Underwater Hockey

English
Names: Kiara Buay and Indyra Larco

Class: 1ro A
UNDERWATER HOCKEY
HISTORY
Underwater Hockey was started in the UK 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 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.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of the game for each team is simple - to make as many goals as
possible during the game period. The team who makes the more number of
goals during the game period wins. Unlike the street and ice hockey, however,
the underwater sport need not require the players to be skilled with rollerskating or ice-skating; instead, they should at least know how to swim and
move underwater.
HOW YOU WIN?
The team will score a goal in the opposite goal by throwing a disc of lead and
wrapped in rubber weighs 1.3 kilos. The brave players wear glasses or goggles
and have a breathing tube as they approach the surface. The hockey sticks
underwater are smaller than traditional hockey is a wooden stick 30
centimeters. Also the players wear fins to accelerate rapidly. The game is
divided into two halves of 15 minutes each, plus a break of 3 minutes. And
there are three arbitrators, two in the water and one on the edge of the pool,
which is the main. In the beginning was called Octopush and now many
countries have their pick and play
HOW YOU PLAY?
The teams start at each end of the pool with one hand on the wall. The disc is
in the center 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 maneuvering 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,
or 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). 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).
WHERE IS POPULAR?
Underwater
hockey
enjoys
great
popularity
in
the
United
Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, the USA, 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)
EQUIPMENT
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.
Mask
Regulation masks consist 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.
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 colored 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.
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 fiber glass or carbon fiber fins are commonplace at
competitions.
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 1 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.
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
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.
PLAYER POSITIONS
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).
CONCLUSION
We like this sport because is a great way to keep fit and is a unique sport, too.
And the most important is that it helps you have strength and is very fun. We
believe that in this sport there is not much risk as they use protection, also not
that hard to play and not have as many requirements needed for this sport.

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Names: Kiara Buay and Indyra Larco

A glove is worn on the playing hand to protect against pool-bottom abrasion

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