These items may sound a little superfluous here, but are nonetheless important pieces of equipment.

Bag
Make sure the bag is long enough to hold a pair of technisub Ala fins, with room to spare. If you walk or bike to the pool regularly it may be worth looking at a pack which you can carry comfortably on your back, I use a Fairydown 'Ice-Breaker'. It is not easy finding a pack which is long enough to hold fins while not being too bulky (such as a full size tramping pack). Some long sports bags (such as dive gear-bags) have a waterproof dry-pocket which is a recommendable idea, for clothes, books etc. If you can't really be bothered emptying out your bag when you get home from hockey (who can?!) it is advisable to leave it open so that the equipment can dry off. Masks and snorkels tend to turn into algae farms if left sealed in a wet bag for too long. In addition, masks with a clear seal often acquire a fogged up appearance on the PVA or silicone under these conditions. I'm not sure what causes this but it usually clears up after a while if the mask is relatively new.

Insulation tape
Insulation tape is what holds most players together. Almost all players at some time or another seem to develop an addiction to insulation (or duct) tape, usually someone else's. They wrap it around their fingers, repair gloves and often mummify their wrists, toes, feet and ankles in the stuff. This is to prevent or protect blisters and to support injured wrists. Make sure you have your own, get a big roll of good stuff from a hardware store (usually about $2 -$3) not the cheap stuff from cut-price stores. The cheap tape never holds for long, especially if it gets wet.

Cord
It's a good idea to keep a length of cord in your bag in case the cord you use to hold your stick to your hand breaks, also remember to bring something to cut it with. Non-Essential Items

Vaseline
To rub onto blisters and places where fins rub or masks leak. Helps prevent blisters occurring on your feet and reduces the rubbing on blisters already present.

Watch
The Australian teams play and train with depth gauge watches in their togs so that they can keep a record of how long each player has been on the bottom. Casio produces a similar watch available here for $199. (note the Aussies were sponsored and paid only A$92 for theirs).

Camera

• Fuji, disposable water-proof
• Minolta Weathermatic
• Canon
• Konika Mermaid
• All water-proof to 5m.