By Chris Wenman
About the club
Margaret River Underwater Hockey Club is a great place to play, with high game standards and a great bunch of people young and old. The club is now an Incorporated club and is active in funding applications to help maintain and update equipment available, particularly for the juniors to use. The club has a fantastic relationship with the staff at the Margaret River Recreation and Aquatic Centre.
We started about 12 years ago when Clare Forward moved into town. Clare, along with about five or six other like minded bodies formed the club and started playing at the Margaret River Recreation and Aquatic Centre. The pool has a liner surface, which saw the club come under intense scrutiny in previous years when the game was blamed as the cause of damage to the liner. Eventually the game of underwater hockey was found not to be the reason for any damage, and the club started gathering momentum with new players regularly showing up for the weekly game.
In the last two years the club has transformed into one of the strongest sporting bodies in Margaret River, having a senior membership of about 50 and a junior membership of about 30.
Club nights
Games are played three nights per week:
- Mondays 6pm – 8.00pm (open game)
- Wednesdays 6pm – 7pm (ladies only)
- Wednesdays 7pm – 8.15pm (open game)
- Fridays 5pm – 6pm (juniors)
- Fridays 6pm – 7pm (open game)
Teams are formed on the night and played in a 3-3 format, most nights see full teams with interchange players available.
The highlight of the year is without doubt the Margaret River Rumble, a tournament open to any players from anywhere! All players are placed in a pool (pardon the pun!), and teams are formed. The comp is usually followed with a presentation and curry feast.
The players range in age from 8 years old to mid fifties. The club currently has four 8 year olds that play every Friday, they are all budding stars in the making, pool depth of 1.9m no challenge! The oldest player would be Gary Gibbon, the clubs’ treasurer.
The Committee
- Mark Nathan, the elusive President
- Chris Wenman, secretary
- Gary Gibbon, treasurer
- Clare Forward, general do everythinger!
Representative players
The club currently has four Australian Under 19 representatives:
- Hayden Wenman (17yrs) – Mens, half back
- Tate Strudwick (14yrs) – ladies, centre- Captain
- Sunny Pasco (16yrs) – ladies, wing
- Meg Pardoe (17yrs) – ladies, wing
Club players that represented Western Australia in the 2012 Australian National Underwater Hockey Championships:
- Country Masters Team
- Mark Nathan
- Chris Wenman
- Gene Hardy
- Gareth Mann
- Pat Kelly
- Mark Lee
- Mens Elite
- Jason Miezis
- Women:
- Clare Forward
- Sunny Hardy
- Jasmine Mann
- U/19 Juniors:
- Hayden Wenman
- Zephyr Morris
- Sunny Pasco
- Meg Pardoe