Underwater hockey takes over Arizona

PHOENIX — In a hot, dry place such as the desert, getting to play hockey on the ice is a very hard thing to come by.

Systems engineer William Cleveland and design engineer Brian Miller solved the problem by taking the well-known sport to the pool and founded the Phoenix Underwater Hockey Club about two years ago.

The sport features athletes armed with snorkels and short sticks pushing a heavy object seven feet below the water’s surface into a net.

The game is very similar to hockey, where teams attempt to move and pass a puck toward a goal.

The big difference is that you do all of this while holding your breath at the bottom of a pool. Also, it is a coed sport that is played with teams of six in a 25-yard pool.

Last month, Phoenix competed against 23 teams in the Underwater Hockey National Tournament in California. They ended up taking first place.