Underwater Hockey gains momentum in Ithaca, NY

UWH in Ithaca
Rachel Stokes

Height of Passion at the Bottom of a Pool

Graduate students attending Cornell University, an associate professor of biology from Ithaca College and a student in his first year of undergraduate study line up at opposite walls of a swimming pool. They are united by their passion for something out of the ordinary.

Their feet, submerged under four feet of water, are encased in rubber fins. The group wears ear protecting caps, a mask and a snorkel on their heads. Each person’s dominant hand grasps a foot-long wooden stick while protected by a waterproofed gardening glove.

“Sticks up…GO!” echoes through the pool as the noise bounces off the tiled walls. On this command each person pushes off the wall and sprints towards the center of the pool. As the distance between the two groups diminishes, the players quickly dive down to the bottom where the three-pound puck waits.

With this, the game of underwater hockey begins. The play continues until a player triumphs and the puck slides along the bottom tiles into the goal.

At first, the idea of a game of hockey played at the bottom of a pool seems absurd, and seeing it played for the first time is similar to watching sharks feeding. Since the action takes place underwater, not much can be seen from the pool deck. The water churns, fins slap the surface and water blasts from snorkels. The pack of eight to 12 players moves quickly, travelling from one end of the pool to the other and back in seconds. After several minutes of this frenzy, the players finally stand up, remove the snorkels from their mouths and congratulate each other on the play.

“Wow that was a good one!” says veteran player and graduate student Enrico.

“How did you like playing defense against Maki and Enrico?” Willie asks his teammates. His answer comes in the form of “Ugh!” and a few sighs. As everyone in the water giggles the sound bounces off the walls and amplifies, filling the entire area with the sound of laughter.

Playful banter moves back and forth between the players as everyone swims back to their starting positions. After a short break in which the players catch their breath and talk strategy, the familiar cry of “sticks up…go!” is heard again and play continues.

Underwater hockey is a relatively new sport. According to Maki Inada, an assistant professor in biology at Ithaca College and avid underwater hockey player, underwater hockey first came to life in the 1950s. Legend has it that members of the British navy started the first games of underwater hockey while training.

“There were a bunch of people training to be comfortable underwater,” Inada says. “They started playing keep away with one of the diving weights and that’s how the sport got started.”

Underwater hockey boasts popularity in other countries, but lacks a wide fan base in the United States.

“We are getting bigger every year, but we are still virtually unknown. I’ve only met 5 people that actually know the sport once I mention it, and I’ve been playing for 6 years!” says Meghan Pressley Cerveny, who has participated in world competition.

Even for an experienced player like Meghan, underwater hockey has its challenges. “Sometimes you forget you need to breathe,” she says. “But others, it’s so prevalent in your mind that you have to force yourself to forget or just leave the puck where it is, often letting the other team get it instead.”

Learning how to utilize the snorkel properly is one of the hardest aspects of play for a beginner, according to many of the players on the UWH team that practices at Cornell’s Teagle pool.

“I didn’t use the snorkel for the first few weeks,” says Laurie, who has been playing for about a year. “I would just hold my breath and come up for air, but eventually I realized that the snorkel really does make a difference.”

“A lot of the people that we have trained here have found it easier to learn how to play without the snorkel at first,” Inada says.

“The hardest thing is really to believe you can hold your breath,” says Enrico, who is a veteran underwater hockey player. “You don’t really need much training to get it, it’s just mentally you panic because you don’t have air when you’re used to having it regularly for the last 20, 30 years of your life,” he says.

The heavy puck and small stick also presents a challenge for players. According to Inada, stick handling is a frequently practiced aspect. She says that players practice with pucks and sticks on land, as well as in the water. Players strive to move the puck as far as possible, and one way to do that is by perfecting a move referred to as the flick.

“You rotate the puck up on its end,” Inada says. “Basically it gets air and can now fly much further,” she said. Although this technique can bring success, it is very difficult to master.

“I still can’t do the flick!” says Laurie half laughing, half sighing with frustration.

The team laughs with her as she says this, exemplifying the bond that they all share. “The thing that I really love about underwater hockey is that it’s a team sport,” Inada says. “You have to be able to communicate with your teammates and pass [the puck] off to them, and get the passing communication going even underwater.” She says that this aspect is very challenging but also says, “I just find it really fun.”

Drew was welcomed into practices by the team, despite the fact that most players are graduate students and he is a freshman. He says he feels very comfortable with the team.

“I was integrated into the warm-ups and they taught me everything. It was great,” he says of his initial experiences.

“Once I started traveling around the country, and globe, playing UWH, I realized the community of people that play and how we all treat each other like a large family,” says Cerveny. “Whether I play at UMASS Lowell, San Jose, California, Denver, Colorado, or West Palm Beach Florida, I know most of the players and we make sure to go to dinner after practice and catch up on our lives.”

The members of the team at Cornell all say that they are eager to bring new people into the sport. “We are recruiting the whole time, so anytime you feel like trying out the sport you’re welcome here!” Enrico says. “You won’t drown, so you should give it a try,” Willie adds with a smile.

I was intrigued and curious after speaking with the team and watching them practice. I wanted to be involved; I wanted to see how the game works from the players’ perspective and experience the thrill everyone described. I was recruited.

My first practice with the team was extremely intimidating, but thrilling. Everyone was eager to teach me, so that I could get into the play immediately. Even though I was clumsy and couldn’t get the hang of breathing through the snorkel, no one acted as though they were being inconvenienced by my struggles.

Despite the lack of air, the weight of the puck and the confusion under the water, I am hooked. I was disappointed when practice came to an end, and even more so when I realized that I won’t be able to try again until the fall. Underwater hockey is exhilarating and exciting, challenging and comical. I now understand the passion that unites this unusual team.