In my intro post earlier I said I would post something on Underwater Rugby - this is it!
Underwater Rugby (UWR) is a relatively new sport to NZ but was started in Germany back in the '60s. The basic concepts are:
all play happens below the surface of the water (dive well - 3.5 - 5m deep)
equipment required: mask, snorkel, fins, water polo cap (to distinguish the teams), oh, and togs are a good idea too! (the only people in the pool with tanks are referees - sometimes)
the ball is filled with heavily salted water - so it sinks (but not like a stone)
ball carrier can be grabbed etc. but MUST be let go as soon as they let go of the ball (in case they need to breath)
to score you have to put the ball inside a basket at the end of the pool
six players per team (with rolling substitutes)
Where: West Wave, Alderman Drive, Henderson
When: meet by the dive well 7:45 pm Sunday nights (pool booked 8pm - 9pm)
Cost: first night free - $10 per night after that
Despite the "youth" of the sport we have played our first test against Australia - which we won 3 - 1.
As it looks like I cannot attach a pdf here follow this link to the Auckland Universty dive club website to read an article I wrote for NZ Spearo magazine
http://akunidive.com/2009/07/20/underwater-rugby-2/ Thanks to Ali Perkins for posting the pdf there.
Go buy the magazine if you are at all interested in Free-diving or spearfishing - it is a good read and each issue includes a great section on free-diving with contributions from Fran Rose, Kathryn McPhee and other world-class free-divers.
UWR sounds harder than it really is - check out this video shot late last year at West Wave:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKFJirV5voEALSO:
I am doing a few presentations at dive clubs on UWR and would be happy to come and talk, show the video etc. if you have an interested group (in Auckland).
Contact me if you want more info and/or if you have a club that would like to challenge another club. We would be happy to give a little coaching and get the games set-up - either at our regular Sunday night pool session or, if you have a deepish pool (3.5m+ is best), we could bring along the gear.
(Could make for an interesting "end of dive course" experience for people - let them show who has snorkelling skills and who hasn't ).
