5th World Age Group Championships August 2019
Five members of Rochdale Underwater Hockey Club have been doing their bit to get glory for Great Britain in the sport of underwater hockey.
Ella Tomlinson(15), Tiegan Alexander (18) and Isaac Rhodes-Dawson (17) got into the pool to take part in the 5th Age Group World Championships at Sheffield, which attracted teams from 13 Nations and was the first World Age Groups for all the Rochdale players.
Ella, has been playing for 6 years and regularly competes regionally for Manchester and nationally for Lancashire ladies, Tiegan has been playing for 7 years, and Isaac has been playing for 8 years and recently for Manchester A.
Rochdale Club coach Mick Hyde was also appointed assistant coach for the GB under 19 Mens team. Club coach Ian Tait was also involved in the organisation, management and support for the event.
Ella and Tiegan were part of the GB under 19 Women’s team which played against New Zealand, Columbia, France and South Africa. Other members of the GB teams came from as far afield as Orkney Islands and Plymouth. Their team got as far as the Bronze playoff’s just missing out on a medal after a hard fought game against France. Final score was GB 4 – France 6 with Ella scoring the fourth GB goal.
Isaac played for the GB under 19 Men’s team which played against the teams from New Zealand, Columbia, France, South Africa, Argentina, Portugal and Canada. They won a Silver medal after losing to New Zealand 8-2 with Isaac contributed one of the GB goals. It was an amazing Finals performance as NZ previously beat them 10-0 in the round robins,
Underwater hockey – also known as Octopush - is a team based sport, played with a plastic coated lead puck on the bottom of the swimming pool. The aim is to get the puck into the opponent's goal as players battle it out whilst holding their breath. The puck is moved using small bats approximately 30cms long, players wear a mask, snorkel and a pair of fins and are required to hold their breath while underwater and playing the puck. It is a great team sport requiring teamwork, fitness and and individual skills, and one of the only sports to be played in 3 dimensions. Competitive matches usually last 30 minutes.
The Tournament schedule allowed little time for rest as each team played twice a day between August 16 and 24, with some of the 207 matches starting as early as 8am.
Rochdale have club sessions for beginners aged 8 and over, every Thursday from 7:30pm at Oulder Hill Leisure Centre. Ring 01706 373967 to book a 4 week trial.