There are many sports around the world. The most well-known are soccer, football, baseball, and basketball. However, many sports are played both recreationally and professionally that are much lesser known.
One of these sports is underwater hockey. Underwater hockey, also known as octopush in the United Kingdom, is a globally played contact sport that embraces the popular sports of hockey and swimming.
The game was invented in Great Britain in 1954 to help train divers by strengthening their swimming and improving their breath control.
The game consists of two teams playing against each other, with the main goal of pushing a puck into an underwater goal. Each team consists of six players in the pool with up to ten total players, including subs. Games are played in fifteen minute halves with a brief halftime in between.
Players have a hockey stick and this is used to push a weighted puck into the opposing team’s goal. The regulation size for the goal is about nine feet wide and open-ended. Players are also equipped with snorkels and large fins to help support them as they are underwater for nearly 20 seconds at a time while exerting a lot of energy strength.
Unlike hockey, there are no goalies to protect the goal. Each team must rely on their teamwork and defensive formations to protect their own goal. The main positions that support the defense are the three “backs” while the three offensive player positions are called forwards.
Today, underwater hockey is played in over forty countries with over fifteen thousand participants worldwide. It is now a recognized sport by the Olympic committee and is governed by the World Underwater Federation.