INVENTIVE AQUATICS
8/28/2007 10:19:49 AM by Stacy Wynn
If you thought heli-skiing and nitrous-injected drag racing were extreme, just wait until you read about the following ultra-intense water games. If you thought you knew these sports in their traditional venues, just wait until you see how they’ve morphed in their extreme water versions.
CANOE-POLO
The sport of princes and kings, polo, takes on an even more unique élan when polo ponies are exchanged for canoes — yes canoes — and the action happens hard and fast. While canoe polo isn’t exactly a sport in everyday American public consciousness, it has evolved into a level that culminates a highly contested World Championship every two years. “As an organized sport in the U.S., we’re pretty new,” says Brad Carr, who organized the first canoe-polo nationals in the U.S. and is considered the “Father of U.S. Canoe-Polo,” of the sport that officially reached North America in 1999. European and Australian play goes back more than 25 years.
“Basically,” he adds, “the game is sort of a cross between basketball, soccer and water-polo, as played in canoes or kayaks, of course. We come from all different professions, from all over the country.” Carr is a Ph.D geophysicist. “But we all have two things in common: We are all kayakers and we are all committed.”
The sport consists of two dynamic teams of five players each seated in individual canoes or kayaks. Play can occur inside indoor or outdoor bodies of water. Many consider a spirited game of canoe-polo one of the safest settings in which to learn how to use — and become one — with the vessels.
To get started in this intense sport, all you need is 10 players with kayaks, paddles, protective equipment and a ball and a playing area. To find out the official requirements or a club near you, contact the U.S. Canoe/Kayak Polo Committee at 919.838.0160 or visit KayakPolo.com.
DRENCHED HOCKEY
Normally hockey is played above the water, on solid ice, and to go into the water would be considered very, very, bad, perhaps even life-threatening. But not if one is talking about the growing sport of underwater hockey, a game that takes the intense challenge of traditional hockey into a pool and adds the need to surface and breathe periodically to the considerations of the game.
According to the Underwater Society of America, underwater hockey is a very fast-moving game that quickly builds swimming and freediving capability. It’s played on the bottom of a swimming pool by two teams of six. Players wear fins, masks, snorkels, protective gloves and headgear. The stick is short and the puck is heavy. In competition, games are two 15 minute halves, and teams can have up to four substitutes on the deck who can enter play on the fly.
This cursory overview doesn’t quite capture the true thrill and power of the game, which is catching on across the country. What makes the sport even more interesting is its spectators — or rather, where the spectators view the game from. As all the action is below the surface of the water, to get the best “seats” fans must get underwater as well. Spectators normally don all the necessary underwater gear as the players. As a full pool of audience members at major events would not be practical, underwater videographers may record the event, which can be played on screens on land or burned to DVD for viewing.
“Underwater hockey is similar to regular ice hockey, but some of the rules and guidelines had to change since the sport is played underwater,” says Maria de Caussin of the Chicago Underwater Hockey Club, a multiple world championship attendee. “The objectives of the game are pretty much the same as hockey. The minor differences are that since you are playing underwater, you have to consider time to go up for air and the lead-plated puck’s ability to fly through the water quickly.”
The sport has been popular in the trendy Chicago area for more than 30 years. The formation of the pastime, however, is controversial, as Great Britain, Australia and South Africa also claim having the brainchild that led to the incarnation of the sport.
Despite three decades of existence, underwater hockey is still relatively unknown. “No one’s ever heard of it,” says Bryna Nielsen, of the U.S. National Team. “When you explain what you do, people just say ‘What?’ — Still, I love the team aspects, the camaraderie.”
“The sport keeps spreading,” reports Carol Rose, president of the Underwater Society of America. “It’s not speedy and it doesn’t happen overnight. But it’s growing against the odds.”
When it comes to providing entertainment, it doesn’t hurt that the game, from the surface, often appears to be a shark-like feeding frenzy. “At a championship game at the worlds, the water literally froths,” says Rose. “There is so much action with the fins that the pool is churning. It’s just absolutely phenomenal to watch.”
The rules of underwater hockey are taken from those of regular hockey. As such, the puck cannot be touched with anything other than the stick, blocking other players is not allowed, and sticks can be held only by the handle. Otherwise, the game is all about fun and friendly competition. For more information on the sport, contact the Underwater Society of America at 650.583.8492 or visit Underwater-Society.org. Then just wait for the signal, “Sticks Up and Go!”
UNDERWATER RUGBY
Underwater Rugby dates back to 1961 when Ludwig von Bersuda of the German Underwater Club of Cologne thought it would be a great warm-up to play a ballgame underwater and filled a ball with seawater. Unlike its cousin underwater hockey, which takes its roots from the land-based game, underwater rugby has little in common with the air-breathing version. In fact, underwater rugby uses a “basket” instead of a field goal for the sport’s unique water-filled ball.
“The goal is really simple: Just try and get the ball in the basket, though the basket in question is 15 feet below the water,” says Jeannine Fabian, alumni of the U.S. Women’s Underwater Rugby Team. “It sounds easy, but it’s tough. The ball is really interesting. It won’t sink like a rock, but instead arches when you pass it, rather than floating or sinking.” Though the competition can get very vigorous and cutthroat, Fabian concludes, “I actually feel very graceful and very in-tune with the pool.”
The buoyancy of the water is a great equalizer, as a player’s weight doesn’t have as large a role in determining athletic ability as it would on land. Still, other personal challenges need to be factored in. “It can take up to six months until you get your breathing right,” says Frank Bensch, Men’s Underwater Rugby Team alumni. In order to keep control of the ball, team members have to make sure they don’t run out of breath at critical moments such as during team clashes for the ball. “One strict rule is that you cannot grab any equipment,” continues Bensch. “You can’t grab masks, fins, snorkels or bathing suits…and we’ve had many funny incidents with bathing suits.” This is no surprise in a sport where players wrestle and tackle each other almost constantly underwater.
Teams consist of 15 players with six in the water, five ‘exchange’ players, and four reserves. Pools range from 10 to 15 feet deep with a playing field anywhere from 36 to 54 feet long and 24 to 36 feet wide. The basket-goals are 16 to 18 inches in diameter at the bottom of each end of the pool and feature padded rims. As with Underwater Hockey, the best place to learn more about Underwater Rugby in the U.S. is via the Underwater Society of America at 650.583.8492 or Underwater-Society.org.