rules to play underwater photography

There are usually no restrictions on swimwear; however, baggy style trunks or shorts are not recommended, as they reduce speed and increase drag in the water. Typical swimwear is swim briefs for male players and one piece swimsuits for female players.

A diving mask is used for several reasons
Players can equalise their ears using the Valsalva manoeuvre as the nose is covered Unlike swim goggles a mask sits outside the eyes orbit, reducing the effects of any impact on the mask Improved underwater visibility
A low volume mask with minimal protrusion from the face reduces the likelihood of the mask being knocked, causing it to leak or flood and temporarily blind the player. In line with the rules any masks must have two lenses since a single lens mask poses a significant safety hazard in the event that an unfortunately placed puck should hit and possibly pass through the lens. A variety of webbing strap designs are available to replace the original head strap with a non elastic strap that further reduces the chances of the player being de masked.

A snorkel enables players to watch the progress of the game without having to remove their head from the water to breathe. This allows them to keep their correct position on the surface, ready to resume play once they have recovered. In order to maximise the efficiency of breathing and reduce drag underwater they are often short and wide bore, with or without a drain valve. They must not be rigid or have any unnecessarily acute edges or points.The snorkel may accommodate an external mouthguard which may be worn in conjunction with, or instead of, an internal mouthguard.

Fins allow the player to swim faster through the water. A wide range of fins are used in the sport but large plastic rubber composite fins or smaller, stiffer fibre glass or carbon fibre fins are commonplace at competitions. Once again they must have no unnecessarily acute or sharp edges, nor buckles.

The stick also referred to as a bat or pusher is relatively short according to recent rules, not more than 350mm including the handle and is coloured white or black to indicate the players team. The stick may only be held in one hand, which is usually determined by the players handedness, although players may swap hands during play. The shape of the stick may affect playing style and is often a very personal choice. A wide variety of stick designs are allowed within the constraints of the rules of the game, the principal rules being that the stick must fit into a box of 100x50x350mm and that the stick must not be capable of surrounding the puck or any part of the hand. A rule concerning the minimum radius of edges tries to address the risk that the stick might become more of a weapon than a playing tool! Sticks may be made of wood or plastics; rules that previously required sticks to be homogeneous have been superseded, although they usually are. Many players of UWH manufacture their own sticks to their preferred shape and style, although there are increasingly more mass produced designs to suit the majority such as Bentfish, Britbat, CanAm, Dorsal, Stingray etc..

The puck is approximately the size of an ice hockey puck but is made of lead or similar material Adult size weighs 3 lb 1.3 1.5 kg, Junior 1? lb 800 850 g and is surrounded by a plastic covering, which is usually matched to the pool bottom to facilitate good grip on the stick face while preventing excessive friction on the pool bottom. The pucks weight brings it to rest on the pool bottom, though can be lofted during passes.

Safety gear includes ear protection, usually in the form of a water polo cap to protect the eardrums and as a secondary indicator of the players team coloured black blue dark or white pale as appropriate. Water referees should wear red hats.

A glove should be worn on the playing hand to protect against pool bottom abrasion and, in some designs, for protection against puck impact on knuckles and other vulnerable areas no rigid protection is permitted though. Players may choose to wear a protective glove on both hands, either as additional protection from the pool bottom or, for ambidextrous players, to switch the stick between hands mid play. A glove used in competition must be a contrasting colour to the wearers stick, but not orange which is reserved for referees gloves.

The goals or gulleys are three metres wide and are sited at opposite ends of the playing area on the pool bottom. They consist of a shallow slope leading up to a trough into which the puck may be pushed or flicked. Goals are commonly constructed from aluminium, galvanised or stainless steel. This helps to ensure that they are negatively buoyant and are durable in the chlorinated water of swimming pools.

Refereeing the game are two or three water referees i.e. in the pool with full snorkelling gear, and preferably wearing a distinctive red cap, orange gloves and golden yellow shirt to observe and referee play at the pool bottom, and one or more poolside deck referees to track time both in the period and for each ejected player, maintain the score, and call fouls such as excessive number of players in play, failure to start a point from the end of the playing area, or another foul capable of being committed at or noticed at the surface. The deck chief referee responds to hand signals given by the water referees to start and stop play, including after an interruption such as a foul or time out, or indeed to stop play if he himself sees a rule infringement.The Official Rules which are available for download in PDF form without charge and define with illustrations a valid goal, the fouls and signals, and the dimensions of the playing area, sticks, and goals.