 Two players competing for the puck at the British Student Nationals in Bangor, 2009. | |
| Highest governing body | CMAS |
|---|---|
| Nicknames | UWH, Octopush |
| First played | 1954 Southsea, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England |
| Characteristics | |
| Contact | Limited |
| Team members | up to 10 (6 in play) |
| Mixed-sex | Yes |
| Type | Aquatic |
| Equipment |
|
| Venue | Swimming pool |
| Presence | |
| Olympic | No |
| Paralympic | No |
| World Games | Yes |
Underwater hockey (UWH), also known as Octopush in the United Kingdom, is a globally played limited-contact sport in which two teams compete to manoeuvre a puck across the bottom of a swimming pool into the opposing team's goal by propelling it with a hockey stick (or pusher).
A key challenge of the game is that players are not able to use breathing devices such as scuba gear whilst playing, they must hold their breath. The game originated in Portsmouth, England in 1954 when Alan Blake, a founder of the newly formed Southsea Sub-Aqua Club, invented the game he called Octopush as a means of keeping the club's members interested and active over the cold winter months when open-water diving lost its appeal.[1][2] Underwater hockey is now played worldwide, with the Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques, abbreviated CMAS, as the world governing body.[3] The first Underwater Hockey World Championship was held in Canada in 1980.
- ^ "The History of Underwater Hockey". Archived from the original on 2017-04-05. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
- ^ "Alan Blake - How Octopush was created". Archived from the original on 2019-06-04. Retrieved 2019-06-04.
- ^ "CMAS Underwater Hockey Commission". Archived from the original on 2014-07-24. Retrieved 2014-08-05.