Wednesday 5 February 2014

Don't date a girl who plays Underwater Rugby


She's the one with the messy, unkempt hair tortured by chlorine. Her skin is full of bruises. Some even in the shape of a hand print. There are many grazes and scars on her body, from the tiles on the bottom of the pool. But for every flaw on her skin, she has an interesting story to tell.
Don't date a girl who plays Underwater Rugby. She is hard to please. The usual 'I like swimming laps in a pool' and 'waterpolo' will suck the life out of her. Her soul craves for deep experiences and new dimensions. She will be unimpressed with your new scar and your expensive camera - unless she can drop it in the water and shoot with it. 
Don't date a girl who plays Underwater Rugby because she will bug you to book a trip every time there's an overseas competition or training camp. She won't pack her bikinis. And she will never pay for accommodation because she knows that wherever there is UWR, there will be a couch or a spare bed with her name on it. 
Chances are, she can't hold a steady lane. She doesn't want to just keep swimming up and down following a line. She wants to go in any direction she pleases. She is a freelancer. She will tackle you from above, from below, from the left to the right, in front and behind. That requires creativity and imagination. Don't waste her time complaining about your boring sport.
Don't date a girl who plays Underwater Rugby. She might have wasted her college degree and switched universities entirely. She is overeducated and probably doing a PhD. She's not sure when the next research grant or study benefit is coming. But she doesn't work like a robot all day, she goes out and takes what life has to offer - and she'll challenge you to grow a pair and get in the water with her.
Don't date a girl who plays Underwater Rugby for she has chosen a life of uncertainty. She doesn't know if she can do November in the Canaries because she might be playing in the Champions Cup. She goes with the season and follows her team. She dolphin kicks to the beat of her own drum. She doesn't wear a watch. Her nails are short and her arms strong. When the goal is within reach, life stops and she will be oblivious to everything else for a moment. And she has learned that the most important thing in life isn't breathing.
Don't date a girl who plays Underwater Rugby as she tends to speak her mind. She will never try to impress your parents or friends. She knows respect, but isn't afraid to hold a debate about global issues or social responsibility. And she can probably kick your ass. 
She will never need you. She knows how to wrestle a small crocodile and hold her own against a 250 pound Norwegian man without your help. She eats well and doesn't need you to convince her about that second serving of icecream. She is too independent and won't care whether you exercise with her or not. She will forget to check in with you when she arrives at a tournament. She's busy living in the present. She will meet many interesting, like-minded players from around the world who share her passion and dreams. She will be bored with you.
So never date a girl who plays Underwater Rugby unless you can keep up with her. And if you unintentionally fall in love with one, don't you dare try to stop her from playing. Or she'll let you go. 

Sunday 11 December 2011

What A Wonderful World

The world map of UWR is finally up and running!

So if you're planning to do a bit of traveling this holiday season, why not check if there are also some UWR teams along the road? It could be a great way to learn from other teams and build stronger networks for the sport between different countries. Just don't forget to pack your fins!

Do you belong to, or know of, a club that isn't already on this map? Then go right ahead and let the world know! Just follow these three simple steps:

1. Register for an account at uwr1.de http://uwr1.de/wp/wp-login.php?action=register 


2. Sign in http://uwr1.de/wp/wp-login.php 


3. Add your club to the map http://uwr1.de/wp/wp-admin/admin.php?page=uwr1vereine-en (or, same, go to admin -> uwr1.de menu -> UWR World Map)

And if you run into any problems, or simply just want to tell the guy who made this how awesome he is, Hannes Hofmann is your man!




Here's looking at you, North America!


By Rolexi Pinzon

After many years of effort and dedication towards the development of underwater rugby in the US and Canada, on October the 22nd, 2011, the city of Brantford, Ontario (Canada) hosted the first North-American underwater rugby tournament ever. The tournament had the presence of the following teams: NJ Hammerheads (New Jersey), Quincy UWR (Boston),LiberationUWR (Brandfort), and CAMO (Montreal).

Fort the first time a North American UWR event brought together teams from Canada and the US. The event had 38 players with different game levels and nationalities (Canada, US, Colombia, Germany, England). To add even more to the great scene, the tournament was played in one of the depest pool of the area (4.88m)


Read the full article.



Thursday 13 October 2011

Underwater Rugby vs. The Renaissance

No Words Needed...















Acknowledgement to Wilson Zhang from Sydney, Australia for the 
amazing photographs taken earlier this month. 



Thursday 1 September 2011

UWR World Map!

Not only are the Germans ahead of the curve when it comes to media coverage of UWR, they also have a knack for cartography.

Checkout this ambitious project to interactively map every single UWR club in the world!

At the moment I think you have to message Hannes and ask him to add your club details. There is a function for adding clubs yourself, but you may have to have a registered account with the uwr1.de website first.

Let's hope soon other clubs will be able to embed this awesome map on their websites as well.


In the meantime, the Danish website World of UW-Rugby (run by Søren Neubert, who also happens to be the President of the UWR Commission of CMAS) still has what is probably the most comprehensive list of clubs and contact details on the interwebs. However, the web design is a bit... vintage... and isn't as versatile and 'Web 2.0' as the Germans' new engineering feat.


Here is another example of German engineering made sexy.  




Three Cheers to Helsinki 2011

Now that the 2011 CMAS World Championships in Helsinki is over, so is one of the most exciting weeks in sporting memory ever... For those of us who couldn't be there, either in the pool or by the poolside, I think the sentiment below posted by Ricardo from UWR in North America sums it up pretty neatly:
Dear All,
I believe I speak for all the people that watched the UWR WC online:
THANKS A LOT! You guys did a great job. The live stream was perfect. The quality of the video simply outstanding. We loved the little frame showing the time and the colors for each team. Thanks again! Hope to meet you in a near future.
Kind Regards,
Ricardo -- North America's Underwater Rugby

Friday 19 August 2011

The Wishlist: Fiberglass and Carbon Fins

Fins, not to be confused with Finns, are the most important piece of equipment in the game because they can potentially give you the greatest bit of advantage through increased speed, acceleration and maneuverability.

Fiberglass & Carbon Fins

The cream of the crop are the fiberglass and carbon fins designed for underwater hockey and rugby. Fiberglass and carbon fins are good because they offer great stiffness for a fraction of the weight of rubber and polymer fins. They are also a lot more compact than regular fins, making them super maneuverable. Oh and they just look damn hot.

The most well known brands are Waterway, Specialfins and Leaderfins. Matmas also has similar design fiberglass fins, though being a brand mostly associated with underwater hockey they do not have rubber coatings.

All three brands are being used by the top players in the World Championship right now, so you don't have to worry too much about choosing the 'right one'. Of the three, Leaderfins offers the largest range of designs, with both carbon and fiberglass options. All of them also allow you to specify your preferred hardness of the material from soft, medium and hard. It seems fairly unanimous out there that medium is the best option for UWR, otherwise you could risk cramps and possibly injury.

The only thing to watch out for with fiber/carbon fins (apart from the price!) is that they are more fragile than rubber or polymer fins. So it is recommended to get ones that are rubber coated on at least one side. Waterway and Specialfins only have full rubber coated ones in their range, so this is not an issue, whereas Leaderfins has a choice between uncoated, single coated and full coated. As mentioned before, the Matmas range do not have rubber coatings so it would be more of a risky investment.

Now the final consideration is of course price... Bloody expensive is the short answer. But if you're serious about your underwater rugby (and looking sexy in the water) then you can still tell yourself that it's cheaper than a bike, snowboard, kayak, motorboat, house, 5 year subscription to World of Warcraft.

The Waterways are the cheapest at between 90-100 Euros, if you buy from the company site. Specialfins come in next at between 120-170 Euros (add 30 Euros if you live inside the EU!) and Leaderfins at between 100-180 Euros. $hipping is extra.

If that's all a bit dramatic, then stay tuned for the next post about fins of the more bread and butter variety!

Who uses what?

Word on the street is that the 'Finnish' national team mostly uses fiberglass fins from Specialfins and Leaderfins, with a few of them using the (now no longer manufactured) Technisub Ala all rubber fins. The Danish team plays with a mix between the Waterway fins and the Technisub Stratos rubber/plastic fins. The German and Russian teams also use the Waterways.