belinda keeley
underwater-hockey player
When Belinda Keeley was 23, she was convinced she’d done it all. She was sitting on a plane, travelling back home from Canada, where her underwater-hockey team had just claimed gold at the World Championships. “I remember thinking, if the plane crashed, I’ve achieved the only thing I’ve ever wanted,” she says. “Which is quite ridiculous looking back.”
Now 45, Belinda has remained a lifelong underwater-hockey player. She first started out in her early teens – a group of players did a demonstration class at her school in regional Victoria, and she was immediately hooked. She joined her local club and quickly made it to the state team. “I started travelling and had the opportunity to play in nationals, then in New Zealand for an international competition,” she says. “What gets you is the people you meet who are doing the same crazy thing you are. You can go to any country in the world and will have people look after you and let you play their game nights.”
Underwater hockey – as the name suggests – is played entirely underwater, in a 2–3m-deep pool. Teams of six work to manoeuvre a weighted puck into the opposition’s goal tray; when viewed from above, the fast-paced action can look like a school of fish descending on a bit of food. Players wear a diving mask, fins and a snorkel, and each wield a short stick to play the puck. Unlike in ice or field hockey, there are no goalies. “The puck scoots around incredibly fast on the bottom of the pool,” Belinda explains. “You hold your breath for short, consistent amounts of time, go down to do something explosive, then come back up. You try not to float around the surface too much.”
Being a fit, strong swimmer is a must – players get bounced and bumped around a bit – but what Belinda loves about the sport is that it welcomes players of differing body types. “It’s really quite amazing the eclectic mix of athletes that make up a strong team,” she says. “You’ll have little athletes and larger ones – everything evens out when you get in the water.”
Underwater hockey originated in the UK in the ’50s, reaching Australia a decade later. By 1980, Australia was sending national teams to compete in the World Championships, and we’ve dominated the top three spots ever since. Belinda’s first taste of glory was in 2002, when the Australian Women’s Elite Team took out top spot in the World Championships in Canada. Her second win came in 2006, in the UK. There were more victories at the Trans Tasman, Southern Hemisphere and Tri Nations competitions. “Once you’ve won, you always want to win again, so we picked up a lot of jewellery,” Belinda says. “But there’s absolutely zero money in the sport – no financial reward.”
Getting to the elite level wasn’t without its sacrifices. In her youth, Belinda remembers seeing friends go out into the night as she returned home. Hours of laps in the pool wer e a normal part of her routine. “I had a few devastating knockbacks when I was young and didn’t have what it took to qualify,” she says. “But I always used that as fuel. I love always having something to work on.”
These days, Belinda is a mum of thr ee and hairdresser with a number of other businesses. Underwater hockey remains central to her life – she’s still playing for Victoria and will trial for the women’s Elite team again. Although she can’t keep up the exact training routines of her youth (she’s had two shoulder reconstructions over the years), she’s found other ways to keep up her strength, including Crossfit. “I’ve never let it lapse,” she says. “The goal now is just to see how far I can push my body to do what I need it to do.” She’s keen, too, to be a mentor for young girls in the sport. “When I was young, we had older players who really helped – I’m hoping we can be part of that dynamic again and give the girls confidence and strength to reach the top of the sport.”