Two teenagers Rochdale Underwater Hockey Club have been selected to play for Great Britain in the World Championships being held in Malaysia. The team flew out on 14 July for acclimatisation and practice games, and the competition started on Saturday 20 July.

Sophie Redmond, aged 18, has been playing since she was eight years old and has been selected to play for the Under-19 Women’s team as vice-captain.

Adam Thetford, also 18, has been playing for just four years and will be playing for the Under-19 Men’s team, where he will also serve as Vice-Captain.

Both have been training hard for the last three years, incorporating extensive cardio and strength work in addition to practising in a pool two to three times a week. They have also attended five weekend training camps per year.

They are now looking forward to seeing the fruits of their labours and turning all their hard work into medals.

Mick Hyde, one of the Rochdale Club coaches, will also be travelling to Kuala Lumpur as the assistant coach to the U19 Men’s team. He hopes they can improve on their last World Championship performance and return home with gold this time, having won silver in Sheffield in 2019.

Underwater hockey is a sport played on the bottom of a swimming pool. Players use a mask, snorkel, and fins to see and manoeuvre themselves underwater.

They also wear a hat and glove for protection and use a small plastic bat approximately 30 centimetres long to move and flick the puck. 

The puck weighs a kilogram and is made of lead coated in plastic. The game is very fast-paced and relies heavily on teamwork as well as individual skills and fitness.

The Rochdale Club is looking for new members aged 8-14 to join its friendly, enthusiastic club. They are based at Oulder Hill Leisure Centre and meet on Thursday evenings from 7.30 to 8.30 pm.

Find Rochdale Underwater Hockey Club on Facebook for more details or through the national association at https://www.gbuwh.co.uk/clubs/rochdale