Underwater ice hockey

Not to be confused with Underwater hockey.

Underwater Ice Hockey (also called Sub-aqua Ice Hockey) is a minor extreme sport that is a variant of Ice Hockey. It is played upside-down underneath frozen pools or ponds. Participants wear diving masks, fins and wetsuits and use the underside of the frozen surface as the playing area for a floating puck. Competitors do not use any breathing apparatuses, but instead surface for air every 30 seconds or so.

It is not to be confused with Underwater Hockey, in which the floor of a swimming pool and a sinking puck are used.

Origins

The idea for the sport is attributed to Christian Redl, an Austrian freediver who is notable for various world free-diving depth records under ice.[1][2]

Competition

The first Underwater Ice Hockey World Cup was held at Weissensee, Austria in February 2007.[3] Finland finished first, followed by Austria and Slovakia. The other playing nations were Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Slovenia. The second Underwater Ice Hockey World Cup was held in February 2013 at Weissensee, Austria with Austria winning the championship.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Realized projects". Christian Redl. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  2. ↑ derStandard.at GmbH "Hockey with wetsuit and flippers" Check |url= value (help). Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  3. ↑ Symes, Peter. "Try something different; Hockey Under Ice". X-Ray Mag. p. 60. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  4. ↑ "Austria wins 2nd Underwater Ice Hockey World Cup". Swimmer's Daily. Retrieved 4 March 2013.

External links


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