Text: Norun Kjerstad
Photos: Mare Nyvoll & Norges Dykkerforbund
Facts about underwater rubgy
- Conducted in a pool: 3.5-5m deep
- 6 players on each team
- Up to 6 substitute players allowed.
- Players wear swim caps with ear protection, diving masks with snorkels, and swim fins.
- The ball sinks.
- The goals are attached to the bottom of the pool
From the 16th to the 18th of February 2024, NTNUI-DG UVR (Underwater Rugby) organized the B-Series Cup in Stjørdal. We had a referee course on Friday, where everything went as planned except that part of it had to be conducted partially over Teams because the course leader was home sick.
The cup day started, in tradition, with the leader of DG jumping into the pool from the highest diving tower wearing a full tuxedo and chains. Several volunteers from DG helped with setup, the kiosk, and cleanup. They were a great help. We also had underwater rugby players with swimming bans in the secretariat to maintain order.
There were players from Kristiansund, Sandefjord, Ørlandet, Trondheim, and Tromsø participating, with several never having played in a cup before. This caused a shortage of some swimwear and equipment at the beginning, but the puzzle was eventually solved. As the number of players from each place varied, mixed teams were formed, except for Tromsø, which competed alone as SURK. Kristiansund and Ørlandet were grouped together as K-Ø, and Trondheim joined Sandefjord to form DG-Fjord-ÆN and DG-Fjord-2. There was great effort from all teams, and K-Ø took a commanding victory, while DG-Fjord-ÆN ended up in last place and won the wandering trophy. The trophy was engraved and sent home with the Sandefjord team, as an encouragement for revenge next year.
The newly trained referees were supposed to officiate entire matches with the help of two experienced referees. This went mostly smoothly, and when individual players were about to complain to the referee and realized the referee was one of their teammates, they kept quiet. Some of the novice referees still didn’t know how to use the signal system and whistle properly, so some confusion and unnecessary pauses occurred.
The award ceremony took place at Dypet (DG’s basement at Moholt) with pizza and leftover cakes from the kiosk. We had managed to make three times as much food for the kiosk as necessary, so it was good that it was all eaten. After a fantastic and slightly exhausting day, it ended perfectly with almost everyone continuing to the party.
Overall, the weekend was a great success, and we hope to repeat it next year. Join and try it!
