It's hockey, but without the yelling from the sidelines or turf beneath your feet. Sophie Bond tries a new twist on a popular sport.
The hardest thing is clearing my snorkel with one swift puff. Then there's the difficulty of holding my breath in a swirling assault of limbs and flippers. All this beforeI even have a stick in my hand and a fluorescent puck to shunt around.
I've jumped into the Glen Innes pool during a training session of the under-23 New Zealand women's underwater hockey team members, who are off to the Netherlands this week for the Age Group World Championships.
I'm feeling cold and clumsy in my flippers, and intimidated by the speed with which the players zoom about under the surface.
Underwater hockey has six players on each side. A game lasts 30 minutes. It is played in water 2m to 3m deep in a court measuring 25m by 15m.
Team captain Rachel Arbuckle is patiently teaching me the basics. The 21-year-old student, who has been playing for eight years, says she hated swimming lessons at school.
"I preferred just playing around underwater and I was always getting told off by the teacher for mucking about," she says.
"Then I saw a photo of this sport and thought I wanted to try it."
She kits me out with a rubber glove and a short stick and I practise shunting the heavy puck along the bottom of the pool while trying to stop myself from floating to the surface. Exhausted, I blow bubbles to one side while the other girls demonstrate the game.
It's fast and furious and I can see why they all have bruised arms, although Rachel tells me it's supposed to be a non-contact sport.
The players train six times in the pool each week and have three gym sessions.
The girls have been doing individual fundraising for months and are having a last-minute poolside discussion about whether pucks and sticks will be allowed in their carry-on baggage.
Rachel and vice-captain Paige Moran were part of the under-19 team which travelled to South Africa for the 2008 world champs.
"We won gold," says Paige, "and we're hoping to win again this year."
She says good competition at high-school level means New Zealand is a strong contender in the under-19 and under-23 age groups.
All seven Aucklanders in the 12-woman squad also coach high-school teams.
"You don't even need to be a good swimmer to play," says Paige, "you just need to be able to use a snorkel and be happy in the water."
Dutch courage
The New Zealand under-19 and under-23 teams - both men and women - will be at the Underwater Hockey Age Group World Championships in the Netherlands July 9- 16. Games will be streamed live at www.agegroupuwh.com
Fast and furious in the swim
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