Fancy a game of octopush?

What began in England in 1954 as a game called “octopush” has now become underwater hockey. Alan Blake, the founder of the Southsea Sub-Aqua Club, along with other scuba divers, hopped into a pool in Portsmouth, England, and created a game resembling hockey, except beneath the surface with a mask, snorkel, and a puck made of lead. They used a small bat called a pusher to propel the heavy “squid” toward the opponent’s defended goal. This way, as divers, they could build strength and lung capacity while unable to dive in the northeast Atlantic.

Here in San Diego, we have more of a diving window, but the San Diego Underwater Hockey Meet-up includes over 170 players, and they are looking for more members.

The group holds practices twice weekly, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7 p.m., in the pool at the FIT Athletic Club, 12171 World Trade Center Drive in Carmel Mountain Ranch.