How many diving pools does Australia have? Are they publicly available? Once I’ve seen rugby played with a shark nearby, is that a common thing? Are there many locations where you can play rugby outside?

We have a few diving pools, although not nearly as many as in parts of Europe. Brisbane have 2 diving pools that are regularly used, both available for competitions. Sydney have 2 diving pools but only one is regularly used and able to be booked and unfortunately it is too small for competitions. Melbourne have 2 diving pools that can be used and I think they are both regularly used and able to be used for competitions. Hobart have 1 diving pool that’s regularly used and available for competitions. Adelaide have a diving pool that is fantastic for competitions but unavailable for regular bookings. Perth has at least 1 diving pool, and I honestly don’t know whether they train there regularly, but we have held competitions there in the past. A few smaller country towns also have diving pools that are suitable for competitions, however these are mostly outdoor and closed during winter.

Unfortunately playing rugby with sharks is just good for insta photos. It’s not at all common. Usually sharks will stay away from large groups of people splashing around.

There are definitely places around Australia where you can play in the ocean. In Sydney there is a really good place at Clovelly Beach which has small swell and a sandy bottom and is about 4-8m deep depending on the tide. So the Sydney clubs will regularly play there during summer on a sunny weekend. I’m sure there are other places along the coast that are suitable for a bit of rugby, and players may jump in for a bit of a ball pass without goals if they’re away somewhere on holiday with some uwr friends.

Are there any locations which will have multiple teams in the near future? 

Currently Sydney is the only city in Australia with 2 clubs. Canberra is pretty close to Sydney (about a 3h drive), so those 3 teams hold more regular mini competitions against each other. I would like to see more teams in all of our capital cities, however I don’t think is going to happen in the next few years.

Are there any players who also play hockey or water polo? How popular are these sports compared to rugby? 

I think probably 50% of uwr players also play hockey, or have tried it at least once. But this largely depends on what city you live in. Some clubs will have a lot of recruits from hockey who either join to keep super fit or for the social aspect. UNSW and Perth are both made of lots of hockey players. Underwater Hockey is much bigger than underwater rugby and the Australian team is very very good. Underwater Hockey is played in schools in Tasmania which helps greatly with recruitment.

We get a few players who used to play waterpolo but it is uncommon to get people who play both because I think the schedules clash a bit and the skills are less transferable. Water polo is also substantially more popular than both hockey and rugby and is played throughout the country in schools and universities.

What are the major tournaments for Australians? How many teams are there and what’s the level of competition?

The competitions vary between competitive/elite (Nationals) and social. Usually we’ll get 3 national competitions per year (Nationals, Pan Pacs, Steinfeld Cup, Melbourne Cup) which will usually have a mixed and women’s division. Some of these competions may have a mixed elite and development competition but it depends on the number of teams who sign up. There are also some very social competitions such as Bass Bash, G&T, War for Wagga and Blue Groper which will either play club teams round robin or mixed teams made up that day.

Our largest tournament had 15 teams including elite, development and women’s teams. Our most recent competition had 8 teams because Melbourne were in lockdown. Usually around 10-12 teams play per competition.

The YT channel of UWRA has a nice amount of matches captured. Who is responsible for the broadcasting? Are there any standards?  Do you watch games of other clubs in or outside Australia? 

There aren’t rules or standards surrounding the YouTube channel. Honestly I’m not even sure who owns it. I think it’s mostly go pro’s used to film training sessions or at competitions we’ll usually set up a more serious video system so that spectators can watch. This is up to the club organising the competition. 

We love to watch games outside of Australia. Often teams will watch themselves back to critique their play. But also watch really good international level games such as those at the world cup, euroleague or champions cup to highlight plays and strategies.

How did the pandemic affect Australian UWR?

The pandemic has been a bit rough for underwater rugby in Australia (although I assume the story is similar in other countries). Some parts of Australia, such as Melbourne, were locked down for most of last year and therefore unable to train, because pools are closed during lockdowns. This year Sydney has been locked down for a substantial period of time and they are unable to train. 

We were unable to host any competitions after March 2020 due to lockdowns and border travel restrictions (often there are rules on quarantining when you travel interstate based on case numbers in your home state). We held our first national tournament in over 12 months at the beginning of June and Melbourne were unable to come because of lockdown, which was disappointing for everyone. 

Sydney and Canberra have been able to hold some smaller local competitions over the Summer which has been fantastic for them! 

Unfortunately one of the Melbourne clubs closed down last year during covid, I don’t think it was purely covid related. Those running the club wanted to pursue other things. Canberra and Adelaide are currently on hiatus due to pool availabilities. 

Covid has also had a negative impact on recruitment for us, because a lot of those big recruiting opportunities such as open days and orientation weeks at universities have been cancelled or dramatically changed to cater for social distancing requirements.

Zoe, thank you for your time!