Underwater hockey

[ant01]

Who plays underwater hockey? I find it one of the best sports to keep fit and active for diving and generally keeping in shape.

We recently held the South African Interclub championships, if you follow u/w hockey you can check the results and the event on SAUWH INTERCLUBS 2009

 

[larcosurveyor]

I Play in Colorado it is so much fun.

 

[Soggy_Diver]

About to head out to practice right now!

 

[islandah]

I play in West Palm Beach, FL. Great sport and absolutely great training for snorkelling/diving, as your skills quickly become second nature.

 

[DiveNav]

Who plays underwater hockey? ....

Underwater Hockey?
Do you play it Free diving or Scuba?

How does it work?
What are the rules?

Is this something I could add to our underwater game/simulator ?

Alberto (aka eDiver)

 

[Soggy_Diver]

The gist is, the game is played on the bottom of a pool, six players on a side, using a short stick to push, pass, and shoot a heavy puck into the opposing team's goal.

Youtube has lots of good video, like this:
YouTube - underwater hockey

The standard UWH gear is mask, fins, snorkel, stick, glove, and water polo cap--scuba gear is not allowed. I know some people who have played using scuba, but that is not the recognized version of the game. And I think that UWH with scuba would be somewhat dangerous. It is a fast game, and a common defensive move is curling--turning quickly away from the opposing player and swimming a tight circle to protect the puck--which could potentially put a tank into the opposing player's face.

Wikipedia has a nice page on the game:
Underwater hockey - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For a good summary of the rules, Whitehorse Underwater Hockey has posted this. The one correction needed is that the game is actually 2 x 15 minute halves:
http://www.yukondiver.com/services/hockeyrules.pdf

Here is a longer version of the rules:
World AquaChallenge Association Referees Guild - WAA AquaChallenge Rules

 

[Taxshark]

I play in Framingham, Massachusetts

 

[freediver]

I love underwater hockey but find it challenging to swim through all that ice!

 

[goaliemn]

I love underwater hockey but find it challenging to swim through all that ice!

There's a guy here that has a picture of himself on the bottom of the ice, holding a stick. Gotta love ice divers..

 

[covediver]

I used to play at UCSB. Tried to get it going in Anchorage, AK, but not enough interest. When I taught a lifeguard in Galena I discovered they play it for physical education at the school. There just might be hope. Galena is too far too go, requiring either a boat, snow machine, or airplane to get there. It is an off the road system community.