I was recently criticised for a lack of variety in the “unsual” sports I was writing about. This fair observation prompted me to further expand my horizons. While shin-kicking got my attention, I eventually settled on Underwater Hockey.
As the name suggests – the sport is played underwater in a pool with hockey like small sticks (or pushers), a puck, snorkel, fins and mouth guards.
The game was invented in England in 1954 by one Alan Blake who was the founder of the Southsea Sub-aqua club. The story goes that Alan came up with underwater hockey as a workout activity for the squad during winter when open water diving was difficult due to the weather.
The rules are quite similar to field and ice hockey with two key exceptions: there are no goalies and minimal contact. I can imagine ice hockey fans cringing on hearing about that.
Initially the sport was referred to as Octapush as teams consisted of eight players. But underwater hockey is now played with 6 players. However, teams consist of 10 players as substitutions are allowed and are an important strategic aspect of the game.
Depending on the tournament, a typical game has two halves ranging from 10 -20 minutes each with a three minute interval. The sport has found popularity in the UK, Canada, Australia, South Africa and the US to name a few. It also has a following in various other Asia and European countries. I am not surpised that the sport has covered more ground then some of the other one’s I have written about.
The game is now governed by the Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS) Hockey Association. The first world championship took place in 1980 and numerous tournaments are played on a regular basis.
From my perspective, beyond puck control, underwater hockey players must be very good swimmers, agile and have excelllent stamina and breathing control. Remember, no breathing apparatus is allowed! So while a snorkel helps to observe the game from the surface of the water, players need to have top notch underwater breathing skills. Better get those lungs in top shape before you decide to take up this game.
The lack of a goalie adds yet another complexity. Teams and players need to have great coordination and cohesion to save goals.
But I envision that there are some commercial challenges which underwater hockey faces. First and foremost, in stadia viewership – how do you watch an underwater sport? Second, broadcasting -sure you can set up underwater cameras but live streaming the same sounds extremely difficult. Finally, I suppose you could mount gopro cameras on the players but that would be one shaky broadcast.
All in all, it sounds like a fun sport and one I would like to have a go at. Would you?