Underwater rugby in the United States

History

Nick Caloyianis started the first team at Catonsville Community College (now called Community College of Baltimore County, Catonsville). He is a famous underwater filmmaker and director, with several televised specials. Catonsville Community College is just south of the Baltimore Beltway, and south of the city limits. Anne Arundel Community College had a competing team for several years. It was also played for a while at the YMCA pool in Severna Park, Arundel Olympic Swim Center pool in Annapolis, and briefly in a pool in Columbia and at Howard Community College. There weren't any players from Colombia, S. America for several years after the start of UWRugby in the USA, although they did participate in the 1990s and had players on the men's team at 1999 and 2003 worlds and women's team at 2003 worlds. Voting representatives for the international CMAS rules changes were sent to the CMAS 1987 Underwater Rugby Worlds in Zurich, Switzerland, and to the worlds in 1991 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Boston started a team a couple years later than Baltimore and Boston still plays both Underwater Rugby and more recently underwater hockey.

International competition

A combined team of players from Baltimore, Boston, and some Colombian immigrants went to the Worlds in 1999 in Germany and in 2003 to Fredericia, Denmark. A combined women's team also went to Worlds in 2003. Underwater rugby as a team game came to light in 1999 when US sent for the first time a men's team to a World Cup (Essen, Germany). In 2003, both women's and men's teams were assembled for the World Cup tournament hosted in Fredericia, Denmark. Underwater hockey players, scuba divers, and former players from Europe (mainly Germany) and Colombia have been key for the development of the game. The USA National Team has only been involved 4 times in CMAS world tournaments as described above. The team for the 2003 World Cup was assembled with players from different states with a base pool set in Massachusetts.