Pucker Up!

Hockey is unique enough in the Philippines, but try and imagine hockey wet, wild and in the deep. "Underwater hockey is very active in the country," reveals David Quiec, 29, vice president of the Philippine Underwater Hockey Confederation. There’s even a team that joins international competitions.

It was a dive shop instructor who "discovered" the sport in 1979. "She read about the sport in Sea Mass magazine. Underwater hockey traces its roots to scuba diving– being a sport that scuba divers play in winter since it is too cold to dive. In 1980 people at Dive Asia started playing underwater hockey," he explains.

Although the sport was started by Dive Asia, it was divers from the University of the Philippines (UP) who seriously got into the sport and tried making it something they could do on a regular basis, says David. "The UP divers practiced on Tuesday nights in the pool at Quezon City Sports Club because they did not have classes on Wednesdays," David says.

By the nineties, the UP divers, who had all become professionals, decided that the sport also be professionalized, thus the Philippine Underwater Hockey Confederation (PUHC) was born. Today, the PUHC is a sports association under the Philippine Sports Commission and is also part of the Philippine Olympic Committee.

Quite obviously, the game is "played just like hockey but it is done underwater," shares David. "The puck is placed at the pool bottom. The stick is small and you need to push the puck with it while you are swimming at the bottom of the pool."

And just like hockey, the objective is to shoot the puck into goals located at both ends of the pool. Each team has six players, and teams are distinguished by the colors of their sticks: black for one team, white for the other. Players use snorkeling gear (a mask and a small mouthpiece which one can breathe through) while they play, so that they have a good view of the puck while they are underwater. David opines that the snorkeling gear also helps the players move faster in the water.

Each game has two 15-minute halves, with a three-minute break in between. There are also two referees: a deck referee who stays at the top of the pool to watch player substitutions and a water referee who is inside the pool, watching the game and calling out the fouls.

Substitutions can be made at any time during the game as the clock is not stopped for a substitution. But the player being substituted must be full body out of the water before the substitute can jump in to play.

"You have to know how to swim if you want to play underwater hockey but you don’t have to be a competitive swimmer. Knowing how to snorkel is a plus, because that will help you stay under the water longer," opines David.

Masks, fins, snorkel, a small wooden stick and a glove for protection are the equipment needed to play underwater hockey. David says that P5,000 is about how much one might have to shell out to get good gear for the sport.

And then there is the pool, of course. "It has to be a 25-meter pool that is at least six to eight feet deep," says David.

It is here where the PUHC has been beset with some problems. "So far we play in two venues, La Salle Green Hills and at the British School in The Fort," David says. "But we wish that there are more places where we could play."

The team practices at night, thus the need for lights and a guard to watch over the players. There is also a common fear that the tiles of the pool might be destroyed because of the game. "But there is no truth to that because the sticks are made of wood so they can’t break the tiles, and neither can the puck which is made of rubber," David points out.

But these problems do not dampen David’s nor the PUHC’s spirit to propagate and popularize the sport in the country. In fact, they have plans to field a team to the Pacific Coast Competition (PCC) which will be held in San Jose, California in October.

"What is good about the PCC is that they have an open team category where a team may field an all male, all female or combination of a male and female team," David explains. "There is also the mixed team where a combination of male and female team members are a must. The team we will send to the PCC will be a younger team because we have our sights set on the world competition which is set for March next year in Vancouver, Canada."

The Philippines has joined five international competitions in the past, but more as a way of improving the game locally rather than going for the gold. "The powerhouse teams are South Africa, New Zealand and the Netherlands," shares David. "We at the PUHC want the sport to grow here. Last year we recruited new members and we have 50 active members and these are the people who play during hockey nights."

On hockey nights, the PUHC plays co-ed because there are some women members who are just as strong as the male members, David says, adding that perhaps that is because some of the women have been playing for the past ten years.

"It is a full night when 30 players show up to play. On nights like these we have to play half court," David says, lamenting that players are then not able to play as much as they would like to.

Does one have to be able to breathe better than a fish to be good at the sport?

"Not really. They only have to be able to hold their breath for five to ten seconds at the most. But when people have been playing the sport for a long time, they are able to hold their breath for as long as a minute," shares David.

Underwater hockey provides good cardiovascular exercise which David likes to compare with playing soccer; instead of running up and down an open field, a player in underwater hockey has to be able to swim up to the surface of the pool and down to the bottom as well as make the right passes and set the plays.

"Under water hockey is a team sport and only people who understand team sports can play it well," explains David. "After all, you are going to have to pass the puck because a player needs to get to the surface of the water after a minute at the most," opines David.

David, who admits to being a nerd when he was in college, found his sport in underwater hockey. "I like the fact that practices are held at night and that the people who play are really nice," he says. "Part of the reason why people are into underwater hockey is because of the community of people who are very friendly and open."

At present, most of the team members are working people aged 25 to 29. The eldest player is 53 and the youngest is 14. While the majority of players is still the UP divers of old, David insists it is no exclusive club. Since their recruitment efforts started last year, they have brought in younger members.

If you’re looking for action in the water that’s more than making laps and watching your time, try underwater hockey. Just remember that those who can play well in a team are the ones who make it up to the surface of the water in one piece.

* * *

Learn more about underwater hockey by e-mailing [email protected]