‘Octo-what?’

This is often the response we UoY Octopush folk receive when we try to describe the concept of underwater hockey. Understandably so – it is underwater hockey, after all.

So what is it we do, other than confuse the majority of the student body with the very idea of our sport?

Well, if this term’s events are anything to go by – lots.

At the beginning of the year, we spend our time huddled in a bustling sports tent, reeling in timid freshers in the hope of transforming them into budding ‘pushers. That we have. We now, as we have done in previous years, have a strong body of freshers who attend the majority of our ‘three games a week’ timetable. And us older folk, too.

We don’t just spend our weeks and months in the pool, though – we sometimes spend it on land. Whether that be Hes East, the ideal spot for our ‘dry sessions’ to build on in-game tactics; at each other’s houses, where we’ve hosted Singstar parties, house parties and watched The Lego Movie in humble admiration; or even Derwent, an unconventional choice to make our gloves and, consequently, fill with the overpowering smell of latex.

Now, much as we like intra-team relations (and flashy phrases like ‘intra-team relations’), we often encourage our players to compete with other players in the great Yorkshire beyond. Recently, we’ve hosted and visited the Leeds Freedivers, The Yorkshire Ladies and the Halifax team, all of which are high rankers in the Yorkshire League table.

Not only that, but sometimes we like to extend our reach beyond the cold, harsh embrace of the North. These last ten weeks have been no exception, with visits to Oxford and Mansfield to compete in various tournaments and, ultimately, kick some ass.

So there we have it, a quick debrief on what UoY Octopush do and have done. Now when anybody asks you, “What on earth’s Octopush?”, you have this article to arm yourself and impress. Or, you know, you could just tell them it’s underwater hockey…that’d be much quicker.