Underwater hockey in Australia

Underwater hockey has been played in Australia since 1966 and is played in most states and territories. As of September 2013, Australia has been very successful at the international level finishing in the top three 43 times including being the world champion in various divisions 23 times out of 53 appearances at 17 international events.

Victoria versus Western Australia at the 2004 Nationals in Tasmania, Australia.

History

Underwater hockey has been played in Australia since 1966. Its introduction is attributed to Norm Leibeck, an Australian who returned from Canada both with Marlene, his Canadian bride, and a recently-acquired knowledge of underwater hockey then known as Octopush. The first Australian Underwater Hockey Championships was held in 1975 at Margaret River, Western Australia as part of the Australian Skindiving Convention (now called the Australian Underwater Championships). A Women's division was added to the championships in 1981 and a Junior division commenced in 1990.[1][2][3]

Governance

The peak body is the Underwater Hockey Commission (known as Underwater Hockey Australia) of the Australian Underwater Federation (AUF). There are state commissions in all states and territories with the exception of the Northern Territory. Underwater hockey has a coaching stream as part of the AUF's coaching program in underwater sport with two levels being accredited with the Australian Government's National Coaching Accreditation Scheme (NCAS).[4][5]

Domestic competitions

Underwater hockey is played at venues in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia.[6] The national championships are held annually and as an event separate from the Australian Underwater Championships since 1994.[7][8]

As of 2017, the Australia nationals have six separate divisions based on age and gender – Under 15, Under 19 Mixed, Under 19 Women's, Masters, Elite Women's and Elite Men's.[9]

National team

Australia has played at world level since the inaugural world championship event in 1980 including hosting events in Brisbane during 1982, Adelaide during 1986 and Hobart during 2000. Australia did not send teams to the 15th CMAS World Championship in 2007 or to the 16th CMAS World Championship in 2009.[10][11][12]

Australia's placings in world championships
See also: Underwater Hockey World Championships
Year Championship Location event Men (M) Women (W) Masters W masters Under 19 Open M Under 19 W Under 19 M Under 23 W Under 23
1980 1st CMAS World Championship Canada Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada[13] 3 - - - - - - - -
1982 2nd CMAS World Championship Australia Brisbane, Australia[14] 1 1 - - - - - - -
1984 3rd CMAS World Championship United States Chicago, United States[15][16] 2 1 - - - - - - -
1986 4th CMAS World Championship Australia Adelaide, Australia[17] 2 1 - - - - - - -
1988 5th CMAS World Championship Netherlands Amersfoort, Netherlands[18] 1 3 - - - - - - -
1990 6th CMAS World Championship Canada Montreal, Quebec, Canada[19] 1 1 - - - - - - -
1992 7th CMAS World Championship New Zealand Wellington, New Zealand[20] 1 2 1 - - - - - -
1994 8th CMAS World Championship France Grand Couronne, France[21] 1 1 3 - - - - - -
1996 9th CMAS World Championship South Africa Durban, South Africa[22] 1 2 2 - - - - - -
1998 10th CMAS World Championship United States San José, United States[23] 3 2 4 - - - - - -
2000 11th CMAS World Championship Australia Hobart, Australia[24] 1 1 1 2 - - - - -
2002 12th CMAS World Championship CanadaCalgary, Alberta, Canada[25] 1 1 5 2 - - - - -
2004 13th CMAS World Championship New Zealand Christchurch, New Zealand[26] 2 3 2 2 3 - - - -
2006 14th CMAS World Championship United Kingdom Sheffield, United Kingdom[27][28] 4 1 6 - - - - - -
2008 1st WAA World Championships South Africa Durban, South Africa[29][30] 4 1 2 - 5 - - - -
2011 17th CMAS World Championship Portugal Coimbra, Portugal[31][32] 1 2 - - - - - - -
2013 18th CMAS World Championship Hungary Eger, Hungary[33] 3 4 1 1 - 4 4 2 -
2016 19th CMAS World Championship South Africa Stellenbosch, South Africa[34] 1 6 1 1 - - - - -

See also

References
  1. Quilford, R. (17 December 2007). "Breath-taking fun for anyone". The Age. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  2. "AUSTRALIAN UNDERWATER HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS". Underwater Hockey Australia. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  3. "The History of Underwater Hockey in Australia". BBC News. 11 September 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  4. Australian Underwater Federation. School Snorkelling Programme; Poole, Frank, 1938- (1985), Standards and procedures handbook / compiled by Frank Poole, Australian Underwater Federation{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. "SNORKELLING CURRICULUM DOCUMENTATION AND RISK MANAGEMENT PLANS". Sport Swimming And Aquatics Unit, South Australian Government Department of Education and Children's Services. February 2011. p. 10. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  6. "UNDERWATER HOCKEY AROUND AUSTRALIA". Underwater Hockey Australia. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  7. "AUSTRALIAN UNDERWATER HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS". Underwater Hockey Australia. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  8. "Australian Spearfishing Championship results 1953-2012". Australian Underwater Federation Spearfishing Commission. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  9. "AUSTRALIAN UNDERWATER HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIPS 2013 – HOBART, TASMANIA". Underwater Hockey Australia. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  10. "1st CMAS World Games Underwater Hockey Tournament Bari, Italy – 31st July to 4th August 2007". underwaterhockey-archive.com. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  11. "2nd CMAS WORLD GAMES UNDERWATER HOCKEY TOURNAMENT Kranj, Slovinia – 21st to 29th August 2009". underwaterhockey-archive.com. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  12. "KRANJ 16th CMAS UNDERWATER HOCKEY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP". CMAS. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  13. "1980 World Underwater Hockey Championship Finals – Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada". underwaterhockey-archive.com. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  14. "1982 World Underwater Hockey Championship Finals – Brisbane, Australia". underwaterhockey-archive.com. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  15. "1984 World Underwater Hockey Championship Finals – Chicago, United States Of America". underwaterhockey-archive.com. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  16. "UNDERWATER HOCKEY World titles won by Australian teams". The Canberra Times. 8 May 1984. p. 23. Retrieved 20 September 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. "1986 World Underwater Hockey Championship Finals – Adelaide, Australia". underwaterhockey-archive.com. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  18. "1988 World Underwater Hockey Championship Finals – Amersfoort, Netherlands". underwaterhockey-archive.com. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  19. "1990 World Underwater Hockey Championship Finals – Montreal, Quebec, Canada". underwaterhockey-archive.com. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  20. "1992 World Underwater Hockey Championship Finals – Wellington, New Zealand". underwaterhockey-archive.com. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  21. "1994 World Underwater Hockey Championship Finals – Amersfoort, Netherlands". underwaterhockey-archive.com. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  22. "1996 World Underwater Hockey Championship Finals – Durban, South Africa<". underwaterhockey-archive.com. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  23. "1998 World Underwater Hockey Championship Finals – San Jose, United States Of America". underwaterhockey-archive.com. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  24. "2000 World Underwater Hockey Championship Finals – Hobart, Australia". underwaterhockey-archive.com. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  25. "2002 World Underwater Hockey Championship Final – Calgary, Alberta, Canada". underwaterhockey-archive.com. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  26. "2004 World Underwater Hockey Championship FINAL – Christchurch, New Zealand, 22nd to 31st March 2004". underwaterhockey-archive.com. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  27. "2006 – 14th World Underwater Hockey Championship Final – Sheffield, United Kingdom 15th August to 24th August 2006". underwaterhockey-archive.com. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  28. "2006 CMAS Underwater Hockey World Championships, Sheffield, UK (Official Website)". 2006 World Championship Committee. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  29. "World Championship results". World Aquachallenge Association. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  30. "2008 – 15th World Underwater Hockey Championship (sic) Durban, Natal, South Africa. 25th April – 3rd May 2008". underwaterhockey-archive.com. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  31. "3rd CMAS World Underwater Hockey Games (17th World Championship) Elite Teams Tournament Coimbra, Portugal, 16th to 27th August 2011". underwaterhockey-archive.com. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  32. "17th Underwater Hockey World Championship". CMAS. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  33. "18th CMAS UWH World Championship 2013-Eger Results". Hungarian Divers Federation. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  34. "Final Results 19th CMAS Underwater Hockey World Championship. South Africa 2016". sportalsub.net. 2 April 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
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