Sault Tridents: they shoot, they score underwater

Established in the 1970s, the Sault Tridents underwater hockey club continues to enjoy the sport twice a week at local swimming pools.

“The Sault Tridents Diving Club allowed us to use the Tridents name for our team. Our Sault team began to get really competitive by the late 70s, and into the 80s and 90s we always managed to get to at least the provincials and nationals. We’ve had a couple of our players compete at the worlds,” said Jack Rice, Sault Tridents team member in an interview with SooToday before a game at the John Rhodes Community Centre Pool.

Rice has competed at the provincial and national levels.

“I think the biggest reason why it’s not widely followed is because it’s not a spectator sport. Everything happens underwater. The only time you really see the sport is when you get to a national or world championship and they’ll have a camera set up in the pool.”

Though not widely followed, the sport is played in 40 countries around the world.

“It’s not as popular a sport in North America as it is elsewhere. In Australia, New Zealand and South Africa it’s played quite a bit, a lot more than it is here. It’s played quite extensively in the U.K. I’ve played in the U.K. and they have quite the league there. During any week there are at least six to eight games going on and they’re quite competitive with some really good teams,” Rice said.

Underwater hockey was invented in England in the 1950s and was called ‘Octopush.’

An underwater hockey team attempts to move a puck across the bottom of a swimming pool into the opposing team's goal - a long metal trough at the bottom of the pool - by pushing the puck with hockey sticks.

The size of the playing area is typically 75 feet (22 metres) in length, 45 feet wide (13 metres) in width and played in water seven to 10 feet (two to three metres) in depth. 

There are six players to a side - with no goalies - with four substitutes at poolside. The puck has a lead middle and is covered with a teflon outer ring, weighing about four pounds (1.8 kilograms). The sticks - at one time made of wood - are now made of composite material and are 10 inches (27 centimetres) in length.

A game consists of two 15-minute halves with a three minute half-time.

The game is played with snorkels, masks and fins. Though officially a limited-contact sport, players are required to wear headgear, gloves and a mouthguard.

“Locally we basically just scrimmage,” Rice said, though the team still competes at tournaments.

“We play two nights a week, Mondays at the YMCA from  seven-thirty to eight-thirty and Thursday at the Rhodes from nine to ten. The Rhodes pool is obviously a bigger pool where we get more competitive. The Y has a shallow pool so we call our night at the Y our junior night where we encourage younger players to come out and give it a try at a smaller pool. When we get to the Rhodes it’s a good scrimmage. When we start working up to a tournament we’ll split the teams up so that the members that are going away as a team will play together and get them ready for a tournament. That happens three or four times a year at least.”

There are currently 18 active members on Tridents team.

Some of the team’s members are currently planning to compete in a tournament in London, Ontario later this month.

“In a tournament you’ll play six games in a day and they’re quite intensive,” Rice said.

Typically, Trident scrimmages at the YMCA or the Rhodes pools last for an hour.

“There are penalties just like any other sport. In a tournament you’ll have two referees in the water and two goal judges on either end. If you get called for a penalty you’ll have to sit two minutes out. It’s a limited contact sport so you can get a penalty for grabbing somebody, hooking somebody or if you play the puck with any part of your body instead of just your stick,” Rice said.

“We used to make the sticks ourselves out of wood but now we use composite sticks like you would have in ice hockey,” said Rice, whose own stick is made in New Zealand and customized for his own grip.

Games can take place in the shallow or deep ends of a pool but Rice said he enjoys playing in the deep end.

“Some people think the deep end is a disadvantage. It’s actually not because you have more room to play with. It’s not as crowded. I can hold my breath longer and I have bigger fins so I can swim a little faster. In the shallow end it starts getting tight and physical."

“I’ve been in the sport since I was 12,” said Rice, now a retiree.

“I was swimming at the Y and one of the guys there said ‘why don’t you come out and play hockey?’ and the next thing I knew we were playing four nights a week, then going on to provincials and nationals. These people have been my friends for a long time and now their kids have come into the sport so it’s like one big family. From a sports perspective, I love water. I love swimming, diving, boating, so for me the water is a big factor.”

Underwater hockey players need to be in good physical shape but the Tridents are inviting healthy newcomers of any age to take the plunge and try the sport.

“Usually around 12 is a good age to start. I know one player in southern Ontario who is about 70,” Rice said.

The team plays throughout the year.

“We’re always looking for people who want to give it a try. We love it when people come out and we have extra equipment for people who want to try it out. Once they get used to it they get hooked and buy their own equipment,” Rice said.

Anyone interested in giving underwater hockey a try can contact the Sault Tridents team through its social media page.

Photos and videos of underwater hockey players in action can also be found on that page.

“They can come on out and if they just want to look and watch they can. They don’t have to jump in the pool at first. They can just watch, and then get in the pool and slowly work their way into it," Rice said.

"The nice part about it is that it’s a safe sport. You’re not going to get hurt in it. Tournaments can get a little bit dicey because it gets really competitive but that’s provincials, nationals and the worlds but any play we do here locally is not intense.”