Underwater

The Underwater Club is essentially three clubs in one. The three activities it offers its members are Underwater Hockey, SCUBA Diving and Spearfishing. The club is very active within each of its three departments and we pride ourselves in being a popular club due to the enthusiasm and active participation of many of our members in at least one of these activities. Any member can participate in any one of the activities once he has signed up for the club and is not constrained to one activity.
Rhodes has a strong team of Underwater Hockey players that practice regularly, usually at least three to four times a week. This results in a strong team spirit amongst the regular players who attend numerous annual tournaments together such as Underwater Hockey Nationals for those that get selected to play for the Eastern Province side. Clubs is another annual tournament that happens towards the end of every year which is a more social tournament which is attended by many Underwater Hockey clubs from all over the country. Despite the dedicated training the Underwater Hockey team definitely knows how to have fun too and will always be up for a good braai at the clubhouse or tournament function. Come join us underwater and I can assure you’ll become addicted to this unusual sport in no time!
The SCUBA Division of the Underwater Club is always remarkably active thanks to our hard working and dedicated instructors who offer a number of courses of many different levels throughout the year. The club’s instructor will generally run: at least two Open Water (entry level) dive courses; at least two Advanced courses; often a Rescue course; and often qualifies Dive Masters. Our instructors are also usually qualified to instruct a First Aid and CPR course which is specialized for diving situations but is also the equivalent of a standard level 1 course. These courses are scheduled with as much consideration for the students’ individual time constraints as possible since we know that you’re at Rhodes to study...mostly!
We also offer a number of SCUBA diving trips to our diving members. One of the annual trips that we attend every year is the Noordhoek Dive Festival in June which is a dive festival that is hosted by a number of dive schools in the Eastern Cape. The trip consists of a weekend of solid diving on the Wildside, just south of Port Elizabeth, where there are a number of beautiful reefs and some awesome ocean life to be spotted. There is also the opportunity to win a number of prizes really worth winning such as cameras, BCDs and other dive gear. The other annual dive trip is the Aliwal Shoal dive trip which happens at the end of each year. This is a truly awesome trip and a great opportunity to see a lot of the sea life that we miss out on in the Eastern Cape such as whalesharks, tigersharks and tropical reefs and fishes. It’s also a great opportunity to get away with like-minded adventure seekers for a truly awesome time! Other dive trips that we hope to start this year are a Sardine Run dive trip and the Chokka Run dive trip.
Last but definitely not least the Spearfishing Division is also very active with weather dependant trips to the coast happening regularly. Trips generally occur in Kenton whenever the conditions allow for it and other trips to areas of the Transkei and other regions along the coast. For those that relish the adrenalin rush of hunting some surprisingly smart species and having the opportunity to get close to many other marine animals from sharks to turtles, this sport is definitely for you. Spearfishing nationals is another annual event that is always attended by a couple of dedicated Rhodes Spearfishers. There have been many great fish shot by members, which is shown by the biggest fish trophy in the clubhouse with an 11kg Pignose Grunter being last years’ biggest fish. This year we plan to do joint spearfishing and SCUBA dive trips to maximise the available transport when the weather is good. Our Spearfishing representative is also happy to take on beginners as long as they have a reasonable level of fitness and the club does have a speargun and other kit available for beginners to use.
All in all, our club is a very active and social one. Our committee is dedicated to ensuring that our members have an awesome time being part of our club and have ample opportunity to take part in all activities. We braai at our clubhouse on the great field every single Thursday which is a great opportunity to meet people that love being underwater as much as you do. Our famous spit braais also happen once a term so be sure not miss them. So come along and get wet n’ wild with us!

Please visit the Club website here