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Registrations open for Australian Fin Swimming Championships

April 29, 2013 by

Freediver underwater diving with monofin during freediving competition in London UK

The 2013 Fin Swimming Championships will be held in Sydney on the 7th and 8th of September 2013.

Underwater Hockey, Spearfishing, and Scuba AUF members are invited to participate.

Events include: Mono fin and Duo fin events as well as 100m, 400m and 800m SCUBA events.

There is also a suggestion of putting up a sports trophy for the winning sport.

The event offers a good opportunity to test speed and breath hold events.

Winners of events will receive medals and will be eligible to set/break records.

Expressions of interest would be appreciated by June 30th. Entry forms must be returned by 7 August 2013.

For more information please contact the Ozfin President Helen Lane.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: ,

Advice for players experiencing ongoing respiratory symptoms from Nationals

February 11, 2013 by

The advice below has been provided by Sandra Milner. Sandra is the Australian Team Manager and a GP.

Dear Players,

As some of you are aware, issues with the Aquatic Centre ventilation system at Nationals resulted in some players sufferring asthma like symptoms of cough, tightness in the chest, problems breathing that was releaved by asthma medications (ventolin/symbicort).

Most people have not experienced ongoing symptoms since the competition but some people have. I have discussed this with a specialist and this is his recommendation:

The ongoing symptoms may have been due to the exposure in the pool but may also be due to a respiratory infection at the same time as pools with large competitions are a great breeding ground for such infections. All players who have ongoing symptoms should see their GPs and explain the events and have examination, swabs for RSV, influenza and petussis, a CXR and lung function tests. Treatment as appropriate to findings and if symptoms persist a referral to a local respiratory physician.

Please do not just put it off as there may be medication that will help. If your GP would like to ring me the best time is Tuesday/Wed and Friday when I am at work on 03 62641666 and ask for Dr Sandra WARD.

Sandra

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2013 Australian Teams Announced

February 7, 2013 by

The 2013 Australian Underwater Hockey teams were selected at the recent Australian Underwater Hockey Championships.

The teams will participate in the 2013 CMAS World Underwater Hockey Championships to be held in Eger, Hungary in August.

The teams and squads were named as follows:

Team Officials

  • Sandra Milner (Manager)
  • Nick Stepkovitch (Team Physiotherapist)

U19 Women

2013 Australian U19 Women's Underwater Hockey team. Photo by Jack Robert-Tissot.

2013 Australian U19 Women’s Underwater Hockey team. Photo by Jack Robert-Tissot.

  • Tori Wickham (Captain)
  • Claudia Payne (Vice Captain)
  • Romy Keppel
  • Olivia Sanderson
  • Briody Hilder
  • Tate Strudwick
  • Meg Pardoe
  • Sunny Pascoe-Thompson
  • Caitlyn Smart
  • Jackie Connell
  • Nina Barry-Macaulay (Coach)

U19 Men

2013 Australian Men's U19 Underwater Hockey team. Photo by Jack Robert-Tissot.

2013 Australian U19 Men’s Underwater Hockey team. Photo by Jack Robert-Tissot.

  • Josh MacKenzie (Captain)
  • Jayden Skinner
  • Tom Milner
  • Richard Cleary
  • Declan Hilder
  • Jared Magill
  • Toby Bond
  • Hayden Wenman
  • Cameron Lewis
  • Ben Stepkovitch
  • Steve Cleary (Coach)

U23 Men

2013 Australian U23 Men's Underwater Hockey team. Photo by Jack Robert-Tissot.

2013 Australian U23 Men’s Underwater Hockey team. Photo by Jack Robert-Tissot.

  • Mitch Piccoli (Captain)
  • Matt Paine (Vice Captain)
  • Callum Wishart
  • Harry van der Woude
  • Russell George
  • Alex Barnes -Keoghan
  • James Milner
  • Rhys Milburn
  • Shannon Griffiths
  • Matt McCartney
  • Cameron Moylan
  • Pat Meaney
  • David Sutcliffe (Coach)

Women

2013 Australian Women's Underwater Hockey team. Photo by Jack Robert-Tissot.

2013 Australian Women’s Underwater Hockey team. Photo by Jack Robert-Tissot.

  • Belinda Keeley (Captain)
  • Lena Plambeck
  • Lisa Smith
  • Kirsteen Reid
  • Kate Howard
  • Amy Barry-Macaulay
  • Camille White
  • Eliza Game
  • Hannah Robert-Tissot
  • Fiona Walsh
  • Alice van der Woude
  • Marie Tousignant
  • Katelyn Tenbensel (Reserve)
  • Zoe Canavan (Reserve)
  • David Lambert (Coach)

Elite Men (training squad)

2013 Australian Men's Underwater Hockey team. Photo by Jack Robert-Tissot.

2013 Australian Men’s Underwater Hockey team. Photo by Jack Robert-Tissot.

  • Blake Sutcliffe (Captain)
  • Nick Martyn (Vice Captain)
  • Craig Thomas
  • Jack Robert-Tissot
  • Nick Yong
  • James Rossiter
  • Luke Rector
  • Gavin Wise
  • Dwayne Stinson
  • Jace Miezis
  • Tom Miller
  • Stewart Parkinson
  • Rees Quilford
  • Arni Piccoli (Coach)

Women’s Masters (training squad)

2013 Australian Women's Masters Underwater Hockey team. Photo by Jack Robert-Tissot.

2013 Australian Women’s Masters Underwater Hockey team. Photo by Jack Robert-Tissot.

  • Natalie Wickham (Captain)
  • Claire Forward
  • Julia Foulkes
  • Stephanie Goodrick
  • Julia Slotwinski
  • Jan Tyler
  • Janet Meyer
  • Nix Arryo
  • Eden Brown (Coach)

Men Masters

2013 Australian Men's Masters Underwater Hockey team. Photo by Jack Robert-Tissot.

2013 Australian Men’s Masters Underwater Hockey team. Photo by Jack Robert-Tissot.

  • Greg Stinson
  • Derek Dufall
  • John Bridley
  • Patrick Kelley
  • Dave Sutcliffe
  • Greg Bush
  • John Sutcliffe
  • Simon Talbot
  • Phil Ackerman
  • Craig MacKenzie (Coach)
Filed Under: Competitions, International, Juniors, Masters, Men, News, Teams, U19s, U23s, Women Tagged With:

Vale Sharon Davies

November 16, 2012 by

It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the passing of a valued member of the Australian Underwater Hockey community. Sharon Davies passed away this morning after a long and hard fought battle with cancer.

Sharon was a passionate Underwater Hockey player and made an enormous contribution to the sport of Underwater Hockey in Victoria and Australia. She had numerous roles on the Victorian committee and was the organisation’s long-standing Public Officer. Many will know Sharon from her involvement with True Blue. Over the past few years, Shaz kitted out players and tournaments across the nation with quality sticks, gloves and pucks. Quick with a laugh and a joke, Sharon’s friendly face was a constant at the Monash pool or wherever a game was to be found.

I was lucky to have worked for Sharon and her husband, Peter, for more than three years. I knew Sharon to be a dedicated mother, wife and friend. She worked hard, rarely complained and was always generous with her time. Despite the inordinate hardship and adversity she faced in the past few years Sharon always managed to smile. She will be sadly missed.

The thoughts of the Australian Underwater Hockey community go out to Sharon’s daughters: Sandra, Lisa, Nicole and Amber. Our condolences also go to her extended family and friends.

- Rees Quilford

Filed Under: News Tagged With:

Underwater Hockey in the Olympics?

October 11, 2012 by

By Zoe Canavan

Representing your country in the sport you love is an incredible achievement and should make you immensely proud. But representing your country at the Olympic Games is a whole different level of achievement. Participating in the Olympics is the highest competitive level for many sports and is the dream for any athlete. Unfortunately for us Underwater Hockey players, the World Championships is the pinnacle of our sport.

Underwater Hockey in the Olympics?

Not to detract from the elite level of competition at the World Championships or the commitment required to participate, but the Olympics is a whole different level. Every four years the world comes together to support their countrymen and to recognise the great sacrifices that sportsmen and women make in order to live their Olympic dream.

During the 2012 Olympics, I continually asked myself and other players: ‘how is UWH not in the Olympics?’ I constantly questioned the placement of particular sports in the Olympics over UWH. With the help of CANAM Underwater Hockey Gear, I asked UWH players across the world for their opinions on what needed to be done in order to get UWH its well-deserved spot in the Olympics. Players had many suggestions, some practical and others simply for a laugh.

In order for a sport to be in the Olympics there are many hoops to jump through. Basically, if it is played across the world with a high level of competitors and public awareness and meets a number of criteria set out by the International Olympic Committee, then a sport may be added to the Olympic programme.

Firstly, and most importantly, the sport must be recognised worldwide and have a high level of participation. A sport has a higher chance of inclusion in the Olympics if the IOC determines it is widely practiced around the world. They determine this through the number of countries and continents that regularly compete. One great suggestion from my online poll was to get all players registering with their federations in order to get official statistics.

The lack of publicity that UWH receives was a hot favourite in my online poll. A suggestion to do this was for countries to push media outlets for more stories to lift awareness. In today’s world there are many different avenues for spreading the word.

To be in the Olympics, the sport must be recognised and have an International Federation which ensures it follows the Olympic Charter. This federation must have the capability of stepping in and overseeing the sport’s Olympics events. Technically speaking, UWH would fall under the ‘Aquatics’ banner at the Olympics so it would be managed by the International Swimming Federation. Therefore the first step seems to be getting UWH under their management.

A significant problem for UWH is the difficulty for spectators. There were many suggestions to make UWH more spectator friendly on the online poll. Improved underwater filming is one of them. The 2012 Olympics had extensive underwater shots in the swimming so it is obviously that being submerged is not a problem in that aspect. There are players across the world that are constantly playing around with different filming techniques. Cameras attached to a player’s mask, fixed cameras in different areas of the pool and even roving cameras are just a few of them.

One of the more impractical, but highly imaginative, suggestions was to have a pool with glass walls. Spectators could surround the pool and get a first-hand view. Combine this with improved camera set-up and UWH instantly becomes something that people can watch.

There were some responses to the online poll that should be noted due to their creativity and the smile they brought. They were: mermaid cheerleaders, an underwater circus show at half time and dolphin referees.

The online poll proved that having UWH as an Olympic sport is a wish of many, if not all, players and there are many ideas of how to make it happen. However, in order for it to truly happen it has to be a worldwide effort. One country cannot do all the leg work. We must work together in order to achieve this goal by encouraging players to register and promoting UWH at every opportunity so that the public can learn to love this crazy sport as much as we do.

See also:

 

Filed Under: News Tagged With: , , ,

Queensland Underwater Hockey Titles 2012

September 28, 2012 by

By Marc Richards, CUA President & Co-Convenor

Cairns Underwater Association LogoThe Cairns Underwater Association Inc. (CUA) was this year’s host of the Queensland State Titles, held in brilliant sunshine at the Woree Olympic Pool on the Saturday 15th September. Of the five teams that competed three travelled from the state’s southeast corner providing the mostly inexperienced local Cairns’ side much needed insight into competitive play, techniques and game fitness. The fifth team was a Barbarians side made up of players from Brisbane, Cairns and other competing teams. Unfortunately Townsville players were unable to attend and there was a missed chance to contest the northern interclub cup.


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The 30 minute per game in a single round robin format provided four hard fought games for each team with time after the last official game for the ladies to have a training game together.

A barbeque lunch was prepared by Nicola and her friends & family and a buffet dinner with presentation at Trumpy’s motel restaurant capped off the one day event.

The Tweed Gold Coast Free Divers – Bullrouts team dominated the competition and took out the trophy for the 13th time and were lead by their captain Karl Paton and other multiple Title winners including Ian Brown, Lee Thomas and James Rossiter.

Individual trophies were presented to each winning team member and each team captain.

The CUA wishes to thank the players, referees, visiting teams and Russell Cox (UWH Commissioner) for making this event possible. The Titles may prove a boosting to Cairns UWH and above all firing an urge amongst local players to engage if further competitions.

As co-convenor I sincerely wish to thank Warren Hughes for a job well done as well as the other supporting organisers Nicola. Larnie, Trumpy, Julie, Matt Mason and of course my fellow club players.

Game results

Toowoomba (0) v Gold Coast (23)
Morayfield (6) v Barbarians (3)
Cairns (0) v Gold Coast (18)
Toowoomba (2) v Morayfield (8)
Cairns (11) v Barbarians (2)
Gold Coast (22) v Morayfield (0)
Cairns (8) v Morayfield (2)
Barbarians (13) v Toowoomba (3)
Cairns (10) v Toowoomba (4)
Barbarians (0) v Gold Coast (21)

Final standings

  1. Gold Coast
  2. Cairns
  3. Morayfield
  4. Barbarians
  5. Toowoomba
Filed Under: Competitions, Local, News Tagged With: , , , ,

Underwater Hockey at ODEX

September 14, 2012 by

By Ron Brear

The Underwater Hockey stall at ODEX 2012

The Underwater Hockey stall at ODEX 2012

For those of you who are out of the loop, ODEX is the Oceania Dive Travel and Water sports Expo.

I arrived early on Saturday morning to stall 41, it was a barren bit of steel and black velcro standing empty on the pool deck overlooking the tranquil waters of the main competition pool at Homebush Aquatic centre. As I stood at the stall and looked to the left and right, there were people from an array of watery backgrounds beginning to fill their equivalently empty stalls with colour and paraphernalia to send the senses running.

Stewart Parkinson soon appeared with the skills learnt from a father in the political game, he knew what was required to sell a sport. With his advisers, Andrew Dunlop and Ben Stepkovitch close at hand, the stall quickly began to outclass those of the big travel diving companies. Before I knew it, I was looking at a sleek plasma screen playing DVD’s of underwater hockey, next to it an array of hockey paraphernalia ready to be picked up and touched, however the most eye catching of all was the new banner designed by Jason Beck from Newcastle. It could be seen from just about anywhere in the exhibition. It was an eye catching beacon to anybody remotely interested in the sport.

I assisted with the setup of the stall, but soon became bored of Stewart’s incessant Underwater Hockey talk, and quietly snuck away. I wandered the stalls of exhibition, entering any competition I could find to win fantastic prizes. There were people promoting all sorts of gear, trips and organisations, and it was great to see the passion that is out there for the oceans and water sports. I soon stumbled across a stall offering trials of equipment. I had always wanted to try a monofin, and I finally got my chance at being a merman. I jumped in the pool, slipped my soapy feet into the foot pockets of an oversized fibreglass monofin, and was off with incredible speed and power.

As I dried off after my swim, I wandered back to the stall to find a merry crew of devoted underwater hockey volunteers selling the great sport. Over the course of the weekend I counted over a dozen volunteers from around Australia, but predominantly people from Wollongong, Sydney and Newcastle giving their free time. Once changed it was my turn to sell the sport to passing patrons. With a friendly ‘g’day’ and a quick off the cuff intro, I managed to get the details of a couple of possible future stars.

Rees (the National Representative of Underwater Hockey) made an appearance at lunchtime. The poor fellow looked like he’d just been recaptured after making an escape from a life sentence in prison. With his tired eyes, sombre expression, and gnarly beard he was locked up for the day in a marathon AUF general meeting. The time put into the event by Stewart, Rees and other AUF members in the organising of stalls was greatly appreciated by all involved.

The finale of the weekend was the exhibition match. Unfortunately we couldn’t get the game on the big screen, and given it was in the 3m pool it was tough for new players to get involved. However, it was fantastic when a couple of Underwater Rugby players jumped in and gave it an authentic crack.

Over the course of the weekend, over 40 people’s contact details ended up on the email list, eager for more information on upcoming events. The sport was sold to hundreds more passers by, who are sure to go home and tell their friends and families about this strange and intriguing new sport they heard about.

Underwater Hockey Australia and the NSW Underwater Hockey Commission would like to thank the following people for giving their time to the sport over the weekend.

Stewart Parkinson, Ben Stepkovitch, Rees Quilford, Andrew Dunlop, Billy Hodgetts, Jane Gilligan, Catalina Chica, Ron Brear, Molly Martin, Connar Martin, Giulia Risorto, Phil Ackerman, Julia Foulkes, Kerrie Hammond, Edwin Kwan, Hannah Robert-Tissot and Nick Martin.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: , , , , ,

Bon Voyage

September 10, 2012 by

By Ron Brear

Lena Plambeck is leaving her rightful home of New South Wales and moving to the dark side to join the ranks of the mighty Black and Gold Hockey players of Western Australia. Lena is well known in the Hockey community as a woman of tough love, conviction, self discipline and mechanical, in-depth logical analysis of underwater Hockey games.

What you may not know is the amount of behind the scenes work that Lena does for the sport of Underwater Hockey, not just in NSW but for the whole of Australia. Lena is an integral part of the planning for the Wollongong Underwater Hockey 4′s, State Championships and Nationals. People involved in running competitions know how much is involved in the preparation and running of the competitions, the array of tasks include things such as game draws, organising referees, booking pools, communicating with clubs, preparing competition booklets, updating by-laws, member updates, being an information hub… and the list goes on. Lena has completed many of these tasks time and time again as a representative of NSW Underwater Hockey for some 20 years (on and off – a non-committal stint in WA saw her return to NSW – as predicted in the future). The amount of time, energy and love for the game that has been put in over this period is phenomenal and it will be genuinely missed by NSW Underwater Hockey and its members.

NSW Underwater Hockey sends out a huge thank you hug and sloppy kisses and wishes you the best for the future. We are sure you will love the warm weather and good quality Hockey in Perth.

A farewell was held for Lena on Sunday the 9th of September in Wollongong. For all her hard work she has been promised a night of fun and games with free massages from Ryan Heckenberg, body shot from Ron Brear and full involvement from everyone gathered at the event in party games of her choice. Kids are welcome to the event but they may be mentally scarred.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: ,

Roughing it up with Underwater Rugby

August 15, 2012 by

By Ron Brear

Sydney Underwater Hockey club, namely Catalina Perez and Francis Yanga, organised a fantastic learn-to-play Underwater Rugby night with the University of NSW underwater rugby club. This was a great cross promotion of our fantastic sport. It was just another regular Wednesday night and we had an outstanding representation with a dozen underwater Hockey players from Wollongong and Sydney turning up with energy bubbling out of their eyes. Eamon McCormack was the devil reincarnated with long breath holds, smooth moves and rough tactics on the goals. Sydney Hockey are continuing to talk to the club and teeing up some nights for the Rugby players to come along to Hockey. Thanks Catalina and Francis for your efforts.

Filed Under: Competitions, Local, News Tagged With: ,

NSW State Titles 2012

August 15, 2012 by

By Ron Brear, NSW Underwater Hockey Commission President

Underwater Hockey game during the NSW State Titles 2012

The NSW Underwater Hockey Commission held its state championships at Ryde Aquatic Centre on the 12th of August. The competition had excellent attendance with players coming from Wollongong, Canberra, Sydney, Newcastle and even an Australian UWH Delegates team from all over the country. NSW underwater hockey would like to thank all the players for the fantastic spirit and goodwill that was felt in all the games that promoted a fun and enjoyable atmosphere.

All the teams played each other once providing a good amount of game time and an even competition for all involved. Congratulations to Sydney on narrowly winning the Competition and becoming the new state champions. Their consistent quality hockey got them over the line.

Newcastle Underwater Hockey also deserves a round of applause. They are a new club that only started 6 months ago, they turned up to the pool with fire in their eyes and hunger for gold in their bellies. At the end of the competition their hunger wasn’t filled but the fire was still there. They ended up with the bronze but they are sure to be a force in years to come.

Lastly I would like to thank the generous volunteers for their time and effort in making the competition happen: Andy Davies, Lena Plambeck, Phil Ackerman, Graham Woody, Andrew Dunlop and Jason Beck.

Final Standings

  1. Sydney Underwater Hockey club
  2. Wollongong Underwater Hockey club
  3. Newcastle Underwater Hockey club
Filed Under: Competitions, Local, News Tagged With: , , , , ,
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