NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Underwater hockey

Underwater hockey (also called Octopush) is a non-contact sport in which two teams compete to manoeuvre a puck across the bottom of a swimming pool into goals. Two standard hockey pucks. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ...

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1482x1101, 443 KB)Octopush game at Crystal Palace Pool, London Author: User:Velela. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1482x1101, 443 KB)Octopush game at Crystal Palace Pool, London Author: User:Velela. ...

Equipment

Players wear a diving mask, fins, and a snorkel for play. Safety gear includes a water polo style cap, a mouthguard, and a glove for the playing hand (to protect against pool-bottom abrasion and, in some designs, knuckle protection against puck impact). Because current rules permit a player to switch the stick between hands mid-play, players may choose to wear a protective glove on both hands. The stick is quite short (according to recent rules, not more than 350mm. in length, including the handle) and is colored white or black to indicate the player's team. In tournament play, the color of the stick, swimwear and cap are randomly assigned to each teams before every game. 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 3/4 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 lofted during passes. The goals are three meters in width and lie at opposite ends of the playing area. Image File history File linksMetadata Glove-stick-puck. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Glove-stick-puck. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Glove-stick-puck_over. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Glove-stick-puck_over. ... A snorkeler amid corals on a coral reef near Fiji. ... Water polo is a team water sport that combines some elements of swimming and football. ... mouthguards is a device that fits into the mouth over one or both arches of teeth to protect against injury while playing contact sports. ... Ice hockey, known simply as hockey in areas where it is more common than field hockey, is a team sport played on ice. ... The pound or pound-mass (abbreviations: lb, lbm, or sometimes in the United States, #) is a unit of mass (sometimes called weight in everyday parlance) in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... â€œKgâ€ redirects here. ... BIC pen cap, about 1 gram. ...

Play

Two teams of up to ten players compete, with six players on each team in play at once. Substitution happens continually 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, in-play members of both teams are free to swim anywhere in the play area and try to score by sending the puck into the opponents' goal. 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 signaled by a referee (whether due to a foul, a time-out, or the end of the period of play).

The most typical playing formation in the US 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: which players will substitute for which positions, and how many players are substituting for how many positions. A 10-member team playing 3-3, for example, may have two players substituting for each other at the center-forward position, three players covering the other two forward positions, and five players covering the three defensive positions. 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). Image File history File links UnderwaterHockeyStrike. ...

There are a number of penalties described in the official underwater hockey rules, ranging from use of the stick against something (or someone) other than the puck or the playing surface, playing or stopping the puck with something other than the stick, and "screening" (interposing one's self between a teammate 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 meters from the puck, while the other team gets a free possession. For major penalties, such as a dangerous pass (.e.g., over an opponent's shoulder near the 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 point to the fouled player's team.

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

Referees

Refereeing the game are two (or three) "water refs" (referees in the pool with full snorkelling gear, and usually a distinctive refs cap and t-shirt) to observe and referee play at the pool bottom, and one or more poolside "deck refs" 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 ref" responds to hand signals given by the water refs to start and stop play, including after an interruption such as a foul or time-out.

Spectators

As you could imagine, underwater Hockey is not very 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. Organizers of major tournaments are usually the only contacts for acquiring underwater hockey footage, and no official worldwide repository exists for recorded games. However, there is a growing collection of underwater videos at video repositories such as YouTube [1] and Google Video [2]. YouTube is a popular video sharing website where users can upload, view and share video clips. ... Google Video logo Google Video is a free video sharing and video search engine service from Google that allows anyone to upload video clips to Googles web servers as well as make their own media available free of charge; some videos are also offered for sale through the Google...

Filming the games is challenging even for the experienced videographer, as the players' movement is fast and there is no place on the surface or beneath it which is free from the frenzied movement of the players. However, research and development of filming techniques is ongoing, through such projects as See The Game.

High level World Championship Events, in most of the past years has attempted video of the games. The latest attempt during the 2006 Championship in Sheffield, England even included online streamed footage via a commercial company [3].

History

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" (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 official newsheet of the British Sub-Aqua Club. The object of the game was to keep members of Southsea Sub-Aqua Club #9 from abandoning the new club during the winter months in which 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 a national level today. Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Southsea is a seaside resort located in Portsmouth at the southern tip of Portsea Island in the county of Hampshire in England. ... For other places with the same name, see Portsmouth (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... // The British Sub-Aqua Club or BSAC is the governing body of recreational diving in Britain. ... Southsea is a seaside resort located in Portsmouth at the southern tip of Portsea Island in the county of Hampshire in England. ... A tournament is a competition involving a relatively large number of competitors, all participating in a single sport or game. ... Southsea is a seaside resort located in Portsmouth at the southern tip of Portsea Island in the county of Hampshire in England. ... , Bournemouth is a large town and tourist resort, situated on the south coast of England. ... For other places with the same name, see Brighton (disambiguation). ... Year 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar). ... Southsea is a seaside resort located in Portsmouth at the southern tip of Portsea Island in the county of Hampshire in England. ...

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 most recent World Championships in 2006 at Sheffield in the United Kingdom where, even then, there were some countries that were not represented. Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Sheffield (disambiguation). ...

The game first came to Canada (and probably to North America) in 1962 via Norm Liebeck, a decidedly unconventional Australian scuba diving instructor and dive shop owner, who introduced the sport to the Vanquatics, a Vancouver dive club previously named the Wobbygongs. Ten years later, the Underwater Hockey Association of British Columbia (UHABC) was formed and received support from the BC government. Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Scuba diving is swimming underwater while using self-contained breathing equipment. ... For other uses, see Vancouver (disambiguation). ... Motto: Splendor sine occasu (Latin: Splendour without diminishment) Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Official languages English (de facto) Government Lieutenant-Governor Steven Point Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament House seats 36 Senate seats 6 Confederation July 20, 1871 (6th province) Area Ranked 5th Total 944...

See also

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, the Philippines, Germany and Zimbabwe, and can be found in numerous additional countries catalogued at The Underwater Hockey Tourist, which has catered to the needs of traveling underwater hockey players since 1996. Underwater Football is a sport that shares common elements of Underwater Hockey and Underwater rugby. ... Underwater Rugby (UWR) is the only sport in which the players can move in three dimensions. ... Underwater ice hockey or sub-aqua ice hockey is a minor extreme sport played underneath frozen pools or ponds. ...

The world championships are held every two years in an event sanctioned by the World AquaChallenge Association (WAA) and formerly by the World Underwater Federation or CMAS. At the 2006 World Underwater Hockey Championships held in August in Sheffield, England, 44 teams competed in six age and gender categories, including teams from Australia, Canada, Colombia, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Belgium, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and the United States of America. Winners of the elite divisions [therefore current world champions] were Australia in the women's division, and New Zealand in the men's (open) division. The Official Rules promulgated by WAA, are available 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. The rules can be found at www.auf.org.au The ConfÃ©dÃ©ration Mondiale des ActivitÃ©s Subaquatiques (CMAS) is the World Underwater Federation. ... The Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS) is the World Underwater Federation. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Sheffield (disambiguation). ... PDF is an abbreviation with several meanings: Portable Document Format Post-doctoral fellowship Probability density function There also is an electronic design automation company named PDF Solutions. ...

External links

Categories: Team sports | Hockey | Water sports Womens Australian rules football is a team sport. ... A sport governing body comes in several forms. ... There are a variety of articles listing people of a particular sport. ... A national sport is a sport or game that is considered to be a popularly intrinsic part of the culture or is the most popular sport of a country or nation. ... This article is about the sport. ... A korfball match in the Netherlands between Trekvogels and OZC Korfball (Dutch: Korfbal) is a team ball game, similar in many ways to mixed netball. ... A netball game in Australia Netball is a non contact sport similar to, and derived from, basketball. ... Game of Buzkashi in Mazari Sharif, Afghanistan Buzkashi, Kok-boru or Oglak Tartis (Persian: Ø¨Ø²Ú©Ø´ÛŒ buzkashÄ«: goat grabbing) (Uzbek, Tatar, Turkmen: kÃ¶kbÃ¶rÃ¼, kÃ¶k blue + bÃ¶rÃ¼ wolf, Kazakh: ÐºÓ©ÐºÐ¿Ð°Ñ€, Kyrgyz: ÑƒÐ»Ð°Ðº) is a traditional Central Asian team sport played on horseback. ... For other uses, see Curling (disambiguation). ... Handball player leaps towards the goal prior to throwing the ball, while the goalkeeper extends himself trying to stop it. ... Beach handball is a team sport where two teams pass and bounce a ball trying to throw it in the goal of the opposing team. ... For the Cornish sport, see Cornish Hurling. ... Camogie (in Irish, camÃ³gaÃocht) is a Celtic team sport, the womens variant of hurling. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Lacrosse (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Polo (disambiguation). ... Ultimate (sometimes called ultimate Frisbee in reference to the trademarked brand name) is a non-contact competitive team game played with a 175 gram flying disc. ... For the ball used in this sport, see Volleyball (ball). ... Fistball is a very old sport which continues to be practiced all over the world: in Europe, North and South America, Africa and Asia. ... A child demonstrating sepak takraw. ... Water polo is a team water sport that combines some elements of swimming and football. ... Look up Football in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A player (wearing the red kit) has penetrated the defence (in the white kit) and is taking a shot at goal. ... High marking is a key skill and spectacular attribute of Australian rules football Precise field and goal kicking using the oval shaped ball is the key skill in Australian rules football Australian rules football, also known as Australian football, Aussie rules, or simply football or footy is a code of... Beach Soccer is a variant of the sport of association football. ... Futsal in Germany Futsal is an indoor version of football (soccer). ... Gaelic Football (Irish: Peil, Peil Gaelach or Caid ), commonly referred to as football, or Gaelic , is a form of football played mainly in Ireland. ... An indoor soccer game in Mexico. ... Rugby league football (usually shortened to rugby league, football, league) is a full-contact team sport played with a prolate spheroid-shaped ball by two teams of thirteen on a rectangular grass field. ... For other uses, see Rugby (disambiguation). ... Hockey is any of a family of sports in which two teams compete by trying to maneuver a ball, or a hard, round disc called a puck, into the opponents net or goal, using a hockey stick. ... Look up bandy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A game of broomball begins with a face-off Broomball is a popular recreational ice sport originating in Canada and played around the world. ... A game of field hockey in progress Field hockey is a sport for men, women and children in many countries around the world. ... A floorball match between powerhouses Sweden (yellow) and Finland (white) Floorball is an indoor team sport played using composite or carbon sticks with a plastic vented blade where the aim is to put a light plastic ball into the opponents goal. ... Ice hockey, known simply as hockey in areas where it is more common than field hockey, is a team sport played on ice. ... Indoor field hockey is an indoor variant of traditional outdoor field hockey. ... Ringette is a team sport played on an ice surface. ... Roller hockey is a form of hockey played on a dry surface using skates with wheels. ... Inline hockey is a variation of roller hockey very similar to ice hockey, from which it is derived. ... Roller hockey is a form of hockey played on a dry surface using skates with wheels. ... // A shinty game in progress Shinty (Scottish Gaelic camanachd or iomain) is a team sport played with sticks and a ball. ... Safe haven games are field games played by opposing teams; a player on one team puts a ball in play and becomes a runner, trying to advance to a marked safe haven. As long as the runner maintains contact with this marker, he or she is safe from the other... This article is about the sport. ... This article is about the sport. ... Adults playing kickball. ... Girls playing pesÃ¤pallo in SiilinjÃ¤rvi PesÃ¤pallo (Swedish: Boboll, also referred to as Finnish baseball) is a fast-moving ball sport thats quite often referred to as the national sport of Finland and has some presence in other countries, such as Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, and Northern... For the movie, see Rounders (film). ... Soft ball is also a sugar stage Softball is a team sport popular around the world but especially in the United States. ... Stool ball is a historical ball game, originating in southern England, where variants are still played in some schools. ...