Underwater_hockey_in_Great_Britain
Underwater hockey in Great Britain
History and organisation of the sport in Great Britain
Underwater hockey in Great Britain was first played in Southsea, Hampshire where it was invented in 1954.[1] It is governed nationally by the British Octopush Association.
Underwater hockey was started in by Alan Blake in 1954. Blake was a founder-member of the then newly formed Southsea Sub-Aqua Club, he and other divers including John Ventham, Jack Willis, and Frank Lilleker first played this game in the Guildhall Baths in Portsmouth.[1][2] CMAS (the world governing body for underwater hockey) however, still states on its website that the sport originated with the Royal Navy in the same time period.
The first rules were tested in a 1954 two-on-two game and Alan Blake made the following announcement in the November 1954 issue of the British Sub-Aqua Club's then-official magazine Neptune: "Our indoor training programme is getting under way, including wet activities other than in baths, and our new underwater game "Octopush". Of which more later when we have worked out the details".[3]
The first underwater hockey competition was a three-way tournament between teams from Southsea, Bournemouth and Brighton underwater hockey clubs in early 1955. Southsea won, and are still highly ranked at national level today winning 20 out of 52 national championships, which have been played annually since 1969.[4]
Today there are 70 clubs registered with the British Octopush Association (68 British and 2 Irish).[5]
Underwater hockey is govererned nationally in Great Britain by the British Octopush Association (BOA) and has been since 1976. They were recognised as the official governing body for the sport a year later by the British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC), governing body for all sub-aqua sport in the United Kingdom, who also still govern the sport but to a limited extended. In 2013 the BOA affiliated itself to BSAC. The BOA runs the Great Britain national team at all levels and is responsible for major national competitions.[6][7]
Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland
Scotland and Wales have their own governing bodies for underwater hockey that work with the BOA, Scottish Underwater Hockey and Underwater Hockey Wales respectively. These organise regional competitions for the respective home nations and also run national teams. However the use of the Scottish and Welsh national teams is limited with the Great Britain side being favoured for the majority of competitions.[8][9][10][11]
Underwater hockey in Ireland operates as part of an all-Ireland basis. Therefore, the control in Northern Ireland is that of Comhairle Fo-Thuinn not the BOA.[12]
Together with Ireland's Comhairle Fo-Thuinn, Scottish Underwater Hockey and Underwater Hockey Wales organise the Cetic Cup for national teams of the three nations. The tournament began in 2022.
- Celtic Cup results
| Year | Venue | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 |   Haverfordwest |
 Scotland A |
Wales A |
 Ireland B |
Ireland A |
Wales B |
Scotland B |
[13] |
| 2023 |  Kirkwall |
Reformatted due to lack of competitors: Orkney (rep. Scotland) vs Limerick (rep. Ireland) |
[14] | |||||
| 2024 |  Limerick |
TBA | ||||||
Of the 68 British clubs associated with the BOA, 56 are English, 8 are Scottish, and 4 are Welsh. 10 of the 68 clubs are student clubs, these clubs are associated with the universities of Aberdeen, Bangor, Edinburgh, Lancaster, Liverpool, Oxford, Sterling, Plymouth, York, and Warwick. In addition, the BOA had three associated Irish clubs.[5]
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The BOA operates all major underwater hockey competitions in the UK including National Championships, Nautilus National League, Ladies National Championships, Junior National Championships, and Student Nationals.[15][16][17] Other minor underwater hockey competitions also run in the UK, both operated and operated independently of the BOA.
In the UK, the major of club competitions are mixed-sex.
Competitions are usually held at the John Charles Centre for Sport in Leeds or Ponds Forge in Sheffield.
National Championship
The national championships are a multi round tournament beginning with qualifiers after new year and the finals in late spring or early summer. The winners of the BOA national championships are:[18][19]
| 2020s | 2010s | 2000s | 1990s | 1980s | 1970s | 1960s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Nautilus Competition
The Nautilus competition is an annual national mini-league tournament held in the autumn. Winners are:[20][19]
| 2020s | 2010s | 2000s | 1990s | 1980s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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|
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Ladies Championship
The ladies only national championship is usually held in late winter or early spring. Winners are:[21][19]
| 2020s | 2010s | 2000s | 1990s | 1980s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Veterans Championship
In 2018, the BOA launched the veterans championship for player over 50, winners of the competition are:[19]
Student Nationals
British underwater hockey student national were formalised as a BOA event for the first time in 2020. Previous events were informally organised by participating universities, with one university hosting.[22][19] The first formal BOA student nationals was to be held at The Alan Higgs Centre in Coventry. Subsequent events have been held at John Charles Centre for Sport in Leeds. Winning universities are:[lower-alpha 1]
| 2020s | 2010s | 2000s |
|---|---|---|
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|
|
Junior Nationals
Junior nations is currently split into five age categories, the top category has varied through history and is currently an U-21s competition. Winners of the competitions are:[19]
U-21s
U-16s
U-14s
U-12s
U-10s
| 2020s |
|---|
|
Restart
A special one-off post COVID-19 restart tournament took place in August 2021 and was won by Southsea.[19]
The BOA currently operate elite, masters, under 24s, and under 19s teams for both the men's and women's Great Britain squads.[24] Training camps are usually held across one weekend in odd numbered months.[25]
Medal table
| [lower-alpha 2] | Men's Elite | Women's Elite | Men's Masters | Women's Masters | Men's U-24 | Women's U-24 | Men's U-19 | Women's U-19 | T | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
0 | 2009, 2011 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2002 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||||||
 |
1980, 1990 | 2 | 2013, 2018 | 2 | 1994, 1998, 2016 | 3 | 2006 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2004, 2006 | 2 | 2004, 2006 | 2 | 12 | ||
 |
1984, 2016, 2023 | 3 | 1994 | 1 | 1996, 1998, 2002 | 3 | 0 | 2019 | 1 | 2015 | 1 | 2017, 2019 | 2 | 0 | 11 | ||
| T | 5 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 26 | ||||||||
![[icon]](./File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion with: any medals prior to 2008. You can help by adding to it. (January 2022) |
| [lower-alpha 3] | Men's Elite | Women's Elite | T | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1985 | 1 | 1985, 1995, 2008, 2010 | 4 | 5 |
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2008, 2017 | 2 | 1993, 2019 | 2 | 4 |
|
1999, 2019 | 2 | 1997, 1999, 2001, 2017 | 4 | 6 |
| T | 5 | 10 | 15 | ||
| Event | Location |
|---|---|
| 1985 European Championships | Crystal Palace Aquatics Centre, London |
| 1993 European Championships | Ponds Forge, Sheffield |
| 2006 World Championships | |
| 2019 Junior World Championships |
- Blake, A. "Octopush: An original name invented on the same night as Octopush an original sport was invented". Archived from the original on 2020-08-14. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
- "First Underwater Swimming Gala". Portsmouth Evening News. 1955-03-15. p. 8. Retrieved 2021-10-26.
- "Round the Branches: It's Back to the Baths", Neptune Vol. 1 No. 3, November 1954. p. 10.
- "The British Octopush Association - History". Gbuwh.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2018-04-17. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
- Underwood, Cliff. "How the BOA was formed". British Octopush Association. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
- "Which sports do we recognise?". Sport England. Archived from the original on 20 May 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
- "Welsh Association of Sub Aqua Clubs". Welsh Association of Sub Aqua Clubs website. Welsh Association of Sub Aqua Clubs. 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
- "Octopush, Welcome to Underwater Hockey and WASAC". Welsh Association of Sub Aqua Clubs website. Welsh Association of Sub Aqua Clubs. 2009. Archived from the original on 17 December 2010. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
- "NGB websites:About us:Sport Wales-Chwaraeon Cymru". Sport Wales -Chwaraeon Cymru website. Sport Wales. 2010. Archived from the original on 13 December 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
- "Competitions". British Octopush Association. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
- "Welsh & Scottish Championships". British Octopush Association. Archived from the original on 21 August 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
- Underwood, Cliff. "UK OCTOPUSH COMPETITIONS". underwaterhockey-archive.com/. Archived from the original on 2 June 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
- "National Club Championships | the British Octopush Association". Archived from the original on 2022-01-11. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
- "Nautilus | the British Octopush Association". Archived from the original on 2022-01-11. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
- "Ladies National Club Championships | the British Octopush Association". Archived from the original on 2022-01-13. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
- "Competitions Info | the British Octopush Association". Archived from the original on 2022-01-11. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
- "Team GB | the British Octopush Association". Archived from the original on 2022-01-11. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
- "World Championship Results". 19 April 2012.
- "Octopush". The Observer. 1985-06-23. p. 39. Retrieved 2022-07-23.