Basic Rules

Underwater hockey is an exciting, competitive, non-contact sport with an international following. It started in Southsea in 1954 and has grown steadily ever since. Underwater hockey, or octopush, is played in a in a swimming pool with a plastic coated lead puck. The teams use short pushers to move the puck and score by flicking it into the opposing goal. A quick overview of the rules :-

• 2 teams of 6 players in the water, 4 substitutes for each team on the poolside
• The sticks are coloured Black and White to distinguish the teams
• The teams wear white or black/blue water polo caps to help identification, plus team swimwear at competitions
• The puck is placed in the middle of the pool and game starts with both teams touching the wall on their side of the pool
• The goals are 3m long and sit on the bottom at either end of the pool
• The puck is pushed into the opposition's goal to score a goal
• Skill and teamwork are needed to get the puck past the opposition
• Fouls include handling or stopping the puck with anything other than the stick, barging other players or deliberately knocking the puck out of play

Equipment

As with any sport, the right equipment is vital. The club has a small amount of equipment available for loan to get you started, but please contact us first to ensure the right size is available, and turn up in good time to get kitted out.   A guide to buying your own equipment is on a separate page.

More Rules

A copy of the full BOA rules, plus referee's signals, can be found here