Glove

What they’re for

Protects your fingers from being worn away by the bottom of the pool and from being sliced up by the tiles in addition to protecting your fingers from impacts with the puck and other players’ sticks. You cannot play properly without any finger protection. New players always seem to think that they can play fine without a glove. Without a glove on you cannot properly flick the puck, swim with the puck or perform any skills without losing chunks of flesh off your hand or breaking little bones. It is inadvisable to wait until this time to find some proper hand protection.

UW-hockey gloves are not commercially made so it is necessary to make your own or get someone else to make one for you. Some people make them on request or sometimes have a small supply that they have made to sell to new players.

Silicone gloves

The most common type of finger protection used is the silicone coated glove. These are made from gardening or work gloves (with a not too wide, not too close weave) coated with bathroom/window silicone sealant with extra thick silicone layers on the ‘front’ of the fingers. If you want to make your own, ask an experienced player for advice and look at other peoples gloves.

This article was originally published by Underwater Hockey New Zealand