Four Caterham underwater hockey players won bronze medals at a junior national tournament on 7th July, in the under 12s category, at Surrey Sports Centre.

They joined players from across the UK, from Orkney to the Isle of Wight, in this annual competition.

Under the strong leadership of their Caterham captain, Louis Preston, the four under 12 Caterham players, Wesley Wood, Yasia Evteeva and Daniel Lakin, joined forces with two Guildford players, to form Team South East.

In addition, three Caterham players, Ivan Wood, Lilli Speed and Elise Wood joined the under 16s Team South East, and were ranked fifth, and three more represented the under 14s Team South East B, Esme Glass, Jack Lakin and Joseph Dyson, placing eighth.

Club coach Ellie Russell said “We’re really proud of how well our players performed under the pressure of a national tournament. Their training and hard work paid off, and it was great to see our under 12s team win their fourth consecutive bronze medal.”

Underwater hockey (or octopush) is a fun and fast-paced game, played on the bottom of a swimming pool. Players use short sticks to propel a metal puck through the water, whilst wearing a mask, snorkel and fins, and score by getting the puck into the 3m long goal. There are six players on each team, plus up to four subs. Underwater hockey originally started in the 1950s in Southsea, Portsmouth, and is now played internationally.

West Wickham Underwater Hockey Club juniors train at de Stafford Leisure Centre, in Caterham, on Sunday evenings 5-6pm. The first trial session is free.