squidkid.

Okay, I must be feeling stagnant about swimming because this is the second post in a row about alternative approaches to creating a new relationship with water.

I was on Craigslist today, looking around for some forums about swimming lessons and found a site about learning how to play Underwater Hockey. Yes, such a sport does exist, and they compete locally here in the Bay Area on Fridays nights from 8:15-10pm at the Presidio YMCA pool.

Now that sounds like a good time. To quote the SF Sea Lions Underwater Hockey Team site, “… it is a non-contact sport played on the bottom of a swimming pool by two teams of six players who are equipped with mask, snorkel, fins and a short stick. The stick is used to pass the puck from player to player across the bottom of the pool. The object, of course, is to get the puck into the opposing team’s goal.”

Any such sport requires teamwork. You cannot strive to be a solo-hero when water is 830 times thicker than air. You’ve got to work together.

Keep in mind there are many alternative water sports for swimmers — you don’t have to go the traditional route and join a swim team to keep water recreation in your life. For example:

• Compete in a Mini-Triathlon. You don’t have to join a team for that, just sign up. This is where you swim, bike, and run, all in that order, and a “mini-tri” is about digestible amounts, like a 400 yard swim (16 laps), a 12-mile bike, and a 2-mile run.
• Try out Water Polo. This is good if you like basketball or soccer. Must be an excellent water treader.
• What about Water Ballet. It’s kind of like cheerleading or dancing in the water. You do have to hold your breath for a long time, get in crazy positions, lift others — in other words, it is pretty but TONS of hard work.
• Swim to Raise Money. There are fund raisers where you swim laps for charity and you log the results just like you would for a Walkathon.
• Join a Swim Club. Swim Clubs are like swim teams, but without the competitive aspect. You do sprints (race), but usually in order to beat your own times.

I did not do competitive swimming. It turned me off. I instead did water ballet when younger and when I graduated from college, I took up triathlons. Any other ideas you have about alternative water sports? Do you think a good game of Frisbee would … well … fly?