MARK Price will be making a splash later this month for Great Britain in the Under-Water Hockey World Championships in Kranj, Slovenia.

The 26-year-old former pupil of St Gabriel’s High School, Bury, won a silver medal in the European Championships last year.

He has high hopes of adding to that in the 12-team round robin tournament and will be a key man as vice captain as well as striker.

The sport involves players trying to score under water with a plastic puck weighted with lead up to three metres down. Teams are made up of six players each with four substitutes and the half-hour matches are split into two 15-minute halves. Price, who used to live in Greenmount and also plays for his adopted home city of Glasgow, will fly out to Slovenia with his team-mates in time to start the competition on August 21.

“It’s not a particularly high profile sport,” said the former Edinburgh University student. “But work is going on behind the scenes to get it installed as part of the Olympics, but it’s early days yet.

“You need to be a competent and confident swimmer and have good recovery after being under water.”

Price is a former member of Ramsbottom Rascals Swimming club, and started playing the sport at Rochdale at the age of 13.