As we all know, summer in Dubai is no joke so what better way to beat the heat and stay active at the same time than by playing underwater torpedo? The sound of flowing water will be a nice break from the clanging iron in the gym.
So how do you play? The game is divided into three rounds. Two teams of five compete against each other underwater to gain possession of a small rubber torpedo to score five goals in the back of a net in order to win a round.
You’ll need to take a deep breath as you can only travel with the torpedo while submerged and if any body part pokes out of the water then you have to give up possession and suffer a penalty. Pass the torpedo to your teammates when you need to come up for air. Perhaps establish a pointing up gesture so that you can co-ordinate oxygen breaks with your team.
Here’s how to play:
Maybe similar to how substitutes work in football, players “on the bench” can sit on the edge of the pool above the water and when an underwater teammate tugs/tags your leg, it means he’s coming up for air and you need to take a deep breath and take his spot. If the average person is capable of holding their breath for a minute then it could make for an exciting game with such frequent substitutions.
While it sounds like it could be good fun, it also will teach you the economy of motion and how to efficiently control your breathing which is a crucial element in any form of exercise. The sport which is a great form of cardio requiring complete body strength has become popular on the West Coast of America.
In Southern California, there’s an Underwater Torpedo League (UTL) with another location on the opposite coast in Miami, Florida. In fact, Deep End Fitness, a total-body workout program established in multiple California locations has even attracted UFC stars such as ‘The Dominator’ Dominick Cruz to work out in their Hawthorne location.
“We’re seeing a lot of crazy transformations at the pool. Someone goes from holding their breath for a minute to holding their breath for three and a half minutes underwater,” Prime Hall, founder of Deep End Fitness as well as the UFL along with ex-Marine Raider Don Tran says.
Currently, the UTL is looking to expand to Hawaii as well as Austin, Texas.
Even if you aren’t a top level athlete, the rules of Underwater Torpedo aren’t set in stone so if you could find some snorkel masks with long breathing tubes, you and your friends wouldn’t have to worry about coming up for air and can keep the game going.
