The first snow arrived in East Lansing this week… that definitely means it’s not swimming season anymore, but now it’s time for hockey.
But is it possible to put the two together, swimming and hockey? One club does just that at Michigan State University.
“I looked at it and I said, ‘Wow, this is really bizarre, I’m going to do it,'” club Vice President Emily Nestle said.
She’s talking about the Underwater Hockey Club.
Grayam Hotchkiss, president of the club, said this sport has a history both on campus and around the world.
“It started back in, I think, 2002,” Hotchkiss said. “But the sport itself has been around, IÂ think, for like 40 or 50 years.”
The equipment list is pretty simple: goggles, a footlong hockey stick, a six pound hockey puck and a towel.
“We also don’t have like a dedicated goalie as opposed to regular hockey where you’ve got someone in the goal,” Hotchkiss said. “Just because if we did, they’d probably drown.”
These students swim like dolphins and play like Wayne Gretzky at the same time.
“The biggest learning curve that we have is learning how to breath, or I guess learning how not to breath,” Hotchkiss said.
Heather Roney started playing earlier this year.
“I met some of my best friends here and we just kind of, we all just like to kind of goof off,” Roney said.
“This is probably one of the better things I do here at school,” Nestle said.
The club hosts one tournament every year at Michigan State University. They’re also able to play all year around which allows them to travel to other places such as Canada.