Sport undertaken in the water are not ususual, for example the olympic sport of swimming. There is also a surprising number of sports that are played under the water. Some are above ground sports that have been modified for the sub-aquatic environment, while others are water based activiteis that have been made into sports.

underwater hockey game underwater hockey game

List of Underwater Sports

  • Underwater Football — played in a swimming pool with snorkeling equipment, the aim is to maneuver a slightly negatively buoyant ball underwater (by carrying and passing) from one side of a pool to the other. Scoring is achieved by placing the ball in the gutter on the side of the pool.
  • Underwater Hockey — two teams of six push a puck along the bottom of a swimming pool. (also known as 'Octopush' or Water Hockey).
  • Underwater Ice Hockey — A variation of Ice Hockey played upside-down underneath frozen pools or ponds. Participants wear snorkeling equipment and wet suits and use the underside of the frozen surface as the playing area for a floating puck (also called sub-aqua ice hockey).
  • Underwater Orienteering — individual and team events in which competitors wearing scuba diving equipment swim an underwater course following a route marked on a map prepared by the competition organizers, using a compass and a counter meter to measure the distance covered.
  • Underwater Photography — teams of competitors using using scuba gear and using a digital underwater camera dive and photograph the same saltwater ocean sites at the same time over a two-day period, with the submitted digital images assessed to find the winner.
  • Underwater Rugby — two teams compete for a slightly negatively buoyant ball (filled with saltwater) and score by placing it into the opponents' goal (heavy metal bucket) at the bottom of a swimming pool.
  • Underwater Target Shooting — competitors free dive in a swimming pool, using spearguns to fire at targets.
  • Underwater Fishing — competitions using a spear to catch fish underwater.
  • Aquathlon (Underwater Wrestling) — an underwater sport where two competitors wearing masks and fins wrestle underwater in an attempt to remove a ribbon from each other's ankle band.
  • Freediving — underwater diving which completely relies on the diver’s capability to hold their breath.
  • Finswimming — an underwater swimming sport where athletes race against each other while wearing breathing apparatus.
  • Sport Diving — competitions where aspects of scuba diving are performed in a swimming pool.
  • Underwater Swimming — competitors were awarded points for each meter swum underwater, and for how long they stayed under water. [Extinct Sport]
  • Plunge for Distance — an ex-Olympic sport in which participants dived into the water, aiming for the longest distance while remaining motionless. [Extinct Sport]