Tauranga underwater hockey athletes are proving they have what it takes to stand out from the rest of the world in their sport. A group of eight Tauranga underwater hockey players have competed at the Age Group Underwater Hockey World Championships in England. Adyn Ogle reports.
Underwater hockey: Tauranga players reflect on world title win
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Tauranga's Samantha Keene, Ariya Hongcherdchai and Katelyn Smith with the under-19 trophy at the Age Group Underwater Hockey World Championships in England. Photo / Supplied
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There were seven men's teams and Tauranga players Thomas Holden, Aiden Heath and Zac Howe played for the under-19 New Zealand men's team. Gareth Ward-Allen was part of the men's under-24 team that was third in the 11-team competition.
Keene says playing for her country for the first time was a great moment.
"It was pretty scary the first time, I didn't think I would make the team but it was a privilege. The first national anthem was a scary, because we can't sing. But I was very proud," Keene says.
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"The experience was really cool and playing against very different teams was great. They play lots of different formations and it was a great learning experience. We connected really well together. We had gone to numerous training camps and our coach got us to gel really well together."
New Zealand played Great Britain in their first game and Keane says they were not at their best.
"We were hyped but nervous but after a few pool games everyone played how they usually play. I developed way more as a player. I felt I stepped up way more and there were so many valuable skills to learn."
"The best part was how we grew hugely as a team. Our team was so new and we were underdogs. The games we played were so tight, it was amazing to see how we got better as we played more games. We were playing such high-level teams and we believed in ourselves and managed to do it."
Sharpe says as well as wanting to perform, there was the pressure of the world championships to deal with.
"I just tried to forget about it, that it was just another game and play to play my best. I tried to block out the stress and the pressure. We kept our positivity and we were always trying to lift each other up."
Tauranga players at Age Group Underwater Hockey World Championships:
NZ Men's under-24 (Bronze medal): Gareth Ward-Allen.
NZ Women's under-24 (Gold medal): Eloise Sharpe.
NZ Men's under-19 (Gold medal): Thomas Holden, Aiden Heath, Zac Howe.
NZ Women's under-19 (Gold medal): Katelyn Smith, Samantha Keene, Ariya Hongcherdchai.
