“I dont want to scare you,” warns Meyan Aclan, 2005 Batch Head of the Philippine Underwater Hockey Confederation (PUHC). “But accidents do happen, as in any sport. If the fins on the heel of your opponent hit you in the face, you’re at the risk of getting your nose broken.

“And when you’re new, you get hurt a lot.”

Mayan is speaking of the same sport described in Wikipedia as a ‘non-contact sport’. She’s speaking of the same game which combines swimming, skin diving, and ice hockey in one; the same water sport bound to explode with its rapidly growing popularity in the metro. She’s speaking of the amazingly intense fitness activity which, in her own words, has “steam literally coming out of my head and a tremendous amount of sweat given off even while in the water.”

Underwater hockey, folks. And it is, literally and figuratively speaking, perhaps the coolest and most breath-taking sport of all.

Meyan is only one of the many increasing die-hards of underwater hockey in the Philippines. “Octopush”, as the sport is also called in other countries, is a game played at the bottom of the swimming pool by two teams competing to maneuver a 3-lb. rubber-coated lead puck into the opponent’s three-meter, L-shaped metal goal. There is a world of difference between hockey on ice and underwater - aside, of course, from the length of the sticks and the playing field.

Granted, everything will seem to be in slow motion while under a pool. But it is in this very fact where the game’s real challenge lies. No player can hold his or her breath forever, and as such, underwater hockey forces one to constantly rise to the surface of the pool during gameplay. As Meyan asserts, “Timing is very important. You need to know when to be at the bottom of the pool and when to be on the surface. You have to be able to hold your breath, handle the puck, protect it, and think - all at the same time. Of course, it is also essentially a team sport.”

More Filipinos than ever are starting to take notice. PUHC was born sixteen years ago, and now it is fully recognized by the Philippine Olympic Committee and an affiliate of the Philippine Sports Commission. There are also affiliates in Bacolod, Angeles City, and Davao, and games are now being played regularly at the pools in La Salle Greenhills, PhilSports Arena (formerly ULTRA), and the AFP Armypool in Fort Bonifacio. “It’s for everyone - you don’t even have to be a good swimmer in order to play underwater hockey. You just need to be comfortable in the water,” Meyan notes. “When you start, it’s a little frustrating because your movement can be awkward. But regardless of strength or size or speed, you’ll soon learn to position yourself, adjust with your team, use the fins, and maybe even make the puck fly.”

This learning process is a beauty to behold. As Meyan and her team put on their gear by the ULTRA swimming poolside, the evening grows cold and breezy. But the players brave the eight o’clock chill. As the action commences underneath, one is treated to an aquarium’s view of sorts - athletes turn and flip and move with poetic gracefulness. Indeed, the sport is poetry in riveting underwater motion. And in much the same manner, this reflects what’s in store for PUHC and their shared passion in the next several years.

“Hopefully, with our training - fitness, endurance, and game - we can join the World Championships next year. Filipinos, after all, are blessed with the potential to become very good underwater hockey players. So I wouldn’t be surprised if the sport becomes really big here.”

The rest of the country wouldn’t be, either. And that’s withstanding Wikipedia and broken nose anecdotes.

For more information on underwater hockey and the PUHC, visit the official website at http://www.puhc.com.ph/, or contact Nikki Navarro via phone (0917-8902330).

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