Underwater rugby, a collective sport, is practiced in around twenty countries around the world. Colombia is a double world champion in the discipline. One of the star teams, The Orcas (Les Orcques), is from Medellín. This club won the last trophy in 2024 in the world championship in Germany. This success inspires the young Colombians who no longer hesitate to embark on the adventure.
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From our correspondent to Medellin,
Do not trust his qualifier! The underwater rugby has nothing to do with terrestrial rugby. Originally from Germany, this sport has arrived in Colombia In the 1980s. What had started as an entertaining training in water has become an official sports discipline.
The principle is simple: in a basin with a depth of 3.50 to 5 meters, six players and players must try to put a ball filled with salt water in a basket installed at the bottom of the swimming pool. The players occupy three positions: guardian, defender and attacker. One thing is common with terrestrial rugby: it is a melee sport. Blues, scratches, violent shocks are common as in a fight.
Julian Garcia Ramirez, professor of physical education, is the coach of the underwater rugby team “Tritons Udea” [Les tritons, NDLR] From the University of Antioquia founded in 2012. Today, it has around 60 players and players. “” This sport arrived at university with a club called Scuba Underwater. As students finished their studies here, they created other clubs outside. So the Udea University is in a way the mother of all other clubs. It’s been over thirty years already. During the last national tournament in September, 29 clubs participated. This sport has become popular, especially since club victories at the international championships. »
Colombia at the top of the discipline
This sport, which is not very widespread, is played in around twenty countries. Colombia is one of the flagship countries. Medellín is her stronghold because she houses the double world champions in the discipline: the Orcas club. It was founded in 1979 to give diving lessons within the University of Antioquia. In 2010, he changed training site. The male team was world champion twice and that of women once. This raises Colombia to the rank of the best nations of the discipline such as Germany, Denmark, Norway, Finland or Switzerland.
The administrator and player of the Orcas club in the Elite Male category, Daniel Arias Zapata, explains that ” The club has been dedicated to competition for twenty years. His success is due to his discipline but above all to the passion of swimmers, because it is not a paid sport. Despite everything, the players dedicate a lot of time and money to this sport. The club has 320 registered, and only 15 men and 15 women represent the country during competitions. »
The underwater rugby was born in the 1960s in Germany. Sport is practiced with fins, snorkel, glasses and helmet to protect the ears. In France, sport emerged in 2014. Today, five cities offer it. A French championship also exists.
Work your body and develop your senses
When playing players the reasons for their dedication to this sport, one aspect comes back every time: ” It’s a full sport and with little impact. This is what seduced Santiago Benavides Cordoba. At 35, this teacher engineer has been practicing underwater rugby for three years in the Medellín Underwater club. It was formed by the University of Antioquia. “Before, I weighed 80 kilos and I was looking for a sport that allowed me to burn calories. This sport was perfect. He makes all muscles work at the same time. It is a sport that allows you to train for a long time and even at an advanced age, because water reduces the impact on the body. »»
His friend Edwin Mora, 40, is an environmental engineer. He has been part of the Ude Tritons club for two years. “” I also like this sport because it helps me to maintain my mental balance. It requires concentration to control its breathing. In the water, we forget everything. Either you breathe or you think. And in addition, it’s a three -dimensional sport, you have to look in all directions. It improves your peripheral vision. At first, it’s difficult. It is a demanding sport for muscles and hard because of the lack of oxygen. But, it’s a challenge sport. And I like the fact that we are a mixed team: men, women. It is not common. »
In Colombia, the Federation of Underwater Sports (Fedecas) is organizing a national, male and female tournament, four times a year. In men, there are two categories: “Elite and Promotion”. In that known as Elite, among the ten best clubs in the country, six belong to the League of the Antioquia region of which the city of Medellin is the capital. The next major meetings of the year will be the European underwater rugby championship in November in Greece and the World Cup in the same month in Brazil.
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