Underwater hockey

Not to be confused with underwater ice hockey.

Underwater Hockey

Two players competing for the puck at GB Student Nationals, Bangor in 2009.
Highest governing body	CMAS and WAA
Nickname(s)	UWH, Octopush, Water Hockey
First played	1954, Portsmouth, England
Characteristics
Contact	no
Team members	up to 10 (6 in play)
Mixed gender	Yes, except at elite levels
Categorization	Aquatic
Equipment	diving mask, snorkel, fins, water polo cap, stick & puck.
Venue	Swimming pool

Underwater hockey (UWH; also called Octopush and Water Hockey) is a global non-contact sport in which two teams compete to maneuver a puck across the bottom of a swimming pool into goals.

Play

Two teams of up to ten players compete, with six players on each team in play at once. The remaining four players are continually substituted into play from a substitution area, which may be on deck or in the water outside the playing area, depending on tournament rules.

Before the start of play the puck is placed in the middle of the pool, and the players wait in the water, touching the wall above the goals they are defending. At the start-of-play signal (usually a buzzer or a gong), in-play members of both teams are free to swim anywhere in the play area and try to score by maneuvring the puck into the opponents' goal. Players hold their breath as they dive to the bottom of the pool (a form of dynamic apnoea, as in free-diving). Play continues until either a goal is scored, and players return to their wall to start a new point, or a break in play is signalled by a referee (whether due to a foul, a time-out, or the end of the period of play).

Going for strike

Games consist of two halves, typically ten to fifteen minutes (depending on tournament rules; 15 minutes at world championship tournaments) and a short half-time interval. At half time the two teams switch ends.

A typical playing formation is the 3-3 (three offensive players or forwards, and three defensive players or backs). Other options include 2-3-1 (i.e., two forwards, three midfielders, and a back), 1-3-2, or 2-2-2. As important to tournament teams' formation strategy is the substitution strategy - substitution errors might result in a foul (too many players in the play area) or a tactical blunder (too few defenders in on a play).

There are a number of penalties described in the official underwater hockey rules, ranging from the use of the stick against something (or someone) other than the puck, playing or stopping the puck with something other than the stick, and "blocking" (interposing one's self between a team-mate who possesses the puck and an opponent; one is allowed to play the puck, but not merely block opponents with one's body). If the penalty is minor, referees award an advantage puck - the team that committed the foul is pushed back 3 metres from the puck, while the other team gets free possession. For major penalties, such as a dangerous pass (e.g. at or near an opponent's head) or intentional or repeated fouls, the referees may eject players for a specified period of time or the remainder of the game. A defender committing a serious foul sufficiently close to his own goal may be penalized by the award of a penalty shot, or a penalty goal to the fouled player's team. Since this is an underwater sport, spectators may not be aware how aggressive underwater hockey is. During the game players are known to pull off other players masks, kick them in the stomach with their flippers or even hit others with their stick. Although players can be penalized for actions such as these, many times it can go unnoticed.

Players who are most successful in this game are strong swimmers, have a great ability to hold their breath, and are able to create great speed underwater. It is also important that they are able to work well with the other members, taking full advantage of individual skills.

Equipment

Annotated Player
1. snorkel and mouthguard 2. hat with earguards 3. mask 4. fins 5. stick 6. puck 7. glove

Players wear a diving mask, snorkel and fins, and carry in one hand a short stick for playing the puck. A full list of equipment is given below:

Swimwear

There are usually no restrictions on swimwear, however, baggy style trunks are not recommended as they reduce speed and increase drag in the water. Typical swimwear is swim briefs for male players and one-piece swimsuits for female players.

Mask

A diving mask is used for several reasons:

• Players can equalise their ears (using the Valsalva maneuver) as the nose is covered
• Unlike swim goggles, a mask sits outside the eye's orbit, reducing the effects of an impact on the mask
• Improved underwater visibility

A low-volume mask with minimal protrusion from the face reduces the likelihood of the mask being struck, causing it to leak and temporarily blind the player. Regulation masks consists of two panes as single pane masks pose a safety hazard. A variety of webbing designs are available which replace the original rubber or silicone head strap with a non-elastic strap that further reduces the chances of the player being de-masked.

Snorkel

A snorkel enables players to watch the progress of the game without having to remove their head from the water to breathe. This allows them to keep their correct position on the surface, ready to resume play once they have recovered. In order to maximise the efficiency of breathing and reduce drag underwater, they are often short and wide bore, with or without a sump valve.

The snorkel may accommodate an external mouthguard which may be worn with or instead of an internal mouthguard.

Fins

Fins allow the player to swim faster on the surface and especially underwater. A wide range of fins are used in the sport but large plastic/rubber composite fins or smaller, stiffer fibre glass or carbon fibre fins are commonplace at competitions.

Stick

The stick (also referred to as 'bat' or 'pusher') is relatively short (according to recent rules, not more than 350mm, including the handle) and is coloured white or black to indicate the player's team. The stick may only be held in one hand, which is usually determined by the player's handedness. The type of stick may affect playing style and is often a very personal choice. A wide variety of stick designs and construction materials such as woods and plastics are used.

Puck

The puck is approximately the size of an ice hockey puck but is made of lead or similar material (Adult size weighs 3 lb (1.3-1.5 kg), Junior 1¾ lb (800-850 gm)) and is surrounded by a plastic covering, which is usually matched to the pool bottom to facilitate good grip on the stick face while preventing excessive friction on the pool bottom. The puck's weight brings it to rest on the pool bottom, though can be lifted during passes.

Stick pushing puck

Hat

Safety gear includes ear protection, usually in the form of a water polo cap to protect the eardrums and as a secondary indicator of the player's team (coloured black/blue or white as appropriate).

Glove

A glove is worn on the playing hand to protect against pool-bottom abrasion and, in some designs, protection against puck impact on knuckles and other vulnerable areas. Players may choose to wear a protective glove on both hands, either as additional protection from the pool bottom, or for ambidextrous players, to switch the stick between hands mid-play.

Goal

The goals (or 'gulleys') are three metres wide and are sited at opposite ends of the playing area on the pool bottom. They consist of a shallow slope leading up to a trough into which the puck may be pushed or flicked. Goals are commonly constructed from aluminium, galvanised or stainless steel. This helps to ensure that they are negatively buoyant and are durable in the chlorine water of swimming pools.

Referees

Refereeing the game are two (or three) water referees (i.e. in the pool with full snorkelling gear, and wearing a distinctive cap, gloves and t-shirt) to observe and referee play at the pool bottom, and one or more poolside deck referees to track time (both in the period and for each ejected player), maintain the score, and call fouls (such as excessive number of players in play, failure to start a point from the end of the playing area, or another foul capable of being committed at or noticed at the surface). The deck (chief) referee responds to hand signals given by the water referees to start and stop play, including after an interruption such as a foul or time-out.

The Official Rules which are available for download in PDF form without charge and define (with illustrations) a valid goal, the fouls and signals, and the dimensions of the playing area, sticks, and goals.

Spectators

Octopush contest seen from the surface, at Crystal Palace Pool, London

At a club or training level, underwater hockey is not particularly spectator friendly. Since the action is all below the surface, one must enter the water to get the full effect of the game. Spectators may either try on fins, a snorkel, and mask and enter the pool for a view of the playing area, or take advantage of the work of underwater videographers who have recorded major tournaments. Such tournaments often have live footage on jumbotron-style screens for the spectators which makes it a very exciting spectator sport. The 2006 (Sheffield, England) and 2010 (Durban, South Africa) World Championships were simultaneously webcast live to spectators around the world, while the 2008 European Championship in Istanbul, Turkey had excellent video coverage but no live streaming.

Filming the games is challenging even for the experienced videographer, as the players' movements are fast and there are few places on the surface or beneath it which are free from their seemingly frenzied movements. Games are often played width-wise across a 50 metre pool to provide spaces in between simultaneous games for player substitutes, penalty boxes, coaches and camera crews. However, research and development of filming techniques is ongoing.

Organizers of major tournaments are usually the point of contact for acquiring footage of underwater hockey matches. Although no official worldwide repository exists for recorded games, there are many websites and instructional DVDs. A wide variety of related footage can be found on video sharing sites.

History

Underwater Hockey was started in the United Kingdom by Alan Blake in 1954 where it was originally called Octopush. Blake of the newly formed Southsea Sub-Aqua Club and other divers including John Ventham, Jack Willis, and Frank Lilleker first played in Eastney Swimming Pool, Portsmouth, England. Originally called "Octopush" (and still known primarily by that name in the United Kingdom today) the original rules called for teams of eight players (hence "octo-"), a bat reminiscent of a tiny shuffleboard stick, called a "pusher" (hence the "-push"), an uncoated lead puck called a "squid", and a goal known at first as a "cuttle" but soon thereafter a "gully".

The first rules were tested in a 1954 two-on-two game, and an announcement was made in the November 1954 issue of Neptune, the then-official news sheet of the British Sub-Aqua Club. The purpose behind the game was to keep members of Southsea Sub-Aqua Club #9 from abandoning the new club during the winter months when it was too cold to dive in the sea. The first octopush competition between clubs was a three-way tournament between teams from Southsea, Bournemouth and Brighton in early 1955. Southsea won then, and they are still highly ranked at national level today.

British Pathe footage of an early game at Aldershot Lido in 1967 is evidence of the evolution of the sport in terms of equipment and playing style. It can be seen that the game was much slower and the puck was not flicked at all, in contrast to the modern sport. The substantial changes in equipment, team size, and other factors have helped make the game the international sport it is today, with 44 teams from 17 countries competing at the 14th World Championship in 2006 at Sheffield in the United Kingdom.

The sport spread to Durban, South Africa in the mid 50s by the spearfishermen of the Durban Undersea Club (DUC)^{[citation needed]}, when dirty summer seas prevented the young bloods from getting their weekly exercise and excitement. The first games were played in the pool of club member Max Doveton. However it soon became so popular that weekly contests were held in a Municipal pool. The UK's Octopush used a small paddle to push the puck whilst South Africans used a mini hockey stick. The UK's version prevailed.

Underwater hockey enjoys great popularity in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, the United States, the Netherlands and France, as well as to a lesser extent in other countries such as Japan, Singapore, the Philippines, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Turkey, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Zimbabwe, and can be found in numerous additional countries (but not Moldova apparently).

The game first came to Canada in 1962 via Norm Leibeck, an unconventional Australian scuba diving instructor and dive shop owner, who introduced the sport to a Vancouver dive club. Ten years later, the Underwater Hockey Association of British Columbia (UHABC) was formed and received support from the BC government.

In Asia, the game first came to the Philippines in the late 1970s through the scuba diving community that became aware of octopush.

Underwater Hockey has been played in Australia since 1966 again by Norm Leibeck, an Australian who returned from Canada with his Canadian bride Marlene, and attracts players from a wide range of backgrounds. The first Australian Underwater Hockey Championships were held in Margaret River, Western Australia in 1975. A Women’s division was added to the championships in 1981 and a Junior division commenced in 1990.

Historically, World Championships have been held every two years. At the Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS) 14th World Underwater Hockey Championship held in August 2006 in Sheffield, England, 44 teams competed in six age and gender categories, including teams from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Hungary, France, Jersey C.I., Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the United States. At the subsequent, though less well-attended, World Championship held in 2008 in Durban, South Africa, the winners of the Elite divisions (and therefore current World Champions) were Australia in the Women's division, and France in the Men's (Open) division.

Governing Bodies

Considerable political turmoil within Underwater Hockey's world governing body, CMAS, came to a head soon after the 2006 World Championship, resulting in the CMAS Underwater Hockey Commission members resigning en masse and soon thereafter forming an alternative 'world governing body' solely for the sport of UWH, known as the World Aquachallenge Association (WAA), and which was officially ratified at the 1st WAA World Championship in March 2008.^{[citation needed]} Consequently, from this point the UWH community has two world governing bodies:

1) CMAS, which continues to organise international world competitions in alternate years. CMAS has unsuccessfully tried to hold a World Underwater Games events in 2009 following a successful event in 2007. These are intended to be multi-disciplinary events to include UWH and other sports under their governance, such as finswimming, free-diving, underwater orienteering etc. The 1st World Games were held in Bari, Italy in 2007 and the 2nd was scheduled for Tunisia in 2009 but were cancelled and took place in the form of an UWH-only event in Kranj, Slovenia in August 2009. It was billed as a World Championship but only one non-European country competed (South Africa); France won the Open division while Great Britain took the Women's title. In the years in between World Games CMAS holds Zone Championships (e.g. the 12th European Championship in Istanbul, Turkey in 2008).

2) WAA, attempted to continue with the original World Championship series held in alternate years. The 1st WAA Championships (renumbered - it would have been the CMAS 15th) were held in 2008 in Durban, South Africa. The 2nd competition was scheduled for Medellin, Colombia in August 2010 but it proceed as an International Event without WAA sanctioning and was the precursor to the development of the independent America's Cup International Tournament.

The World (WAA) and European (CMAS) events following the split were held over exactly the same period in 2008 a continent apart.^{[citation needed]} This dichotomy of championships coupled with the possibility of future CMAS sanctions led to many countries being forced to choose which competition to send their team to. As a result, neither competition in 2008 was as well attended as has been the case in previous years, nor as competitive.^{[citation needed]}. Subsequently, no WAA sanctioned events have taken place since 2008 and the

In 2009, a new CMAS Underwater Hockey Commission was appointed for a 4 year period to guide the sport on a technical level and gradually they have reconsolidated the sport and produced a development plan to cope with future growth. The commission continues to work to develop relationships with CMAS Board of Directors and obtain support for their development plan.

As part of this plan the Commission developed an Age Group based International Championship incorporating Under 19, Under 23 and Masters (Men over35, Women Over 32)Grades. This Championship was held in July 2011 in Dordrecht, Netherlands. The event was to be sanctioned by CMAS but the Dutch organising team withdrew their hosting bid and proceeded to host the event successfully with 36 teams participating. As the event was non-compliant with the CMAS Competition procedures this enabled Scotland to compete as a separate country rather than within a combined entity as Great Britain.

The 17th CMAS World Championship was held in Coimbra, Portugal in August 2011, witnessed increased participation from non-European countries. Eighteen Teams including Australia, Canada, Colombia, New Zealand and South Africa participated.

Planning is underway for the 18th CMAS World Championship will be held in Eger, Hungary in August 2013. This event will see all Age Group grades as well as Elite Men's and Women's compete. The expected number of teams is between 60 and 80.

See also

• Underwater sports
• Underwater football
• Underwater rugby
• Hoci Tanddwr Cymreig Underwater Hockey Wales
• Caversham Underwater Hockey Club
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Underwater Hockey

External links

• Official CMAS UWH Commission page
• Official WAA web page
• The History of Underwater Hockey on History of CMAS website
• Championship Records
• Underwater Hockey Australia
• British Octopush Association
• Underwater Hockey New Zealand
• Underwater Hockey Tourist
• Full List UK Clubs
• Video of an underwater hockey game USA vs. South Africa at Archive.org