Three of the West Coast Underwater Hockey Club players will embark op a journey to Gebze, Turkey to participate in the CMAS 7th Age Group Underwater Hockey World Championships. This will take place from Thursday 16 July until Sunday 26 July.
The three World’s Players include Langebaan residents, Neil Lubbe (17), Gesje Pretorius (16) and Robyn Steyn (19).
For Lubbe this opportunity means a lot. “It is such a fantastic opportunity to represent my country in the sport that I love. I have put in many hours and a lot of hard work during the long and intense trialing process. To be chosen for the SA team to play in Turkey is a massive opportunity for me to showcase this amazing, but little known sport both at home and abroad.”
As he is a homeschooler and there were no field hockey clubs to join, Lubbe decided to give underwater hockey a try. “I very quickly realised that I actually enjoyed it more than field hockey! I have met so many amazing people that it has become much more than just a sport to me. Today, most of my time is spent training for and playing underwater hockey and that has taught me to be disciplined and work hard to achieve my full potential.”
About the trip to Turkey, Steyn shared that she looks forward to meeting many new people, which she would never have met if she didn’t play the sport.
“I look forward to playing as many games as I possibly can play everyday for two weeks. I look forward to not only being able to compete, but compete competitively and come back home afterwards 10 times better than when I left,” she added.
“Underwater hockey is so much more than just a sport to me, it has so much more to offer. To me it is one of the best things I do in my week. It keeps me fit and it gives me an opportunity to stay competitive in my adult life where I can’t rely op school sports anymore .”
Pretorius said she looks forward to meeting the competitors from the other countries and to see all Turkey has to offer.
“Preparing for the competition is a lot of hard work and discipline. If you like the water and love swimming, underwater hockey is the sport you should play. It is a wonderful sport.”
Should you be interested, WhatsApp Wendy Lubbe op 082 469 0509.
