THE Isle of Wight Underwater Hockey Club went to Sheffield to give a good account of themselves in their first tournament in nine years — but ended up winning gold.
A squad of 12 took part in annual national competition, Nautilus.
Being new to competition, the team were entered into Division 6, at the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre.
"Hopes were high some goals might be scored during the six games, as well as gain much-needed competitive experience and perform well enough to be invited back next year," said Mary Cockayne, on behalf of the club.
The first game against Liverpool showed the Island was more than competition-ready — crushing them 11-0.
Over the day the results continued in a similar vein, with wins over Skipton (12-0), Totton (9-0), Kingsbridge Krays (6-1) and Yorkshire (7-0).
The final saw Nottingham — relegated from Division 5 last year — go into a 2-0 lead.
But the Islanders were determined to make the most of the occasion by battling back to 2-2 at half-time.
In the second half, the Island team — based at the Waterside Pool in Ryde — were the dominant force, adding further goals to win 4-2, the title, gold medals and promotion to Division 5 at next year's Nautilus event.
"The experience was unbelievable," the club spokeswoman added.
The club aims to enter a B team into Division 6 next year.
Isle of Wight: Cris Iordache and Anna Cockayne (forwards); Matt Guelbert, Charlie Cockayne, Alex Makin, Geoffrey Wroath (capt), James Schofield and Zak Clarke (middles); Lawrence Schofield, Kevin Dannet, Chris Thearle and Peter Wilson (backs).
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