Members of Canada‘s national women’s underwater hockey team, who will go to Australia in July for the 2023 Underwater Hockey World Championships, are among the participants. Coach of the Canadian women’s team Darryl Brambilla has been involved in the sport for approximately three decades. He compares it to a cross between ice hockey and water polo.
We have forwards and defense guys, much like in ice hockey, stated Brambilla. We don’t always have a specialized goalie, but we do have defensemen that patrol the goal area and keep it safe.
Women’s Underwater Hockey Team
According to him, there are six players on each side, and they use a puck that is made of 3 pounds of lead and covered in hard plastic, about the size of a hockey puck in the NHL.
It makes it possible for it to slide smoothly on the top and bottom, he added. You drive the ball up and down the pool while passing it back and forth to your teammates in an attempt to score a goal at the other end of the pool.
We might descend for a maximum of 15 to 20 seconds, perform our duties, and then return and swim into position to prepare to descend again, according to Brambilla.
- Canada’s women’s underwater hockey team will go to Australia in July for the 2023 Underwater Hockey World Championships.
- A local underwater hockey team that Brambilla also coaches.
- Carden claims that through underwater hockey, she has found the community.
- The Team welcomes the newcomers at the Vancouver Aquatic Center
Twelve people make up the team, and five of them are from British Columbia. They are all members of Nova, a local underwater hockey team that Brambilla also coaches.
Submerged hockey has a lengthy history in British Columbia. In 1980, Vancouver hosted the first-ever world championships in the sport. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the postponement of the championships since 2018.
When you represent Canada on the pool deck, you get butterflies in your stomach, a lot of excitement, and a lot of pride from donning the Canadian jersey and sporting the maple leaf on your suit, according to Krickan.
Carden, who will be making her debut on the top team, says she is eager for the competition. Carden claims that through underwater hockey, she has found community. Additionally, she said, “I enjoy that aspect.”. It’s such a niche sport that I can go to any place in the world where hockey is played and someone will let me sleep on their sofa.
She claims that the activity makes her feel at home and that Tuesdays at the Vancouver Aquatic Center are open to newcomers.
