s a quite young sport that has its origin in the physical fitness training of German diving clubs and has little in common with “normal” Rugby except for the name. It is played in a pool with a depth of 3.5m to 5m and the goals (heavy metal buckets with a diameter of about 40cm) are at the bottom of the pool. Two teams (blue and white), each with six players (plus six substitutes), try to score a goal by sending the slightly negatively buoyant ball (filled with saltwater) into the opponents’ goal. It is a fast and exhausting game therefore the subs replace their players on the fly.
The game always takes place under water and the ball must not leave the water. The ball can be passed (in any direction) to the other players. It “flies” about 2m or 3m before it stops due to the water resistance. This makes good tactics and good (three dimensional) positioning essential. The players can use different abilities. Strength, speed, mobility or simply low consumption of oxygen are all similarly important.
Not very many people play underwater rugby, because of this UWR is often played in mixed male-female teams.
History
It was a member of the German Underwater Club, Cologne by the name of Ludwig von Bersuda who in 1961 came up with the idea of a ball game underwater. Whether he got the idea from conditioning exercises with sand-filled bottles in the Munich Underwater Club, or some other thoughts played a role, will never be known. An air-filled ball is not suitable for underwater games, since they are buoyant and always return to the surface. For this reason, Bersuda filled the ball with salt-water. Since the density of the ball was now greater than that of normal water, it no longer floated to the surface, but slowly sank to the bottom. The sink rate could, within certain limits, be controlled by the concentration of the salt solution. The first underwater ball was invented. Since soccer-balls were too large to be practical, water-polo balls were used.
At that time this game was used to warm-up before normal training. Franz Grimmeisen was a member of the German Underwater Club in Duisburg, a city nearby Cologne. He was ambitious to make a competitive sport from this ball game. The German Lifeguard Association (DLRG) of Mülheim (DLRG Mülheim/Ruhr) had founded a diver's club, and through contact with members of DUC Duisburg learned of the underwater ball game that would in future become known as "Underwater Rugby". Then came the question, what kind of game could you play with this ball? Here too, Ludwig von Bersuda had an idea. He spanned the middle of the pool with a net, like volleyball, that stopped 1 m above the pool bottom. Two teams played against each other: the offensive team had to carry the ball to the opposing field and put it into a bucket. The idea for the game was ready, and the DUC Cologne used it to warm-up before normal training. Other teams saw this and started to use salt-water filled balls themselves.
After years-long efforts by the DUC Cologne, the "Cologne Discipline" was demonstrated as a competition sport at the national games in 1963. This was probably the first official game with a ball under water. At the time, though, there was no interest. Only one member of DUC Duisburg, a dentist by the name of Dr. Franz Josef Grimmeisen, took it upon himself to make a competitive sport from this ball game. His enthusiasm was not, however shared by the club. The DLRG Muellheim had founded a diver's club, and through contact with members of DUC Duisburg learned of the underwater ball game that would in future become known as "Underwater Rugby". They were more open to the idea. With the help of DLRG Muellheim (since 1967 TSC Muellheim/ Ruhr), Dr. Grimmeisen arranged the first Underwater Rugby game on Sunday October 4, 1964. It took place between DLRG Muellheim and DUC Duisburg. DLRG lost the game 5:2. The media took notice of this "premiere" and in the next edition of the "Essener Tageblatt" there was a half page report with two photos. Dr. Grimmeisen kept promoting the ideas of an Underwater Rugby Tournament to give the sport a character of serious competition. He, together with the scuba-diving section of the DUC Muellheim/Ruhr, to which six players of DUC Duisburg came, organized the first Underwater Ruby Tournament rules, and the "Battle for the Golden Ball" in Hallenbad Sued, in Muellheim/Ruhr. The premiere was on November 5, 1965. Six clubs sent teams to Muellheim: DUC Bochum; DUC Duesseldorf, DUC Duisburg, DUC Essen and TSC Delphin Leudenscheid.The rules of those days allowed 8-player teams, and DLRG Muellheim, the home-team, came away winners, against DUC Duisburg (with whom Dr. Grimmesien played).
The tournament has been held every year since then, which makes it the oldest tournament in the history of the sport. The Cologne version of the game didn't make the breakthrough, and was only played for a short time thereafter in Cologne, and has been long since forgotten. The Cologne team itself also turned to Underwater Rugby. To bring this game to the international arena, Dr. Grimmeisen turned to the two then most important members of the CMAS, France and the USSR. He offered demonstration games and press coverage. Sadly, interest was not forthcoming. Just one French sport magazine "L'Equipe" printed a short article in the April 9, 1965 edition.
The Scandinavian countries showed more interest, and adopted the ideas in relatively short time. A demonstration in Denmark in 1973 and in Finland in 1975 were effective. Games in Belgium in Sept. 1973 and Vienna in 1979 were ineffective in generating interest. In the Eastern Block, only teams of the Czech Republic were interested, and they, according to the politics of the time, played only against communist teams. The only tournament that was known there was the Underwater Rugby Tournament in Prague, which has taken place every year since 1975 (with the exception of 1979). In later years, Polish teams participated as well, and teams from East Germany, who used the game for conditioning, sent observers.
Since 1972, when the game was recognized as a sport by the VDST, official German Championships have taken place (in 1971, the first unofficial German Championships took place). The first German Championship was fought in Muellheim, of course, and the first German Champions were TSC Muellheim. In 1978, Underwater Rugby and Underwater Hockey were officially recognized by the CMAS, and from 28-30 April, 1978, the first European Championships took place in Malmo/Sweden, and from 15-18 May 1980, the first World Championships in Muellheim.
This match can be regarded as the first underwater ball game. A first championship was carried out 1966 in Mülheim, at that time with eight players per crew. 1971 was the year of the first all-German Underwater Rugby championship, which had at that time however still no official character. In 1973 Underwater Rugby was officially introduced. The first official European championship was carried out in the city of Malmø in Sweden. The first world championship took place 1980 in Mülheim/Ruhr, the birthplace of Underwater Rugby.
By February 2007 Underwater Rugby was introduced to the Philippines by Marius Bayer, a German trainee. Previously, a Filipino friend, Ryan Buaron who plays Underwater Hockey introduced Bayer to the UW Hockey. In return, Bayer invited the members of the Philippine Underwater Hockey Confederation to hold the first ever Underwater Rugby game in the Philippines and perhaps in Asia-Pacific.
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Demolition derby
While rules vary from event to event, the typical demolition derby event consists of five or more drivers competing by deliberately ramming their vehicles into one another. The last driver whose vehicle is still operational is awarded the victory.
Demolition derbies can be very dangerous. Although serious injuries are rare, occasionally they do happen. To make the event safer, all glass is removed from the vehicle, and deliberately ramming the driver's-side door area is forbidden. The driver's door is often required to be painted white, with black numbers, or with contrasting colors, for visibility. Most demolition derbies are held on dirt tracks, or in open fields, that are usually soaked with water. This causes the competition area to become muddy, which in turn helps to further slow the vehicles. Some drivers use both the front, and rear, of the vehicle to ram the other competitors. Others tend to use only the rear end of the vehicle, to help protect the engine compartment from damage.
Competitors have traditionally used full-size, American made sedans, and station wagons, especially those from the 1960s and 70s, which were larger, heavier, and had more robust frames than later full-size vehicles. (The 1964-1966 Chrysler Imperial achieved near-legendary status for its crashworthiness, and is still banned from most derby events.) Vehicles are purchased from junkyards and private owners, usually for less than US$500, though some select (and rust-free) mid-1970s sedans, and station wagons, may go for more than $1,000. A vehicle may be patched up and re-used for several events.
With the dwindling availability of these older vehicles, smaller full-sized vehicles of the 1980s and 1990s are more frequently encountered today. A separate class of demolition derby for compact cars is increasing in popularity. Compact car events have the advantages of an abundant supply of usable vehicles, which also tend to be more mobile and thus, more entertaining to fans. Being largely front-wheel drive, their back ends can sustain considerable amounts of damage before the vehicle is immobilized. However, this increased speed, coupled with the fact that compact cars tend to be less crashworthy, makes injuries more frequent.
Bizarre versions of the sport using combine harvesters, and lawn mowers have been practiced in various parts of the world. Larger vehicles, such as pickup trucks and SUV's were rarely used in demolition derby (though school bus demolitions have long been a popular exception), but have recently become popular in demolition events. Recently a new class for minivans has been added to some derbies because of the abundance of older vehicles.
The vehicles are stripped of interior fixtures, trim, plastic, lights, and glass, and repainted, usually in loud, garish designs. Additional modifications include trimming sheet metal from around the wheel wells, removing parts of bumpers, welding the doors shut, and relocating the battery and gas tank.The radiator is sometimes relocated to the back seat. To make the cars last longer, they are occasionally pre-bent, frames notched, rear bumper removed, trunk lid notched, and rear coil springs are (when rules allow) replaced with leaf springs. In many instances, roll bars, fire extinguishers, and other safety equipment is installed.
Demolition derbies were first held at various fairs and race tracks by independent promoters in the 1950s. There are unconfirmed reports of events occurring as far back as the 1930s utilizing the abundant supply of worn out Ford Model T's.
The sport's popularity grew throughout the 1960s, becoming a standard of county fairs in rural areas, and becoming a quirky subculture nationwide. ABC's Wide World of Sports, featured demolition derbies on several broadcasts in the 1970s. The popular ABC sitcom Happy Days included the character Pinky Tuscadero, a professional demolition derby driver and occasional love interest to the show's most popular character, Arthur Fonzarelli. Demolition Derbies are found by many to be very amusing.[who?]
By the 1980s, the sport's popularity began to level off, and then possibly decline throughout the 1990s. With the demise of Wide World of Sports, television exposure became virtually non-existent. In addition to safety concerns and the shortage of full-size vehicles, some felt that the sport has shown little change or innovation beyond its original premise of giant lumbering cars sloshing through mud.
In 1997, The Nashville Network (later part of CBS) returned demolition derby to national television in its "TNN's Motor Madness" series of various motor-sport events. However, as part of MTV Networks' takeover of CBS Cable operations in 2000, demolition derbies, as well as the rest of the CBS motor-sports operations, were removed from programming as part of MTV's move to shut down the CBS Charlotte operation based at Lowe's Motor Speedway and generalize the network into a more broadly viewed channel. Pay per view was demolition derby's only national television outlet in the new millennium. Two $50,000-to-win derbies were held in Widewater, Canada from 2000-2001.
Later in the 2000s, a proliferation of cable television shows about vehicle customizing occasionally showcased junked vehicles in bizarre competitions. Spike TV's "Carpocalypse" [1] was a reality documentary series on variations of demolition derby filmed in Orlando, Florida. The Speed Channel also has aired Team demolition derbies in 2005. Cable TV's exposure has led to renewed interest in the demolition derby.
In 2006 the partners of Mike Weatherford Promotions (Mike Weatherford and Dustin Swayne) brought DerbyMadness.com to life while promoting the NAPA Auto Parts Crash for Cash Series. The First Annual final show paid out $5,000.00 to the winner of the series. To compete in the final show, derby drivers across several states had to first qualify at any one of the participating NAPA Crash for Cash qualifying derbys. There were over 100 cars in the final show. The Series was a huge success and continues to grow every year. The 2007 Series Money was doubled, so competition is expected to increase for the 2008 series.
Rollover competitions
Also included at many demolition derbies in the US and UK are rollover competitions, where the object is to drive a car so that only the wheels on one side hit a ramp, causing the vehicle to roll over repeatedly. Drivers take multiple runs at the ramp until their vehicle dies. The driver who completes the most rollovers before their vehicle ceases to function is declared the winner. Compact cars, especially hatchbacks, are used in rollover competitions. Their lighter weight enables them to roll more easily than larger vehicles. However, with modern high-horsepower unibody sedans and coupes now appearing on salvage lots, some of this conventional wisdom is being questioned and some major competitions have been won by drivers of mid-size and full-size sedans.
Figure 8 racing
Various classes of vehicles have competitions staged on figure 8 shaped tracks. Bump To Pass Figure eights are also quite popular as they involve less prep work from the usual figure eight racer which usually can also race as an oval track street stock. Demolition derby vehicles - especially school buses - often compete on figure 8 tracks. The best known figure 8 track in the US is Riverhead Raceway in Riverhead, New York.
Monster truck racing
Junked vehicles are also destroyed for entertainment at monster truck competitions, so demolition derbies are often staged there as a preliminary event. The rise in popularity of monster truck competitions, beginning in the 1980s is sometimes cited as coming at the expense of demolition derby popularity. While derbies featured mostly local amateur talent, monster trucks popularized a new set of competitors and vehicles recognized nationwide by fans.
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