They charge from opposite ends to the pool's center, their finned feet propelling them towards a weighted puck on the bottom, arms extended above their heads, and one gloved fist clenching a wooden stick. Taking a deep breath, they descend towards the puck, hastening to make the first move.

Breath control is key in underwater hockey. Teammates must take turns between snorkeling on the surface and darting to the bottom to relieve a teammate, receive a pass, or advance the puck. Players are attracted to the sport because the water allows for three-dimensional movement. "You can come at the puck like you're in outer space," explains San Francisco native Joe Grandov, using his hands to illustrate all the possible angles. Subtract the speed and people have all the mobility of a bomber jet - they can spin and flip and make plays directly above or below each other.

Grandov, who has played underwater hockey in the Bay Area since the team's inception in 1978, says the water also allows co-ed players and people of all ages, shapes and sizes to have equal ability. "The water evens up some of the disparities of size and strength," says software engineer Matt Blair, 29. People in their fifties and sixties remain fairly competitive because the sport is not stressful on their joints.

Blair first played at Virginia Tech eight years ago after meeting a girl he fancied at a tournament. "The girl never worked out, but I stuck with the sport after that." He attends national and international tournaments and was one of nine Californians to compete on the U.S. national team at the World Championships in South Africa last year.

Aside from being a competitive sport, underwater hockey is a source of community for many. Club Puck in San Jose is the largest team in the United States with over sixty active members. The San Francisco Sea Lions' numbers are half that, but the two teams split from a Treasure Island team in the 1980s, so their relationship has always been one of camaraderie rather than rivalry.

"It's such a grass roots sport," says former World Champion Yori Huynh, 40, one of the many members from Club Puck who attends practices in San Francisco. "It's so small when there is a death, a marriage, moving, or kids...we're all there together. It's like an extended family to most of us. And we really are a diverse group." Many of the players are software engineers, like Huynh and Blair, but team members also include parking lot attendants, scuba divers, construction workers, and doctors from all over the world.

Though the sport is non-contact, flying pucks and kicking fins in a competitive setting make the activity aggressive. "When we're in the water it is pretty cutthroat, but we leave everything in the pool. Once we get out we're friends," says Huynh. Occasionally players will get hit with the puck, but getting kicked is more common. "I have one of the fastest curls, so people normally stay away when I start my curl while playing or else they end up getting kicked by my fins," says Huynh. "We teach all the new players that your free hand is for blocking people off," says Grandov.

San Francisco practices are run collectively and competing is not required. "We're happy to have anybody that shows up really," says Blair, who could be considered the Sea Lion's team captain, because he organizes game strategy at tournaments.

Every Friday night Blair and other teammates offer free practices to first-timers. Breath control and snorkel use are the most difficult aspects to learn. New players get so excited that their hearts start to race and they cannot manage their oxygen, says Blair.

Sarah Hewawitharana, who has played for two years, grew up in Sri Lanka where it was always "ridiculously hot," so water sports were popular. Her attraction to the water stems from a need to survive. She had nearly drowned twice by age eight. "For most people that would scare them off, but for me it was the opposite. I wanted to learn how not to die."

Many competitive swimmers prefer the action of underwater hockey to swimming laps. "In swimming you're racing against the clock. With this you are bumping into other people and trying to figure out how to out-maneuver them," says former swimmer Dan Jackson. "The intensity level is significantly higher." The most important thing, says Blair, is staying active and having fun. [X]