Sarah’s national call-up

GEELONG’S Sarah McBethKirton has been selected for the under-19 girls’ national underwater hockey team.

McBeth-Kirton, 14, was invited to try out when she was in the state team competing at the national competition in Sydney last month.

Underwater hockey is a fast, dynamic sport played in more than 20 counties.

The talented youngster showed her determination by impressing the selectors despite playing with a painful shoulder rotator cuff injury. She needed treatment before and after matches, but McBeth-Kirton did not want to miss a moment of any match.

“The Australian manager came up and asked me to try out when I was there as the captain of the Victorian under-15 team,” she said.

“My shoulder popped out when I was swimming freestyle in the middle of a game.”

However, the Australian team manager and team physiotherapist helped in her recovery, she said.

While McBeth-Kirton later missed three games to avoid damage, she said she’s back in form. After playing full back in the state team, she moves to half-back in the national team.

McBeth-Kirton, who is 160cm tall, said the team comprises male and female players.

“Most of the females are short and small and the guys are big and strong, so there’s a mix of body types,” she said.

The Geelong High School student trains in Melbourne once a fortnight.

“My coach gives me the team training schedule and you need self-discipline,” she said.

She discovered the sport when she was very young.

“I loved swimming and finished all my swimming lessons when I was seven,” she said.

“I saw people playing underwater hockey and I really liked the idea.”

The sport was invented by the British Navy in the 1950s to keep their divers fit and to improve their ability to move and work efficiently under water.

McBeth-Kirton said people often think you use normal sticks and hold your breath.

“Whenever I describe it to anyone they think it’s an easygoing sport but it’s not, it’s challenging and is physically tough because you need a good aerobic capacity.”

Underwater hockey players wear large fins, a diving mask and snorkel and a thick glove made from latex to protect the hand from the pool bottom and the puck. They use wooden bats about 25cm long.