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Underwater Football in the Winnipeg Free Press
Jeff Bell • November 12, 2019
University Of Manitoba Club featured in a Winnipeg Free Press article in 2003:
THERE aren't many similarities between underwater football and its gridiron namesake, except that both are team sports.
"It consists of two teams of five swimmers, each wearing masks, fins and snorkels," says Garth Bradley, a director of the Manitoba Underwater Council, a non-profit sports body under the umbrella of Sport Manitoba.
"The object of the game is to advance a round ball filled with salt water to the opposing team's side of the pool. You score a goal by muscling the ball onto the side gutter of the pool. It's played entirely underwater with the exception of a scoring attempt."
"It consists of two teams of five swimmers, each wearing masks, fins and snorkels," says Garth Bradley, a director of the Manitoba Underwater Council, a non-profit sports body under the umbrella of Sport Manitoba.
"The object of the game is to advance a round ball filled with salt water to the opposing team's side of the pool. You score a goal by muscling the ball onto the side gutter of the pool. It's played entirely underwater with the exception of a scoring attempt."
Underwater football has been called one of the world's least known sports. It is also a very Winnipeg thing. It was invented at the University of Manitoba in the '60s and is still played around the world. Now take a deep breath and see if you can hold it until the end of the video. Click here to watch the video
It’s 40 below with the wind chill. The air stings to breathe. Icicles form on eyelashes and noses. It’s perfect weather for football! Underwater football, that is. Just across the street from where the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and U of M Bisons play at Investors Group Field during the summer and fall, a dedicated group of athletes play a slightly different kind of football in the Joyce Fromson Pool. And what’s more, this international sport actually began here in Winnipeg at the University of Manitoba. Click Here for the full article