Bunbury athlete Samantha Blackham is yet to turn 15 but on Friday she will fly to Hobart to join the Australian under 19 B-grade women’s team to compete in the Underwater Hockey Trans Tasman event.
The local school student has already represented Western Australia at two national championships, including the January 2016 edition in Bunbury, and is thrilled to be named in the Australian side.
Samantha said she first played underwater hockey when she was aged 10 having come from a competitive swimming background.
“Underwater hockey is really fun and different,” she said. “My friends from school think it’s really interesting and also a bit odd.”
It’s fair to say Samantha has the pedigree to be an underwater hockey star in her genes with a number of family members previously representing Australia.
Her dad Shane, himself a current national player, said the popularity of the sport has boomed in the South West in the past few years.
“It’s as technically advanced and physically demanding as any sport I’ve ever played,” he said.
“It has its own unique challenges as under the surface opponents can come from left, right, above and below and there is no way to verbally communicate with your teammates.
“The puck typically skims quickly across the tiled pool surface and sometimes opponents can get a bit rough.”
Each player requires specialist equipment before diving into the court including gloves, a snorkel, fins and a small hockey stick.
Samantha said the Australian team are sure to be competitive but will find the fast-paced New Zealand squad a formidable opponent.
“I think we will go alright,” she said. “The New Zealand side is older and stronger so they will be fierce rivals.”
After the Trans Tasman event, Samantha has her eye on being selected for the under 19s Australian side to compete at the world championships in 2019.
The pair thanked the City of Bunbury for a recent tiling upgrade to the South West Sports Centre pool which Shane said has put Bunbury on the international underwater hockey map. They also praised their supporters from Coastal Water Dive and Pete’s Chop Shop.