Forget the Redskins, the Wizards or the Capitals. The Beltway Bottom Feeders are the latest Washington team that barely comes up for air. They're an underwater hockey team that creates a froth in the water similar to a bluefish feeding frenzy, while slapping away at a three-pound lead puck.
David Sun of Vienna is the Bottom Feeders player/coach. He's been playing since 1989.
"It's an obscure sport. This is internationally popular. It's like cricket," Sun said.
His wife, Julie Sun, is on the team as well.
"It's something that women can get into," she said.
Burke resident Jim Henderson fills in at practice when they’re short-handed.
"It's not a spectator sport. What you see is like feeding time at an aquarium," he said.
Wendy Woods also plays alongside her husband, Dulani Woods. They're from Annapolis, Md., and make the trek every weekend for practice.
"It's fun. Usually the first reaction is 'underwater what?' Some of these guys can hold their breath forever," she said.
THE DESCRIPTION in their Web site is "a fast-moving game that quickly builds swimming and free diving capability.” It is played on the bottom of a 6-foot-by-8-foot swimming pool by two teams of six. Players wear fins, mask, snorkel, and a protective glove and headgear (the same kind as for water polo).
The stick is short, approximately 1 foot long, and made of wood or plastic polymer. The puck is heavy, around three pounds, and coated with a protective layer of hard plastic. The goals are 3 meters (9 feet) long.
Play and strategy are similar to soccer or ice hockey except that the playing surface is at the bottom of a pool. The rules are "non-contact," and players generally cover zones around the puck. Success (scoring) ultimately depends on teamwork, since no single person can hold her breath forever."
In the pool, it can't be described as easily. "Ready, set, go" was the cue, and they were off, from either end of the "rink," as the playing field may be called. From underwater, it's hard to even get a glimpse of the puck, and then all of a sudden it's directly underneath, with people swatting at it. Anticipating the direction the puck is going is the key, and diving down in front of it and swatting around is the preferred method of stealing a pass. It takes strong swimming skills, strong legs and good snorkel skills.
JULIE SUN climbed out of the pool at the George Mason University (GMU) Aquatic Center at the end of a recent practice.
"Actually, I scored. You have the puck, and an arm comes out of nowhere. My mask was flooding the whole time," she said.
GMU lifeguard Katherine Davidson watched from the lifeguard stand.
"I couldn't really tell. It's hard to see. I don't really know how the game works," she said.
Henderson noted a difference from other sports.
"It's one of the sports where the play is three-dimensional. As a kid, I always had more fun in the bottom of the pool," he said.
Henderson and his son are regulars but haven't committed to the team on a full-time basis. They show up for practice at GMU and fill in for the lack of players but haven't officially signed up. They have had some interest from GMU students, but during the summer there are fewer on the campus.
"They are looking to expand their team. I'm going to wait and get a little more practice in," Henderson said.
ON JULY 6-7, they are having the first tournament at George Mason, consisting of several different teams. According to one Bottom Dweller, John Macris, from Falls Church, the U.S. team did compete in the world championship last year. Australia and South Africa are underwater-hockey powerhouses.
"There's a world cup championship. The U.S. team is competitive. I think we came in seventh," Macris said.
Other teams around the country include the Club Puck (San Jose, Calif.), Blockade Runners (Charleston, S.C.) and Puck Pirates (Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas). There is also a team at Virginia Tech, which Sun started when he was attending the school. He was teaching scuba diving when he heard about the sport.
The underwater-hockey season is not as clear-cut as the set number of games in the NFL, the NHL or the NBA.
"There's no actual season," Dulani Woods said.