Music teacher goes for underwater hockey gold

Rona Wignall, a Kent music teacher, will be heading to the Netherlands to play Underwater Hockey for Great Britain

A Kent teacher said that being selected to represent Great Britain in underwater hockey is a privilege as she prepares for an international tournament.

Rona Wignall, a music teacher at Radnor House in Sevenoaks, said she aims to go for gold as she heads from the West Wickham underwater hockey team to the Great Britain team.

Ms Wignall, 32, from Tunbridge Wells, has been selected for the Underwater Hockey World Championship Qualifiers in Dordrecht in the Netherlands in August.

She is now fundraising to cover the cost of taking part, with her expenses for the event expected to rise to over £2,000.

She said: "My school are great about it – it can be tricky but sometimes I can go and train and release all my stress.

"It's a privilege to be able to train and play for your country."

What is Underwater Hockey?

Underwater Hockey, also known as Octopush, involves teams of players wearing fins gloves and a small hockey stick competing to push a 2kg (4.4 lbs) puck into the opposition's goal.

The sport, which was first conceived in Southsea in 1954, tests players who must hold their breath and swim underwater during play.

Underwater Hockey is largely played in universities in the UK, Ms Wignall added.

According to the British Octopush Association website, 68 clubs are registered in the UK with over 1,800 players.

Great Britain's women's Underwater Hockey team will take part in the World Championship Qualifiers

Born in Manchester, Ms Wignall said she first picked up underwater hockey while growing up in New Zealand, having followed her older sister into the sport.

Moving back to the UK shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic, she added that her first international tournament, the World Championships in Australia in 2020, were postponed due to lockdowns and rescheduled for 2023, where Great Britain finished fourth.

The upcoming championship, from 17-23 August, will see the best teams from Europe and Africa compete for a place in the World Championships scheduled for 2027.

Ms Wignall said that she heads to Leeds once a month to train with the Great Britain team, who hope to secure a gold medal in 2027.