Unit: CMAS
First Played: 1964 Mulheim, Germany
Team Members: 6 Substitutes in 6 Games
Equipment: Heavy Metal Buckets, Goggles, Swimming Cap
Area: Outdoors
Played in Olympics: Not in the Olympics.
Description:
Underwater rugby is a sport whose roots are based on the physical endurance of German diving teams and which actually has nothing in common with rugby except its name
History:
Underwater rugby began in the 1960s as an educational game played by French Navy Commandos on the coast of Kenya by filling coconuts with sand and based on hand-to-hand combat. This game, which was brought to Europe by the French, began when Ludwing Von BERSUDA, a member of an underwater club in Germany, came up with the idea of an underwater ball game. Again, Dr. Franz Josef GRIMMEISEN decided to turn underwater polo into a competitive team sport. In the following years, Underwater Rugby became an official pool game with many athletes. The first official Underwater Rugby match was played on a beautiful Sunday in Mulheim, Germany on October 4, 1964. The first official tournament was held on November 5, 1965. In the following years, the quality of the game increased and the demand for Underwater Rugby increased and it was officially accepted by CMAS in 1978. The first European Championship was held in Malmo, Sweden in April 1978. The first official World Championship was played in Mulheim, Germany in 1980, in the land where the sport was born.
Field Dimensions:
It is played under the pool with a depth of 3.5 m to 5 m and a goal (heavy metal 40 cm diameter buckets). Two teams (blue and white), each team consisting of 6 players (+6 substitutes), try to get the slightly sinking ball (filled with salt water) into the opponent's goal. It is a fast and tiring game, but the substitutes are ready to change immediately. The ball can go in any direction, but it must not leave the water. The ball "flies" 2 or 3m until the water resistance stops it. This helps with correct tactics and correct (three-way) positioning. Players can use different skills: strength, speed, mobility and low oxygen consumption are equally important. When many people cannot play underwater rugby, it is often played with mixed teams of men and women.
