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Join Finn Macdiarmid with a roundup of Kent's sporting action.
On today's episode we meet Rona Wignall, a teacher in Tunbridge Wells and a member of Team GB's Underwater Hockey squad. We discuss her origins in the sport, how people can get involved and her fundraising efforts ahead of the World Cup Qualifiers.
On today's episode we meet Rona Wignall, a teacher in Tunbridge Wells and a member of Team GB's Underwater Hockey squad. We discuss her origins in the sport, how people can get involved and her fundraising efforts ahead of the World Cup Qualifiers.
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00:00Hello and welcome to Invictus Sport. We're the only show on your TV dedicated to Kent's
00:16sporting action. Now we're switching things up and bringing back a classic format to the
00:21show that you know and love. And today we're bringing you an interview with Rona Wignall.
00:25By day she's a music teacher in Tunbridge Wells but by night or day depending on her practice times
00:31she's a team GB underwater hockey player. She also plays for her club West Wycombe. She also happens
00:37to be heading to the world qualifiers in the Netherlands to represent the country this
00:42August. Well we hope you enjoy this interview. So thank you so much for joining us Rona. First of
00:47all could you talk us through your origin with underwater hockey? Where did it all begin?
00:52Yeah so I began swimming as a child. My parents took me to the swimming pool quite often
00:58and when I joined my secondary school they had a underwater hockey team and I gave it a go and
01:05soon became addicted to it. So that's that's essentially how I got into the sport and it
01:10just kept going from there. And when you were first trying out what what did you really like about it?
01:15I think one of the key factors is you can't communicate with your teammates and although
01:24that might initially come across as a negative thing it just means you rely so much heavily on
01:31team bonding and knowing your teammates knowing how long their average breath hold is knowing what
01:37their standard moves are so that you can read the game. And I think that in itself becomes
01:44um yeah very addictive as as a sport because you can't rely on people calling or shouting at you.
01:50You you you know your teammates so well. That's quite interesting. Was that kind of the first hurdle
01:56or was there anything else that's more of an obstacle when someone's first starting out in underwater hockey?
02:00I mean I mean that's that's definitely the biggest hurdle but you're right I think the first hurdle
02:08for me was learning how to use a snorkel because it might sound trivial or or not that important but
02:15if you can't dive down and then get rid of the water then you end up spending so much time on the
02:21surface trying to get water out of your snorkel so you can breathe again that's definitely quite a challenge
02:26for beginners. I see and talk us through what a kind of typical underwater hockey training session
02:32looks like is it going straight down and doing kind of the scrimmages and trying to get the puck
02:37or is it a lot more on land training and strength and conditioning and things like that?
02:43So my training has a mix of games where um we incorporate six aside we do drills lots of skills
02:52but if I'm talking purely fitness trying to get fit it is a mix of going to the gym doing cardio on
02:58land and then in the pool doing things like half and half where you swim half underwater half over
03:04full unders and you you limit your break time so you're trying to really get your your lungs used to
03:10not having as much oxygen as as a land sport. I see I was very lucky obviously I got the chance to
03:16come down and uh have a go at underwater hockey but for anyone who hasn't really seen this sport or
03:21played it before could you sort of walk us through what a typical kind of game would look like?
03:27Yeah so lots of people have described it to me as feeding time at the aquarium or or extreme snorkeling
03:32but essentially it's a six aside sport where the main aim is a weighted puck and your your team's
03:39trying to get it to a goal that's on the floor at the other end of the swimming pool and you can do that
03:45by pushing the puck yourself or passing it although passing is is limited I wouldn't vision something
03:51like football where you can do a full a full switch across the pitch the pass is probably limit at three
03:58to four meters so it's very strategic lots of layoffs and lots of drives yourself. I see and you mentioned
04:05that the use of the puck I'm aware there's um some different equipment you touched on the snorkel but
04:10there's also this interesting um sort of glove that you wear as well talk us talk us through
04:14about that as well some of the equipment. Yeah so depending on if you're right or left-handed
04:19you'll have a glove that that you wear on your playing hand and that's to protect you because
04:25like I said the puck's uh just around two kgs and it's made of lead so it's supposed to shoot to the
04:30bottom and and sit there and slide along the bottom but the glove made of silicon is to protect you so if
04:37if you get a tackle and the puck hits your hand it kind of absorbs it within the glove and it doesn't
04:42just concentrate on a knuckle um other thing is underneath it stops your hand scraping along like
04:49rough tiles and cutting your hand up so it's got multi-purposes. Brilliant and I am also curious um
04:57how much of it is a contact sport when I played you like you mentioned feeding time at the aquarium but
05:02are there any fouls any cautions that can really happen during a game? Yeah definitely so it's very
05:08similar to hockey you can't use your hand or your feet you've got to use your stick you can't hit
05:13someone else's stick that the same reasonable fouls apply but it is definitely physical in that it's a
05:203d sport so you're not just got people coming from your left and your right you've got people coming
05:26from below you um sorry above you and then people below you maybe trying to go up to the surface to
05:31breathe so it's definitely physical and shoulder to shoulder contact is is much to be expected.
05:37Right um I also read online that some people call it octopush is that a common thing or is that kind
05:43of like a bit rarer? I think that's the original name it used to be played with eight players
05:50and the push kind of makes sense because that's often what you do with the puck you push it um you
05:55flick and pass but often you'll have it on the end of your stick and you'll push it along to to make
05:59ground so that that is the original name but it's definitely not the more common um these days
06:05it's called underwater hockey and if if you only play one style of hockey like me it's just called
06:09hockey. Fair enough um and uh correct me if I'm wrong you are a forward how much of your game is
06:16you know shot taking or how much of it is almost like dribbling and this kind of skill with the puck
06:21as you're swimming? Yeah skills is extremely uh important in underwater hockey it's often how you
06:29get past a man and drive um as a forward I consider myself quite a big pest my my job is to uh disrupt
06:38the opposition disrupt their set plays their formations and drive and use those skills and
06:44the shooting comes when I'm like I said three meters out from the goal it's not um it's not until that
06:50close where I'd start taking shots. You mentioned set plays there um I'm not too knowledgeable about
06:56what that means obviously in football that might mean a penalty or a free kick or a corner do you
07:00have things like that in underwater hockey? Yeah if there's a foul committed in the in the game uh
07:06the refs have a siren that they'll call which signals to players to come to the surface where
07:11the refs will then speak and tell the teams what the foul was that there's no um there's no penalty in in
07:19general play uh it's a free puck which means it pushes the players three meters back the penalty
07:25is in a set like almost a penalty box but it's a d shape um and if a foul is committed in there then
07:31it's a two v one penalty situation. Got you got you and how loud is that siren if you're able to hear
07:38it underwater? Must be pretty loud. Yeah uh at at professional level competitions the sirens are
07:45you know very good very loud um at club levels often you know we don't we don't have the equipment
07:51um so we'll just tap on the bottom and um because it's just bubbles and in your own brain
07:58any noise is quite obvious. Right that makes that makes sense um talk to us a bit back to your story so
08:05you played at secondary school what was that transition and talk to us talk us through where you play now.
08:11So I started at secondary school I loved playing for my school um and I joined a club um called the
08:21Phoenix and we played at club level and it was great and then I got asked to trial for the under 19
08:27New Zealand team and I played two age group world championships with them um and then about five years
08:35ago I moved to England and started trialing for the GB underwatt hockey team and I'm very grateful to
08:42been selected um and that's where I am today alongside my club West Wickham. I see and talk us
08:49through that journey you know going from it being something you did after school to then doing
08:54something at this at this uh international level what was that transition like and you mentioned there
09:00that trial for the England team and uh you're playing for the New Zealand team as well what was that like?
09:05how was the pressure? Yeah it was definitely a shock to the system going from playing for my school
09:12where we had volunteer coaches um and my club which was very much social to my first training camp
09:20for the New Zealand under 19 team which was a full weekend away doing fitness tests at six in the morning
09:27and all day strategy talks um it was it was a big shock to the system for me how much fitness is required
09:35to be a top player but I loved it and I loved the challenge and I love exercise um so I was really
09:44motivated to to take to push myself to to get there. I see and you mentioned there about that fitness how
09:51much of it is not just kind of cardiovascular fitness but the ability to hold your breath you
09:56know I mean it's obviously when you're down there in the pool it must be hard to kind of time it but
10:01how long do you think people can almost stay and do that physical activity while holding their breath?
10:05So it's a great question and I think underwater hockey is both an anaerobic and an aerobic sport
10:13you're using both systems in terms of how long you're holding your breath it's quite short you if
10:20you think if you'd sprint a length underwater it might take you 10-15 seconds but by the end you're
10:25absolutely puffing so often you will work very short amounts of time but you are twisting and
10:32turning and using your strength and then kicking your legs all while holding your breath you come
10:37to the surface you might take five seconds of rest and you go again um which which you can only
10:44maintain for so long and in that case you sub and that's why the sport has as rolling subs in and out
10:50the pool. I see uh we haven't got much time left but it's interesting you mentioned there the twisting
10:55and turning is it using a lot of different muscle groups people might just expect maybe just your arms
11:00and legs but having to use all your different muscle groups what does that feel like and does
11:04it really does it almost feel quite tense after you come out of the pool? Oh yeah it's it's definitely
11:10a full body workout and often I'll come out in um in bruises all over sometimes a black eye it's
11:16lots of bodies crammed on the bottom of the pool and then not to mention you've got everyone's got
11:21big flippers on which can whip you so it's it's definitely a full body workout you feel it in your
11:26core um so it's it's important to do that in the gym as well. Well that's it for part one join us after
11:32the break as Rona and I talk about the strategy of the sport what exactly the qualifiers mean the
11:37reaction of Rona's friends family and students her aspirations to be a coach and what advice she might
11:42give to her younger self to keep going in the sport well you'll have all that and more just after the
11:48break see you in a second
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15:12IMTV, where else? Well, if you missed it, today we're speaking to Team GB, underwater hockey player and teacher in Tunbridge Wells, Rona Wignall. Here's part two of our chat with her.
15:25And we're back with Rona Wignall. Rona, coming up this August, you're competing in the underwater hockey qualifiers, which is in the Netherlands, as part of Team GB. Tell us about that process, about that selection, and when you found out, what your reaction was.
15:42Yeah, so we've done trials for about a year. We meet as a GB squad up in Leeds. So girls from all over the UK come up and we train together. And then in April, the final 12 that are going to the Netherlands were selected. And when I found out I was in the team, I was extremely happy. It felt like my hard work had, sorry, my hard work had really paid off. So I'm buzzing.
16:08Absolutely. I can't even imagine. But talk to us as well about the meaning of the world qualifiers. What is that qualifying for? And talk us through how the tournament's kind of structured.
16:19Yeah, so the world championship qualifiers is, our zone is Europe and Africa, and there's a limited amount of spots. So we'll all compete to make one of those spots to then attend the world championships in 2027. And it's a typical round robin quarterfinal, semifinal and final structure.
16:41Amazing. And you're also a music teacher. So tell us a bit about the reaction of some of your classes. What did they say when you told them that you were competing on the world stage?
16:50Yeah, I did tell a few of them. And I obviously told my colleagues at the school, who were really happy for me. So they were really, they were really proud of me. And it's really nice to be able to share that with them.
17:06That's great. And as well, your club teammates, I'm sure they must have been impressed. And obviously, do you ever find it sometimes that when you're kind of talking about it, you get a lot of questions because it's not the most well known sport? Does that come up a lot?
17:17Yeah, definitely. My club, there's a boy in the club called James and another girl called Jazz, who are also coming to the Netherlands with me. But when I definitely speak to people who haven't heard of the sport before, it's, it sometimes can be a quite a long conversation explaining it, often ending in, I think it's best to have a look on YouTube.
17:40No, that is, that is fair enough. I mean, I was the same before I had a go and I was woefully underprepared, as you know, as the person who gave me a quick introduction to the sport. But also tell me a bit about the GoFundMe. You made a GoFundMe in order to raise money to go out there because underwater hockey isn't kind of recognised as a professional sport. Tell me a bit about that and about how that fundraising journey has been going.
18:05Yeah, so unfortunately, underwater hockey isn't a professional sport. And it's up to individual players to raise funds to pay for tournament entry and accommodation and travel and things like that. So I put out a GoFundMe and did a fundraising quiz at my school to try and help with some of that money.
18:25I see. And it not being recognised as professional, is that something that you see is changing or could change in the future?
18:33It's definitely a growing sport. I'm really, really hopeful to see it one day at the Olympics, potentially not myself competing, but maybe as a coach.
18:42That'd be amazing. And what do you think is driving that growth? Maybe is it social media? Is it young people joining the sport? Where does that come from?
18:49I think it's a relatively new sport as far as sports go. And water sports often take a bit longer to develop over land sports.
19:00Just from accessibility point of view, we are relying on the fact that there's limited pool spaces. We can't just go to a park and kick around a football.
19:07So it's going to take a little bit more time. But I think, you know, we're really committed to developing young players and helping those that want to get involved. Give it a go.
19:17Absolutely. And I love to hear what you mentioned there about hopefully being a coach one day. How are you developing that within yourself? How does that come about?
19:25So my club have a mixed team and a ladies team, and I'm currently captain of my club's ladies team.
19:35And I really enjoy, you know, giving the younger players some advice and some feedback and talking strategies.
19:42And once I've I've stopped playing at an elite level, I'd love to focus on the more strategy and coaching side of things.
19:51I see. And tell me a bit about that strategy. So obviously, with the way the game is, I'm aware that you're a forward, but talk to me about the other positions and how does the kind of the team composition really work in the professional game?
20:03Yeah, so it's six a side and you can split that in in quite a number of ways, three, three or two, three, one or one, three, two.
20:13And each formation has quite a different way of playing and different triggers.
20:19So when this player has the puck, these players go down. When this player has the puck, these players go down.
20:25So there's quite a few different ways to play the sport.
20:28Right. I see. Very, very interesting there. And do you find a lot of the time that it's kind of hard to drill that positioning in a way because the sport is so chaotic, because you've got people swimming in from all angles?
20:41But does that eventually develop? And is there a kind of a set positioning structure that teams will adhere to?
20:46And like you mentioned, they're almost a formation like in football, you know, a three, three or a two, three, one.
20:51Yeah, I think it's similar in terms of, you know, in football, you've got to time your tackle.
20:58It's it's the same transferred over to Underwood's hockey where you have to time going down because sometimes new players go down and then the puck's over there and they've kind of missed the the the key time to go and get involved.
21:12So I think timing comes. But honestly, between six months and a year, once you've you've put in time, you know, you've gone every week and you've you've done it.
21:21I've seen players go from, you know, barely getting involved to actually having a big impact on the game.
21:27I see. And would you describe Underwood's hockey as a contact sport or a non-contact sport?
21:32That's a great question. I probably would just determine it as a contact sport.
21:40It can get quite physical, although you can't actually, you know, body someone or tackle them like you would in rugby.
21:47I think it's it's definitely got its contact.
21:51I see. And do you find in the sport that you can get injuries? Is that at all common?
21:56Less so of sprains and breaks because you've not got kind of, you know, gravity isn't isn't a big factor and the water is quite dense.
22:06So it slows a lot of a lot of the impact out. But the big thing is, like I said, this puck is two kgs of lead and, you know, a flick or a pass that goes wayward can hit you in the eye or chip your tooth.
22:19So I think I think injuries definitely happen, but they're very different to the typical injuries you'd see on a netball court or or a rugby pitch.
22:27I don't even want to imagine getting one of those to the teeth. That's really got to hurt.
22:31And earlier, actually, I was talking to some of my colleagues in the newsroom and I said, have you got any questions about underwater hockey as someone who doesn't know anything about it?
22:38And the thing that people were telling me was how hard is it and how slow is it to push the puck along the ground?
22:45Can you describe that? You did mention earlier about obviously you can't do any of these long passes, but you mentioned two kilograms as well.
22:50What is that weight like?
22:53It's it's a lot of technique to get it up and and through the water.
22:58It's a disc and a puck. So you can actually, you know, get some slice through the water and it can travel.
23:04But it's definitely hard work.
23:08And that's probably an understatement because you're holding your breath, you're pushing water and you're you're fighting against someone who's trying to push against you.
23:15So it's fitness is is one of the biggest factors in terms of of actually making an impact in the game.
23:23I see. And looking ahead to the the qualifiers in the Netherlands, what is the feeling like not only among yourself,
23:31but among those teammates you mentioned, the West Wycombe ones, James and Jazz, who are also heading there with you?
23:38Yeah, feeling at the club is good.
23:40They're so supportive of us GB players heading there.
23:43And in the GB team, we've got a WhatsApp chat and we're always encouraging each other,
23:47whether that's training or nutrition or just trying to get our mind ready.
23:52There's some great countries going to this competition and we want to we want to come out with the gold.
23:57Absolutely. And this is a question we always like to ask here on Invictus Sport.
24:02If you could talk to yourself, Rona, back when you were first starting out underwater hockey,
24:06like those hurdles we mentioned earlier, what advice would you give to your younger self?
24:13I'd say don't quit. You're going to get dropped.
24:17You're going to have worse games. You're going to let goals in.
24:20But at the end of the day, you have fantastic teammates and you're going to achieve a lot.
24:25So keep going.
24:27Brilliant. And you mentioned, obviously, about you wanting to get more into coaching.
24:30What kind of advice would you give as a coach to young players in the game if they're sort of getting a bit disheartened
24:35with the difficulties and the unique kind of challenges that underwater hockey offers?
24:41Yeah, I'd say commitment is probably the biggest thing you can give yourself.
24:46If you commit to training and to turning up every week, there will come a day you will look back and think, wow, I'm so glad I kept going with that.
24:56I'm so glad I didn't quit because look how good I am now.
25:01You will see that difference because a week, a month, it's not enough time.
25:05You've got to commit.
25:06Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for your time, Rona.
25:10You're very welcome. Thanks for having me.
25:11No problem at all.
25:12Well, it certainly doesn't look like Rona's feeling out of her depth at all ahead of these national qualifiers.
25:20And hopefully the same can be said for Gareth Ironsworth and the Jills.
25:23But if you're interested in that, don't forget you can keep up to date with all the latest football news by reading Kent Online.
25:29But did you also know you can have your weekly digest of Jills news sent directly to your email inbox?
25:36That's absolutely right.
25:37Just search Kent Online email alerts and sign up on the website for all the latest written transfer news, match reports and interviews.
25:45And if the Jills isn't your cup of tea, maybe you're a Ramsgate fan or something, well, there's plenty more email alerts to choose from,
25:51including all the latest non-league football news, too.
25:55Like I say, it's not just Jills news.
25:57You can also keep up with Tunbridge Angels, Ramsgate, Chatham Town and all the rest of the teams in the Pyramid.
26:02But it's that time again.
26:04It is full time on today's episode of Invicta Sport.
26:08But don't forget, there is plenty more sports news, interviews and, of course, features from right across the county available on our website, kmtv.co.uk.
26:18You can click on the Sports tab or watch back previous episodes of Invicta Sport by clicking on Programs.
26:24And if you play a sport or you have a sports story that you think we need to be covering, then please don't hesitate to get in touch and contact us on our email.
26:33But for now, that's all we have time for.
26:36And I'll see you next time for another episode of Invicta Sports.
26:39Catch you then.
26:54I'll see you next time for another episode of Invicta Sports.
26:55I'll see you next time for another episode of Invicta Sports.
26:57I'll see you next time for another episode of Invicta Sports.
26:58I'll see you next time for another episode of Invicta Sports.
26:59I'll see you next time for another episode of Invicta Sports.
27:00I'll see you next time for another episode of Invicta Sports.
27:01I'll see you next time for another episode of Invicta Sports.
27:02I'll see you next time for another episode of Invicta Sports.
27:03I'll see you next time for another episode of Invicta Sports.
27:04I'll see you next time for another episode of Invicta Sports.
27:05I'll see you next time for another episode of Invicta Sports.
27:06I'll see you next time for another episode of Invicta Sports.
27:07I'll see you next time for another episode of Invicta Sports.
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