THE Skipton Ducks Underwater Hockey Club have had more success lately, with members of the team competing in various national events over the last month with the highlight being the rapid rise of the Skipton Juniors.

They competed at the BOA Junior Regionals at Newport International Sports Village on March 19..

This rise has coincided perfectly with the recent approval of a £500 grant from the Craven District Council’s Ward Member Grant Scheme. Councillor David Noland saw the application from the Ducks and decided to allocate some of the grant money to the Skipton Ducks Juniors.

This grant will go towards new equipment for the juniors as well as subsidising some of the costs for using the pool at Craven Leisure. The Ducks were proud to welcome Cllr. Noland to his first training session last Friday after having a team photo with all the Ducks. Other notable mentions from the Ducks include the silver medal won by Becky Bowers, who was hand picked to play in the Yorkshire Womens team at the Womens Nationals at the John Charles Centre for Sport in Leeds in late February.

Underwater Hockey is an underwater sport similar to Ice Hockey, but played on the bottom of a swimming pool. Teams of six compete to push a puck along the bottom of the pool into the goal, using a 30cm long hockey stick. Other equipment required consists of mask, snorkel, fins, hat and a glove. Underwater Hockey was developed in the UK in the 1950’s and is recognised by the International Olympic Committee as a sport, although not offered yet at the Olympic Games.

The Skipton Ducks were formed in 2018 by coach/captain David Colley and train at Craven Leisure every Friday from 8:30pm to 9:30pm while the Junior Ducks also train on Fridays between 7:30 and 8:30pm. There are plenty of spaces available for both adults and juniors, everyone is welcome. The age range for juniors is between eight and sixteen. If you would like to come down and give it a try, please contact the club to book your place, either by email at skipton_uwh@gmx.co.uk or by messaging the club directly on Facebook or Instagram.   REPORT BY: KRIS MCBRIDE