Water Sports Blog » Water Polo http://www.wetsee.com/blog Fri, 26 Aug 2011 08:39:34 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Water Polo Is a Team Game with a Difference http://www.wetsee.com/blog/water-polo-is-a-team-game-with-a-difference/ http://www.wetsee.com/blog/water-polo-is-a-team-game-with-a-difference/#comments Wed, 09 Mar 2011 02:43:29 +0000 Andy Johnson http://www.wetsee.com/blog/?p=53 Water Polo is a sport played between two teams in swimming pools which have a netted goal set up at each end. The competing teams make an attempt to score points by throwing a floating ball into the opponent’s goal. Each goal is counted as one point.

In the men’s water polo competition, the pool or water area must be a minimum of 20 meters wide and a maximum of 30 meter long, with a depth of 1.8 meters. In women’s competition, the playing area is lesser and measures 17 meters in width and 25 meters in length.

The ball used in the game of water polo resembles a soccer ball and is tightly inflated rubber spherical ball, circumferentially it is 68 to 71 cm and weighs 400 to 450 g.

The goals are rectangular netted frames of wood, plastic or metal that floats and is buoyant on the water surface. Each goal must be 30 cm deep, 3 meters wide, and 90 cm high from the water surface to the top of the frame.

A water polo team is made up of seven players which include a goalkeeper and six field players. The goalkeeper’s primary aim is to defend the goal without hanging onto the goal or using the side of the pool. Each team may also have six substitute players. Except the goalkeeper, each player is allowed to use only one hand at a time in handling the ball. According to the official rules one team uses white caps, while the other uses blue and red caps are exclusively for the goalies.

A water polo match requires two referees, two goal judges, two timekeepers, and two recorders. The game is divided into four periods of 7 minutes each, with a 2-minute interval between periods.

]]> http://www.wetsee.com/blog/water-polo-is-a-team-game-with-a-difference/feed/ 0 Rules of the Water Polo http://www.wetsee.com/blog/rules-of-the-water-polo/ http://www.wetsee.com/blog/rules-of-the-water-polo/#comments Tue, 14 Sep 2010 03:30:23 +0000 Andy Johnson http://www.wetsee.com/blog/?p=38 Water polo, a team pool game, is the oldest team sport continuously present in the Olympic Games. Here’s how the game is played. Each team has 7 members in the water: 6 players and 1 goalie. They can have up to 6 subs for use throughout the game. Traditionally, visiting teams wore white swim caps and home teams wore blue, though now any contrasting colors are allowed. (Goalies always wear red.) The game is most similar to hand ball and soccer, though the use of power plays has led to comparisons with ice hockey. The ball is about the size of a volleyball.

A game of water polo consists of 4 quarters: from 5 minutes for club leagues up to 8 minutes for collegiate and Olympic water polo. All field players can use only one hand during play. The goalie can use both hands. During game play no one is allowed to touch the bottom of the pool. The constant treading of water tires players quickly, which is why so many subs are necessary. The goal, as with most sports, is to work with your team to progress the ball from the centerline into your opponent’s goal. A team cannot hold possession for more than 30 seconds without attempting a goal. If 30 seconds passes with no shot, possession goes to the opposing team. Only the team in possession can call a time out. Each team gets 2 1-minute time outs per game, in addition to the 2-minute rest periods between quarters. The winner is the team with the most points at the end of 4 quarters.

]]> http://www.wetsee.com/blog/rules-of-the-water-polo/feed/ 0 History of Water Polo http://www.wetsee.com/blog/history-of-water-polo-3/ http://www.wetsee.com/blog/history-of-water-polo-3/#comments Fri, 25 Apr 2008 06:46:40 +0000 Andrew Ashworth http://www.wetsee.com/blog/?p=12 The history of water polo is based in England around the mid 1800′s. Stories say the Englishmen used to play the sport in pools, lakes and rivers throughout the countryside. The sport was something of a brutal version of water rugby. It spread through villages at town fairs in England and Scotland as it was an added attraction to the swimming events of these times. The sport took an abundance of strength and swimming prowess to compete in during these times. Water Polo initially kept score by having the first player to cross over to the other teams side and place the ball at the end of there pool. Yet, what made that difficult was the goalie was standing on shore and would come running after the ball carrier then a fight would ensue. At this time in water polo history they did not play in clean chlorinated pools. They played wherever they could which included lakes and rivers throughout Europe. Often times they competed in dark murky water filled with trees and debris that made the game rather difficult and it wasn’t until the late 1800′s that they determined they should move the game indoors. The games shifted from lakefront fistfights to a much more eloquent display of athleticism. The adoption of a goal and the evolution of swimming shifted the focus to a much more pleasant game. Speed and teamwork became much more important than rage. The ball changed as well going from a much smaller ball to something very similar in shape to a soccer ball that was waterproof. The US began to adopt water polo around 1888 and it was very much the old brutal rugby format. Despite its rough exterior the sport continued to grow throughout the US and was actually one of the first team sports to be incorporated in the first Olympics. Shortly after the 1904 Olympics, FINA the international body for water sports adopted the Scottish rules for international competitions. However, the US continued to insist upon playing in these brutal conditions where athletes were continuously hurt. It wasn’t until 1914 that the AAU imposed upon all US water polo competitions the much safer international standards thus significantly changing water polo history. Water polo has continued to see positive growth throughout the US, Europe and Australia. The sport is highlighted every four years at the summer Olympics and is generally dominated by European countries. The sport can be found at the amateur level through high schools and colleges across the US and is always played in some form throughout backyards during summer…So goes the history of water polo.

]]> http://www.wetsee.com/blog/history-of-water-polo-3/feed/ 0 History of Water Polo http://www.wetsee.com/blog/history-of-water-polo-2/ http://www.wetsee.com/blog/history-of-water-polo-2/#comments Wed, 26 Mar 2008 04:12:07 +0000 Michael Jackson http://www.wetsee.com/blog/?p=11 The history of water polo is based in England around the mid 1800′s. Stories say the Englishmen used to play the sport in pools, lakes and rivers throughout the countryside. The sport was something of a brutal version of water rugby. It spread through villages at town fairs in England and Scotland as it was an added attraction to the swimming events of these times. The sport took an abundance of strength and swimming prowess to compete in during these times. Water Polo initially kept score by having the first player to cross over to the other teams side and place the ball at the end of there pool. Yet, what made that difficult was the goalie was standing on shore and would come running after the ball carrier then a fight would ensue. At this time in water polo history they did not play in clean chlorinated pools. They played wherever they could which included lakes and rivers throughout Europe. Often times they competed in dark murky water filled with trees and debris that made the game rather difficult and it wasn’t until the late 1800′s that they determined they should move the game indoors. The games shifted from lakefront fistfights to a much more eloquent display of athleticism. The adoption of a goal and the evolution of swimming shifted the focus to a much more pleasant game. Speed and teamwork became much more important than rage. The ball changed as well going from a much smaller ball to something very similar in shape to a soccer ball that was waterproof. The US began to adopt water polo around 1888 and it was very much the old brutal rugby format. Despite its rough exterior the sport continued to grow throughout the US and was actually one of the first team sports to be incorporated in the first Olympics. Shortly after the 1904 Olympics, FINA the international body for water sports adopted the Scottish rules for international competitions. However, the US continued to insist upon playing in these brutal conditions where athletes were continuously hurt. It wasn’t until 1914 that the AAU imposed upon all US water polo competitions the much safer international standards thus significantly changing water polo history. Water polo has continued to see positive growth throughout the US, Europe and Australia. The sport is highlighted every four years at the summer Olympics and is generally dominated by European countries. The sport can be found at the amateur level through high schools and colleges across the US and is always played in some form throughout backyards during summer…So goes the history of water polo.

]]> http://www.wetsee.com/blog/history-of-water-polo-2/feed/ 0 History of Water Polo http://www.wetsee.com/blog/history-of-water-polo/ http://www.wetsee.com/blog/history-of-water-polo/#comments Sat, 17 Nov 2007 03:41:16 +0000 Janice http://www.wetsee.com/blog/?p=6 The history of water polo is based in England around the mid 1800′s. Stories say the Englishmen used to play the sport in pools, lakes and rivers throughout the countryside. The sport was something of a brutal version of water rugby. It spread through villages at town fairs in England and Scotland as it was an added attraction to the swimming events of these times. The sport took an abundance of strength and swimming prowess to compete in during these times. Water Polo initially kept score by having the first player to cross over to the other teams side and place the ball at the end of there pool. Yet, what made that difficult was the goalie was standing on shore and would come running after the ball carrier then a fight would ensue. At this time in water polo history they did not play in clean chlorinated pools. They played wherever they could which included lakes and rivers throughout Europe. Often times they competed in dark murky water filled with trees and debris that made the game rather difficult and it wasn’t until the late 1800′s that they determined they should move the game indoors. The games shifted from lakefront fistfights to a much more eloquent display of athleticism. The adoption of a goal and the evolution of swimming shifted the focus to a much more pleasant game. Speed and teamwork became much more important than rage. The ball changed as well going from a much smaller ball to something very similar in shape to a soccer ball that was waterproof. The US began to adopt water polo around 1888 and it was very much the old brutal rugby format. Despite its rough exterior the sport continued to grow throughout the US and was actually one of the first team sports to be incorporated in the first Olympics. Shortly after the 1904 Olympics, FINA the international body for water sports adopted the Scottish rules for international competitions. However, the US continued to insist upon playing in these brutal conditions where athletes were continuously hurt. It wasn’t until 1914 that the AAU imposed upon all US water polo competitions the much safer international standards thus significantly changing water polo history. Water polo has continued to see positive growth throughout the US, Europe and Australia. The sport is highlighted every four years at the summer Olympics and is generally dominated by European countries. The sport can be found at the amateur level through high schools and colleges across the US and is always played in some form throughout backyards during summer…So goes the history of water polo.

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