The Underwater World of Octopush

There’s more beneath the surface of underwater hockey!

In this 2019 photo, players fight for the puck during an Octopush training session. Unlike regular hockey, underwater hockey requires the use of tiny sticks.

What do you get when you combine hockey with snorkeling? Underwater hockey!

Underwater hockey—also known as Octopush—is just what it sounds like. It’s a hockey game that’s played completely underwater. Wearing goggles and flippers, players race around the bottom of a swimming pool using small hockey sticks to try to push a puck (a heavy disc) into the other team’s goal. Teams of players score points each time they make a goal.

Octopush pucks and sticks

Octopush players have the added challenge of being underwater as they work to score points for their teams. They use snorkels to breathe air near the surface and then hold their breath while they dive down to push the puck. Teammates work together to make this happen, trading off passing the puck to each other and going up for air.

“Most people expect it to be quite slow-paced, but people are always surprised how fast it is,” said Sam Birt to the BBC. Birt is part of the Octopush club in York, England.

Octopush players wear snorkeling equipment, which allows them to get air when they are near the surface of the water.

Octopush was invented in the 1950s at a scuba diving club in Portsmouth, England. The scuba divers needed a winter activity they could do in a pool when it was too cold to dive in the open water, so underwater hockey was born.

The sport is gaining an army of fans among people who enjoy swimming. It’s a lot more entertaining to play Octopush than swim back and forth in a pool, said Birt.

That could be why Octopush has spread beyond England’s borders to many other countries. While it’s not an Olympic sport, there are international tournaments each year where national underwater hockey teams can compete.

Fun Fact

Most people can hold their breath for up to a minute. The Bajau people of Southeast Asia are known for their ability to hold their breath and dive underwater for long periods of time—up to 13 minutes!

Bajau children swim in the ocean.

Far Leaping

Brecht van der Zee competes in a June 2025 fierljeppen competition. Where will she land?

Speaking of unique sports, the Dutch people created fierljeppen, a sport that involves leaping over human-made waterways called canals!

Fierljeppen (fier-lep-en) means “far leaping.” In the past, fierljeppen was a necessary mode of transportation in the Netherlands, where there are many canals and few bridges. It began with farmers who used a pole to leap over the canals to reach their fields. The leaper drives the pole into the bottom of the canal and then jumps off the canal bank, using the pole to help push their body to the other side.

Reinder Haanstra competes in fierljeppen.

The first fierljeppen competition occurred in 1767. Today, fierljeppen is not necessary for transportation, but it’s still a competitive sport. Participants use longer, lighter poles to jump across very large canals. They also climb up the poles while leaping to try and launch themselves farther. If they miss the bank, they land in the water! The Guinness World Record for fierljeppen is 72 feet 10 inches (22.21 meters), about the length of a semi-truck.

Run, Jump, Throw!

Oleg Analev, a student at Angelo State University in Texas, competes in the pole vault.

Fierljeppen is not so different from pole vaulting, a jumping sport at track-and-field events! Read more about the world of track and field at Britannica.

Word of the Day

vault

Part of speech:

verb

Definition:

to jump over (something)

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