Underwater hockey dives into Tempe, thanks to Sister City connection

By Kody Acevedo

Eighteen-year-old Taylor Snow landed in America last month and was immediately introduced to the unarguably breathtaking sights Arizona has to offer, including trips to Sedona and the Grand Canyon.

Yet, while the Lower Hutt, New Zealand native was embracing the beginnings of his month-long stay in Tempe, he couldn’t help but teach his new American pals about his favorite sport back home: underwater hockey.

“I have always enjoyed playing water sports,” Snow said. “It’s relatively unknown, but it’s nice having it be a small, community-type thing.”

Snow is entering his last year of high school in New Zealand and is spending the summer in America as part of the Tempe Sister Cities program.

The program sends Tempe high school students abroad for five weeks to live with host families and, in return, welcomes students from those cities here in Tempe. 

Tempe has 10 sister cities worldwide, including Cusco, Peru; Timbuktu, Mali; Zhenjiang, China; and Snow’s hometown, Lower Hutt, New Zealand.

David Ewen, a Corona del Sol senior who stayed with Snow’s family in New Zealand earlier this year, became one of Snow’s guides-in-chief during Snow’s visit.

While the program is praised for helping to promote international good will and cultural understanding, it also leaves time for the visitors from other countries to implant some of their traditions and pastimes, which for Snow provided a platform to promote a little cultural understanding of his own.

“It would be cool to see [underwater hockey] in a bigger light,” Snow said. “If it was on TV, there would be more accessibility to actually watch the sport.”

While ice hockey is growing in popularity in America, the concept of underwater hockey is not much different.

Each game is played with two halves consisting of 10 to 15 minutes of action.

Two teams attempt to maneuver a puck with a pusher across the bottom of a pool and into the opposing team’s goal.

Each team has up to 10 players with six on each team playing at any one time in any combination of forwards (offense) and backs (defense).

Snow, who plays back, said the goalie position isn’t the same compared to ice hockey.

“The goalie plays differently. The goalie isn’t in the goal—he’s following the back of the action,” Snow said.

And, unlike water polo where the players are treading water the entire time, all the action in underwater hockey takes place at the bottom of pool—a unique twist to a water sport where players have to learn to hold their breath for a really long time.

Snow, who is entering his fifth year playing the sport, says he hopes to continue with it once he’s out of high school.

“I’ll probably be playing for a club somewhere when I’m done with high school,” Snow said.

Which shouldn’t be too hard because club teams in New Zealand range from men’s and women’s elite to men’s and women’s U23.

For now, Snow is enjoying his journey in Arizona.

“A friend of mine went last year and she said ‘you have to apply; it’s such an amazing experience,’” he said.

“We fund-raised about $2,000, and now we are here.”

Even a trip to Disneyland was scheduled during the stay, which turned out to be a nice break from the Arizona heat.

“It’s so amazing. It’s been very hot, but it’s been great.”