The Leeds Freedivers Sub Aqua Club

Leeds Freedivers Sub Aqua Club was formed in 1967 with about a dozen members and is the forerunner of today’s Octopush team. The club met Monday evenings at Kirkstall Rd swimming baths and along with technical developments and affordability of SCUBA kit, membership rapidly grew to around 120 members. The club developed comprehensive scuba training and qualifications programs in alignment with BSAC standards and organised frequent diving drips along the Yorkshire East coast and the west coast of Scotland.

To help with fitness levels, a core of members began playing ‘murder ball’ in the pool and then in 1969 the early game of Octopush sparked more interest in the club. Equipment was very basic with rubber bricks for goals, bats made of plywood, gardening gloves and the puck a piece of bare lead.

The club moved to the Morley pool by the mid 1970s and like most pools had a shallow 1 metre (or less) shallow end, not ideal for today’s modern game. Octopush gradually became the first choice for many and invitation matches were organised with other clubs to spread the word. Now entering fixture leagues and playing other Yorkshire clubs, winning the Wilkinson Sword Tournament on four occasions and for a brief spell to No 4 in the county.

Since then the game of octopush has developed to a different level and is now the main stay of the Leeds Freedivers.