Underwater Warriors

"Fins, a mask, a snorkel, a water polo helmet, a glove and a stick about a foot long," said Andy Kalb, a Cincinnati State student and treasurer for Team Cincinnati, describing all the equipment necessary to play underwater hockey, a rare club sport gaining popularity in the United States. He estimates that nationwide underwater hockey teams still number in only the double digits.

Team Cincinnati, which meets and practices at a few local pools. Students from the University of Cincinnati, Xavier, Miami and Cincinnati State constitute the team.

The team springs from the only area high school with an underwater hockey team: Roger Bacon High School. After graduation, some Roger Bacon alums decided to continue playing the sport and started

"We all got into it by playing at Roger Bacon High School," Kalb said. "That's where we kind of got the bug in our ear."

Like ice hockey the game is played by pushing a puck across a surface. Unlike ice hockey the puck is about three pounds of coated metal pushed across the bottom of a pool instead of six ounces of rubber pushed across ice.

Six people play on a team at a time. Players take a breath and dive under to push the puck across the bottom of the pool. They return to the surface when they need air and then dive again. Teams can substitute players during the game.

The goals are 10-foot-long trenches at the ends of the play area. Unlike ice hockey there is no designated goalie.

"It's kind of hard to have someone down there guarding your goal the whole time," Kalb said.

Underwater hockey is a non-contact sport that relies more on finesse than brute strength according to players. Andy said it's actually more like soccer than hockey.

"It's non-contact like basketball is non-contact," said Collin Wetzel, a third-year chemistry student at UC and member of Team Cincinnati. He added that contact does occasionally happen.

"If more people are out of shape or slow, it gets more physical," he said.

Because underwater is almost a weightless environment, physical prowess will not completely distance one player from another, said Kalb. However, he said it does help to be in good shape, especially good cardiovascular shape.

"You're going to be holding your breath underwater and doing a lot of work with very limited oxygen," Kalb said.

"It's really tiring," said Laura Kalb, a first-year nursing student at UC and member of Team Cincinnati. "After practice all you want to do is eat and sleep."

The ability to hold one's breath for extended periods also helps, as all play takes place underwater.

"To play at a really high level you have to be able to hold your breath for two to three minutes or recover really fast," Wetzel said.

Wetzel said he prefers to play in "quick drops," where he dives for 30 to 40 seconds, surfaces for a quick breath and dives again.

Communication often becomes a problem underwater as players cannot vocally signal the other players. Wetzel said the best method of communication is knowing his teammates' style of play, but said he could also signal them by tapping his stick on the bottom of the pool.

There may only be a few dozen teams nationwide, but Team Cincinnati travels to competitions occasionally.

Last weekend the team traveled to West Virginia, where it placed fourth out of nine.

Andy said the team was undefeated after the first day, but an injury hurt their standing and they dropped to fourth the second day of play.

Like ice hockey, underwater hockey isn't the cheapest of sports. All of the equipment necessary for the sport can run in the hundreds of dollars. Depending on the pool, pool time can cost $5 to $10 a trip.

"I try out a new pair of flippers every couple of months. I spend a lot of money, but you don't have to," Wetzel said.

Team Cincinnati also has a lot of used equipment. Andy said newcomers trying out the sport are more than welcome to use it.

Those interested in trying out underwater hockey should contact Andy Kalb at (513) 265-7349.