When I tell you of this latest sport you will be all wheeze and puzzled, even I was when I first read of it. We all have heard of underwater hockey; however, in the lake of Weissensee in Southern Austria was hosted a very unusual sporting event - a pulsating one indeed, though not so hot.


Divers from eight international teams from Austria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia took part in the maiden underwater ice hockey World Championship - Finland were crowned the winner while Austria and Slovakia placed second and third respectively.

About the game:

The competition was scheduled under 30cm of ice in 2°C water - with the players dressed in wetsuits, flippers, masks, the peculiarity being the competitors plunging without the oxygen tanks.

The game was played with a Styrofoam puck around a “rink” six meters wide and eight meters long, following the ice hockey rules only to differ at the reduction in the playing time i.e. the game was made up of three periods, of 10 minutes each with a break of 10 minutes between periods.

Success of the event:

Co-organizer of the Championship Hannes Thomasberger said,

The event was a huge success, 611 television stations from around the world will be broadcasting pictures.

The event is a challenge in itself requiring the players to be mentally and physically conditioned for the intensity of the sport - citing the initial success of the sport the organizing committee will think on the lines of conducting the event again during at least the next three years.

Read: INT