 | |
| Abbreviation | BOA |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | BSAC |
| Formation | 1976 |
| Type | NGO |
| Purpose | National body for underwater hockey in Great Britain |
| Headquarters | VSS PO Box 28 Sanquhar DG4 6WW [1] |
Region served | United Kingdom |
Chairman | Phil Thompson |
Vice Chairman | Richard Adams |
Secretary | Samantha Marlowe |
Treasurer | Peter Hornby |
Key people | Cliff Underwood (founder) [2] |
| Affiliations | BUSA BSAC |
| Website | http://www.gbuwh.co.uk |
British Octopush Association (BOA) is the governing body for underwater hockey in Great Britain.
The BOA is an organisation based on individual members rather than on clubs. It is managed by a committee elected from the membership. It provides competition at national level and the opportunity to play internationally. It also provides coaching and refereeing courses for its members. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] In July 2013 the BOA entered in an affiliation agreement with the British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC) in order to improve its recognition as a national governing body (NGB) and to access a range of services including checking services required by child protection legislation. [8] [9]
The BOA was formed in 1976 to directly control and develop the sport. Prior to the creation of the BOA, underwater hockey competitions had been conducted since the 1950s under the auspices of the BSAC. In 1977 the BSAC in its role as the NGB for underwater activities (also called sub aqua) recognised the BOA as the controlling body for the sport in the UK. [10] [11]
A sports governing body is a sports organization that has a regulatory or sanctioning function.
Underwater hockey (UWH), is a globally played limited-contact sport in which two teams compete to manoeuvre a puck across the bottom of a swimming pool into the opposing team's goal by propelling it with a hockey stick.
The British Sub-Aqua Club or BSAC has been recognised since 1954 by UK Sport as the national governing body of recreational diving in the United Kingdom.
Norbert Oscar Gugen co-founded the British Sub-Aqua Club, "the largest and most successful diving club in the world", and the partnership E. T. Skinner & Co. Ltd., which became Typhoon International, "the world’s largest manufacturer of drysuits". Born Norbert Oscar Gugenbichler in Paris with dual Austrian and French nationality, he was naturalised British as "Manager and Secretary " on 29 August 1951.
The Scottish Sub Aqua Club (ScotSAC) was founded in Glasgow in 1953. Today it is a company limited by guarantee with nearly 70 branches and 1200 members. ScotSAC instructors provide scuba diving training to branch members on an amateur basis. It is recognised by sportscotland as the National Governing Body for Sub Aqua in Scotland.
The Sub-Aqua Association or SAA is a diver training organization for scubadivers in the United Kingdom. The SAA and other UK-based diving groups have traditionally used a club-based system with unpaid instructors, while other training agencies organise most of their training programs through professional instructors and dive shops. The other major club-based diving organizations in the UK are the British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC) and the Scottish Sub Aqua Club, and the principal non-club-based organisation is PADI.
Underwater sports is a group of competitive sports using one or a combination of the following underwater diving techniques - breath-hold, snorkelling or scuba, usually including the use of equipment such as diving masks and fins. These sports are conducted in the natural environment at sites such as open water and sheltered or confined water such as lakes and in artificial aquatic environments such as swimming pools. Underwater sports include the following - aquathlon, finswimming, freediving, spearfishing, sport diving, underwater football, underwater hockey, underwater ice hockey, underwater orienteering, underwater photography, underwater rugby, underwater target shooting and underwater video.
The Welsh Association of Sub Aqua Clubs (WASAC) was the national governing body (NGB) for Sub Aqua in Wales until January 2016. Sub Aqua is a broad term encompassing both recreational underwater activities such as recreational diving and snorkelling, and competitive underwater activities including underwater sports as underwater hockey
Underwater Hockey Wales is responsible for underwater hockey in Wales. It is the association representing British Octopush Association (BOA) clubs based in Wales. Underwater Hockey Wales is affiliated to the Welsh Association of Sub Aqua Clubs – the national governing body for underwater sports in Wales, comprising scuba diving, underwater hockey, and snorkelling.
The BSAC London Branch is the original branch No.1 of the British Sub-Aqua Club. The branch continues as an active, member-driven club to train and undertake scuba diving within the UK and around the world. The branch is currently located in the basement of the Seymour Leisure Centre in Marylebone, central London. The branch meets weekly at 7pm on Tuesdays and retires to the Thornbury Castle nearby after training or playing Octopush in the swimming pool.
The Spanish Federation of Underwater Activities is the governing body in the field of Spanish aquatic sports. As of 2022, the federation has 895 registered clubs and 32,289 federated athlets.
The Northern Ireland Federation of Sub-Aqua Clubs (NIFSAC) is the National Governing Body (NGB) for Sub Aqua in Northern Ireland. Sub Aqua is a broad term encompassing both recreational underwater activities such as recreational diving and snorkelling, and competitive underwater activities such as underwater hockey.
British Underwater Sports Association (BUSA) is the British affiliate of the Sports Committee of Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS).
Comhairle Fo-Thuinn, also known as Irish Underwater Council (IUC) and trading as Diving Ireland, is the national governing body for recreational diving and underwater sports in Ireland.
The Underwater Society of America (USOA) is the peak body for underwater sport and recreational diving in the United States.
Finswimming in the United Kingdom (UK) is practised at both regional and national level via a network of clubs affiliated to a national body, the British Finswimming Association (BFA).
Diver organisations are membership based organisations where the membership is wholly, or at least in large part, underwater divers, and the organisation is intended to further a mutual interest related to underwater diving or the aquatic environment as it affects divers or diving activity. Some organisations have more than one focus of interest.
Underwater hockey in Great Britain was first played in Southsea, Hampshire where it was invented in 1954. It is governed nationally by the British Octopush Association.
