Drop your ice skates and grab your bathing suit - it's time for some hockey.
There's a new underwater sport at MSU sponsored by the MSU SCUBA club, combining hockey and swimming to produce an offspring known as underwater hockey.
"The sport is played on the bottom of a pool," said Brian Cripe, an MSU physiology junior and underwater hockey player. "You wear scuba fins, a mask, a snorkel, a three-pound puck filled with lead at the bottom of the pool and a stick that lets you get it."
Cripe said the rest is just the basics.
"Then you hold your breath, dive down and play hockey," Cripe said.
But there are a few variations to underwater hockey that are completely opposite from ice hockey.
The stick used to play the wet version of hockey is roughly 14 inches long and has a slight curve to it for a good grip.
And though the puck used in the pool looks identical to an ice hockey puck, it weighs a hefty three pounds when rested in your hand.
But the last factor about underwater hockey that is most dissimilar from its brother, ice hockey, is a player's body weight.
"Body sizes are negated in water," said Nick Kwiatkowski, an MSU telecommunication senior and underwater hockey player. "You can't throw your bodies around."
Normally, the pool opens a half hour prior to game play. This allows participants to try out their fins, snorkels and masks and get a few warm-up laps completed, then it's time to dive down and score some goals.
Kwiatkowski said people are interested in playing and learning more about the sport because it's a different kind of competition that a lot of people haven't played before. Lack of knowledge about the sport could be attributed to the fact that it is being reintroduced to the surrounding area, he said.
Underwater hockey might be relatively new around town, but in the 1980s, there was a team on campus. But the sport only recently was introduced to the SCUBA club.
"Three years ago, we had an exchange student bring (underwater hockey) over from Argentina," said Nick Kwiatkowski. "The game's evolved a lot since then with newer equipment and style of playing."
As for the play of the game, most players agree the sport is pretty laid back. And other universities have caught on to the popularity of the sport.
University of Illinois has a team, Cripe said, and MSU's team will hold a tournament in January.
"Our games are pretty informal," Cripe said. "We get a lot of new people every week, and it varies from night to night - Wednesdays we fill the pool, but Fridays, there are less people."
But if you're thinking underwater hockey is only an MSU phenomenon, think again.
"There are world championships," said Katie Frank, an elementary education senior and underwater hockey player. "(Underwater hockey) is a lot bigger."
Underwater hockey is played at 8:15 p.m. every Wednesday and at 6 p.m. Fridays at the IM Sports-Circle pool. The event is free and open to the public.
or more information on underwater hockey, call (517) 853-9050.
Lindsey Anderson can be reached at ander848@msu.edu.
