Baltic Seals, or the successes of Polish underwater hockey

We once presented a text on Divers24, introducing our readers to this original sport, which is underwater hockey. Today, in turn, we are going to confirm once again the thesis that Poles are not geese and … successfully play hockey sub. In the diving capital of Poland, the Tri-City, a team has been formed from a group of enthusiasts who like to spend time underwater – the Baltic Seals.

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It started innocently enough with a proposal to spend time together on winter evenings at one of Gdynia’s swimming pools. Krzysiek Wnorowski from the Tryton Diving Centre suggested hockey as an active form of spending time while waiting for spring. The idea caught on and already during the first classes more than 20 people showed up. It was like laying the foundation stone for the current team.

As the weeks went by, the composition of the playing team changed and became clearer. The winter passed and it turned out that for some people, underwater hockey had become such an important part of their everyday life that they were not going to give it up. They pulled this cart further on their own, buying professional equipment abroad and organising more pools where they could practise longer and more.

The internal rivalry was a lot of fun, but all the time the search was on for a national rival. Unfortunately, without success. Having no other choice, the Baltic Seals decided to start on a high note, competing immediately in an international tournament.

The team planned to take part in two events in 2011. The first one took place at the beginning of May in Budějovice in the Czech Republic – UWH Bud Pig Cup 2011. The seals in their debut took 6th place out of 15 teams, which should be considered a very good result and a great forecast before the next struggles. Those were scheduled for the second week of September in Italy, at the Parma Cup 2011. It was the fourth edition of the competition in Parma, which attracted 16 teams from England, the Czech Republic, France, Slovenia, Germany, Belgium and of course Italy. This time our compatriots took 12th place, but also rivals were definitely stronger. However, we managed to once again present ourselves at an international level and gain invaluable experience.

The team continues to develop and train with enthusiasm as they prepare for the next season, in which they will be keen to show their good side once again against rivals from other countries. By their own admission, they regret the lack of a local rival with whom they can play matches and improve their skills together. In the future, they dream of a national underwater hockey league like the ones in England or France.

We wish the boys good luck and encourage you to try this unusual sport, after all, another winter is coming. More information can be found on Baltic Seals club website.

Source: Divers24, hokejpodwodny.pl
Photo: Maciej Bujalski