{"id":564,"date":"2025-05-22T13:55:32","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T12:55:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/defiancemagazine.co.uk\/?p=564"},"modified":"2025-06-04T17:16:22","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T16:16:22","slug":"beyond-the-surface-a-deep-dive-into-the-underwater-underdogs-of-sport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jusmedia.co.uk\/defiancemag\/2025\/05\/22\/beyond-the-surface-a-deep-dive-into-the-underwater-underdogs-of-sport\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond the Surface: A Deep Dive into the Underwater Underdogs of Sport"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Underwater hockey is unlike anything you\u2019ve seen before \u2013 a sport where the competition is fierce, the community is tight-knit, and anyone can play.\u00a0 We explore the ins and outs of a sport that\u2019s quietly growing, and is full of freedom and inclusivity.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take hockey, add a mask, a snorkel and some fins and then go underwater \u2013 it\u2019s that simple. Played with six players on each team in a 25m x 15m pool around two-three meters deep, the aim is to take the puck and score in the opposing gulley (scoring area). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But for thousands of people across the world, the unique sport of underwater hockey is much more than that. It\u2019s a sport about the smaller things, like the first time you play in the deep end rather than the shallow pool. That feeling when somebody passes you the puck for the first time as if to say, \u2018I trust you\u2019. The tiny, little victories like scoring a goal against good opposition, or when you do a good dummy on your coach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s the joy you feel when you get the unexpected call to tell you you\u2019ve made the national team, or that great matter of frustration when your kids are finally good enough to get past you. It\u2019s about people like Esme Allford, who originally thought underwater hockey was a joke and had \u2018no clue\u2019 what was going on when she first started, but now competes nationally with the best players in the country. People like Sophie McNamara, fighting to regain her spot in the GB team for the 2026 world championships. Younger players, like Daniel and Olivia, both 15, who not only train with team GB, but actively encourage others to get involved with the sport. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Olivia was just ten years old, she discovered underwater hockey through one of her dad\u2019s friends. Five years on, she now competes nationally whilst participating in GB training. She describes her training as \u201can amazing experience playing people at such a high level\u201d. But Olivia\u2019s favourite moment is not any of her achievements as a player, but as a teacher of the sport:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cWe were in Greece one summer and I had a puck and a couple of sticks with me that I left at the side of the pool. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis group of people were questioning what they were and so I showed them how to play. We swam off the wall and I pushed it straight through them. They were like \u2018what on earth is this?\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat on earth is this?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A question not too uncommon when referring to underwater hockey. As a matter of fact, peoples unknowingness of the sport is something that brings it\u2019s community together. The ability to educate newcomers adds to underwater hockey\u2019s appeal and is something the players enjoy. Kevin Hyman, treasurer and coach at Guildford Underwater Hockey Club (GUWH) and player for over 30 years says: \u201cA lot of our juniors use the sport for their Duke of Edinburgh programmes and are finding it really useful for getting into university. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you go into an interview and say, \u2018I support Man United\u2019 you\u2019ve probably just made three enemies, but if you say \u2018oh I do underwater hockey\u2019 you suddenly have three very curious people who know less than you do.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sophie McNamara, 20, says, \u2018it\u2019s always great to tell people I do underwater hockey and them having absolutely no idea what I\u2019m on about!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now a decade into the sport, Sophie competes at an elite level, having represented Great Britain at the World Championships as well as competing nationally. Playing at a high level, Sophie is familiar with the competitive side of the sport: \u201cPlaying at the national level is great and there are some incredible players to play against, but playing internationally, I think, seeing how the different countries play, what their tactics are, how they think; I find it really interesting.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another player hoping to make the team for 2026 is Ollie, 17, who missed out at the last GB under 19s selection: \u201cIt\u2019s a crazy level some of the guys play at. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t get selected because I hadn\u2019t been playing with them long enough and I probably wasn\u2019t good enough for the team.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ollie remains determined to make the team and whilst he is only 17, he is now trailing for the GB U24s, as he will be above the maximum age for U19s by the time the 2026 World Championships arrive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very big step up and you look at some of the tactics and some of the training regimes that have been placed and it is very difficult. But when you actually get into doing it, you start to build up some of the cardio and muscle you need. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt makes it so much more fun.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age remains no barrier to the competitive side of underwater hockey, as 15 year old Daniel has already won a medal for his club, Guildford UWH. Daniel played in division four for the Guildford first team where they came second in his first ever tournament, securing a medal. Daniel said: \u201cThat was an absolutely stellar moment for me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t usually get medals at tournaments because the level is so high, but when I got that medal around my neck and seeing the players I\u2019ve been playing with every week \u2013 it was an amazing feeling.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether it\u2019s playing for your team at nationals, or representing your country at international level, underwater hockey has a special way of uniting people, regardless of age, gender or background. Although competitions include gender and age groups, casual and practice sessions often feature players of all abilities, fitness levels, ages and genders. Coach Kevin Hyman speaks to the inclusivity of the sport: \u201cas long as you are above the age of eight and feel comfortable in the water you can come and play. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause it\u2019s underwater, you can be overweight and still play quite easily. You don\u2019t have to be a super-strong athlete. We play boys versus girls, juniors versus adults. The gender doesn\u2019t really matter either.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Esme Allford, 19, has played for over three years, and describes her first time competing at women\u2019s nationals: \u201cIt was a really good environment to play in and it was very supportive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were going in there to have fun, play as a team and to do as well as we can.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olivia, 15, who now trains with the GB team, added: \u201cwe all work together and no matter how badly or well you play, everyone has fun.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like any sport, underwater hockey has its own issues to tackle. One challenge underwater hockey faces in terms of its growth is how difficult it can be to watch. Kevin says: \u201cFor good or for bad, it\u2019s not a spectator sport. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople sitting on the side; all they can see are loads of fins flying up in the air and lots of splashing. You can\u2019t see from there what\u2019s actually happening. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople play because they like getting involved and doing things themselves, rather than watching somebody else do it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But for many this adds to the experience of playing and forms a more intimate, tight-knit nature to the sport. Kevin adds: \u201cIt\u2019s quite a compact sport \u2013 everybody knows everybody. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can go anywhere in the world, and you\u2019ll meet somebody who knows somebody you know, which gives it a very nice personal element.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As much was true for Esme Allford when she was on holiday in Florida. Noticing a sign for underwater hockey at a local leisure centre, she signed up, only to find out that she would be playing with the American underwater hockey team. But this wasn\u2019t the only surprise that day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Esme said: \u201cone of the guys there had a Great Britain Underwater Hockey hat and I said to him \u2018you play for America, why do you have that?\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe said when you play international competitions, everybody swaps hats, and he swapped hats with a GB player called Lorna, who happens to play at our club. And she\u2019s got the America Underwater Hockey hat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was pretty fond of that.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Underwater hockey isn\u2019t a spectator sport. Underwater hockey isn\u2019t a commercial sport. Underwater hockey isn\u2019t even a sport that most people have heard of before. But for everything that it is not, underwater hockey is packed with people full of pride, passion and ambition. For almost every player, it\u2019s more than just a sport \u2013 it\u2019s an identity. A way to meet new people, bond together, and to compete in a friendly environment. It\u2019s about forgetting all your real-life problems and immersing yourself in the game you love. Whoever you are, wherever you\u2019re from, underwater hockey has a place for you. On the surface, it\u2019s quite straightforward, but when you delve deeper, it\u2019s something quite special. A mask, a snorkel and some fins \u2013 it\u2019s that simple. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Underwater hockey is unlike anything you\u2019ve seen before \u2013 a sport where the competition is fierce, the community is tight-knit, and anyone can play.\u00a0 We explore that ins and outs of a sport that\u2019s quietly growing, and it full of freedom and inclusivity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":190,"featured_media":596,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[124,21],"tags":[47,29,46,45,44],"class_list":["post-564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home-carosel","category-unseen-top-story","tag-hockey","tag-underdog","tag-underwater","tag-water","tag-weird-sport"],"yoast_head":"\nBeyond the Surface: A Deep Dive into the Underwater Hockey<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Underwater hockey is unlike anything you\u2019ve seen before 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