Underwater hockey makes a splash
Eight years ago, Wade Kozak happened to bump into a former neighbour while waiting in line at Walmart.
“(The neighbour) mentioned his kids were doing underwater hockey, which we’d never heard of, but it sounded interesting,” says Kozak
Since then, all four of Kozak’s children, who are aged 20, 17, 15 and 14, have played the “very, very obscure” sport.
The game is played with six players per side and a puck, which players manoeuvre across the bottom of the pool, using a small 12-inch stick, into the opposing team’s goal.
It’s a game of timing and endurance that shapes players into expert breathholders and leaves them with bruises.
“It’s not a lazy sport. It’s fast and active,” says Kozak, now the president of the Calgary Underwater Hockey Club.
For more than 30 years, players of all ages have been going to the bottom of seven- to 10-foot-deep pools in Calgary to hit pucks with the club, the only underwa- ter hockey association in the city.
On a recent Tuesday evening a dozen kids, ages 13 to 18, gathered at the Talisman Centre for practice.
After putting on their equipment, the players jumped into the pool and engaged in laps, exercises and skill-building, followed by a scrimmage game. A few adults also joined in.
Players included 16-yearold Emmanuelle Schoenberger, who has been playing underwater hockey for four years, and was one of six players from Calgary who played on Team Canada’s 10-person team in August. “It is fun and you get to travel and meet new people,” she says. “It’s a good experience.”
Sam Hill, 19, started playing six years ago after moving to Calgary from England.
The teen, who also played on Team Canada, says when he tells people he plays underwater hockey, he’s often met with confusion.
“Usually, they give you a blank face. I tell them to google it,” he says.
Because the sport is so obscure, Kozak says it’s easier than more popular sports (think hockey, for example), for kids to make a national team without years of experience.
All three of his eldest children have played on Team Canada, including his middle two, who landed spots on the U19 team this summer and travelled to Milwaukee, Wis., in August for the 2012 America’s Cup Underwater Hockey Championships.
The Calgary players are used to playing against adults at the three or four tournaments they travel to annually. When they faced kids their own age at the championships, they won gold in a nail-biting 2-1 final against Colombia.
While the sport is typically not a spectator sport, underwater cameramen filmed the final game and spectators were able to watch on a large-screen TV.
In May, the Calgary club will host eight to 10 teams from across Canada at the Canadian National Tournament. In an effort to recruit new players, the club put up 25 advertising boards around the city this fall. While Kozak admits the sport isn’t for everyone, he encourages people who can swim to give it a chance.
For more information visit www.calgaryunderwater.ca.