ST MARYS UNDERWATER HOCKEY
The sport was invented in 1954 by Alan Blake of the newly formed Southsea Sub-Aqua Club and first played at the club by him and other divers including John Ventham, Jack Willis, and Frank Lilleker in Eastney Swimming Pool, Portsmouth , England Originally called "Octopush"
The game first came to Canada in 1962 via Norm Liebeck, a decidedly 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.
with 44 teams from 17 countries Underwater hockey enjoys great popularity in the United Kingdom , Australia , Canada , New Zealand , South Africa , the USA , the Netherlands and France .
Unlike water polo, in which the action takes place above water, underwater hockey is played on the bottom of the pool. Players wear masks, fins, and snorkels, and dive down to the bottom, where they slide a heavily weighted puck around using short, curved sticks. As in ice hockey, the general objective is for each six-player team to get the puck past the opposing team into a goal. The specifics, however, are different. The goals are 9 feet (3m) wide but only 8 inches (20cm) high, and untended. There’s no checking—it’s a non-contact sport. penalties are assesed by referees for fouls such as grasping, holding or pushing an opponent.And a player can leave the pool at any time during the game to be replaced by one of four substitutes. A complete game consists of two fifteen-minute halves, with a two-minute halftime when the teams switch sides.
World Championships are held every 2 years, and have been in effect since 1980.
Ontario UWH is currently played in London, Guelph, Brockville, Midland, Sault Ste Marie,Ottawa, Brampton, and Hamilton.
St Marys Underwater Hockey will be played at the Pyramid Recreational Centre
Monday and Friday evenings, anyone 16 yrs and up can join, no experience is required
cost will be $50mth-person
It will run from Jan 4th- March 30th, 2010
Please Register before December 28th, 2009if we have enough interested players we will run this sport longer.
Players are required to bring mask, fins(no buckles on fins) snorkel ,and bathing suit to the classes, all other equipment will be supplied with the option to purchase sticks, gloves, mouthguards and water polo caps.
you may contact susanne noble at 519-229-6903 or bikergirl29@quadro.net
