love Duke, I was disappointed to find that it would probably seem strange if I were to start riding a unicycle to class—and not to mention dangerous, given the hills between West and Central. Bumper pool is the first time I’ve found an activity so quirky that has seeped into the mainstream. Hearing more people talk about bumper pool gives me hope that more Duke students will learn to act less serious, have more fun and embrace being different.