In 1961, Ludwig von Bersuda, a member of the German Underwater Club (DUC) in Cologne, came up with the idea of an underwater ball game. Air-filled balls are unsuitable for underwater games because they are buoyant and will return to the surface of the water. The first underwater ball was invented when Bersuda filled it with saltwater. Since the density of the ball was now greater than that of normal water, it no longer floated to the surface but slowly sank to the bottom. The sink rate could be controlled within certain limits by adjusting the concentration of the salt solution. Water polo balls are used instead of larger more traditional balls.
Ludwig von Bersuda spanned the middle of the pool with a net, as in volleyball, that stopped 1 m above the pool bottom. Two teams played against each other: the offensive team had to carry the ball to the opposing field and put it into a bucket. The idea for the game was ready, and the DUC Cologne used it to warm up before normal training. Other teams saw this and started to use saltwater-filled balls themselves.
The "Cologne Discipline" was demonstrated as a competition sport at the national games in 1963, probably the first official game with an underwater ball. At the time there was not much interest shown.
Dr. Franz Josef Grimmeisen, a member of the German Underwater Club in Duisburg, a city near Cologne, decided to make a competitive sport from this ball game. The German Lifeguard Association (DLRG) of Mülheim (since 1967 TSC Mülheim/Ruhr) had founded a divers' club, and through contact with members of DUC Duisburg, learned of the game. With their help, Grimmeisen arranged the first underwater rugby game on Sunday, October 4, 1964. It took place between DLRG Mülheim and DUC Duisburg. DUC Duisburg won the game 5–2. The next edition of the Essener Tageblatt carried the story.
Grimmeisen kept promoting the idea of an underwater rugby tournament to give the sport a character of serious competition. With the scuba-diving section of the DUC Mülheim/Ruhr, which six players of DUC Duisburg came from, Grimmeisen organized the first underwater rugby tournament rules. It was called "Battle for the Golden Ball" in Hallenbad Sued, in Mülheim/Ruhr on November 5, 1965. Six clubs sent teams to Mülheim: DUC Bochum; DUC Düsseldorf, DUC Duisburg, DUC Essen, and TSC Delphin Lüdenscheid. The rules of those days allowed 8-player teams, and DLRG Mülheim, the home team, came away winners, against DUC Duisburg (for whom Dr. Grimmeisen played).
The tournament has been held every year since then, making it the oldest tournament of the sport. The Cologne version of the game was only played for a short time thereafter in Cologne and has been long since forgotten. The Cologne team itself also turned to underwater rugby. To bring this game to the international arena, Grimmeisen turned to the two then most important members of CMAS, France and the USSR. He offered demonstration games and press coverage. Interest was not forthcoming. Just one French sports magazine, L'Equipe, printed a short article in its April 9, 1965 edition.
The Scandinavian countries showed more interest. A demonstration in Denmark in 1973 and in Finland in 1975 were effective. Games in Belgium in September 1973 and Vienna in 1979 were ineffective in generating interest. In the Eastern Bloc, only Czech teams were interested, and they, according to the politics of the time, played only against teams from other communist countries. The only tournament known to have taken place in Czech is the Underwater Rugby Tournament in Prague, which has taken place every year since 1975 (with the exception of 1979). In later years, Polish teams participated as well, and teams from East Germany, who used the game for conditioning, sent observers.
Since 1972, when the game was recognized as a sport by the Union of German Sport Divers (VDST), official German Championships have taken place. (An unofficial German Championship took place in 1971.) The first German Championship was held in Mülheim, and the first German Champions were TSC Mülheim.
In 1978, underwater rugby was officially recognized by CMAS, and from 28 to 30 April 1978, the first European Championships took place in Malmö, Sweden, and from 15 to 18 May 1980, the first World Championships in Mülheim.
A different version of the current water polo became popular in the US, similar to underwater rugby, until US teams conformed to the international water polo rules around 2014.[1][2]
The sport has little in common with rugby football except for the name.[3]
Underwater Rugby was brought to the United Kingdom by Briton Rob Bonnar and Slovak Oliver Kraus in 2013. Both men founded PURE Underwater Rugby Club at Guildford Spectrum Leisure Centre, Guildford; initially the Leisure Centre denied club activities due to concerns about insurance. The club gained the attention of Roy Sherwin, a member of the British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC), who helped affiliate the club with BSAC as brand number 2513, which crucially provide the necessary insurance. This set the principals for other underwater rugby clubs to form in the United Kingdom, though the number of clubs are only a handful with underwater rugby being a very minor sport in the country. As BSAC are not affiliated with the world governing body CMAS, only two clubs are affiliated with BSAC – PURE and Cheltenham Barracudas.[4] The British Underwater Rugby Association (BURA) is the UK's governing body affiliated with CMAS.[5]
Underwater rugby is played in a pool with a depth of 3.5 to 5 meters. The ball is negatively buoyant as it is filled with concentrated saltwater, which should sink 1000-1200mm per second. The goals are heavy metal buckets with a diameter of about 40 cm at the bottom of the pool. Two teams (blue and white), each have six players in the game with an additional six substitutes. Players try to score by sending the negatively buoyant ball into the opponents’ goal. Substitutes can replace players on the fly.
Defensive tackle during an underwater rugby match in Sydney, Australia
The ball may be passed in any direction but must not leave the water. The ball "flies" about 2 to 3 meters before water resistance stops it. The players need a variety of abilities: strength, speed, agility, and teamwork are all equally important.[1]
International competition
Major championships have been conducted at the continental level within Europe for senior teams since 1978 and for junior teams since 1986. World championships have been conducted since 1980. A number of regional competitions are also conducted, including the International Underwater Rugby Tournament, the Champions Cup in Europe, and the North American Underwater Rugby Tournament in North America.[6][7][8]
