About the Sport of Water Polo
Water polo is a grueling game and one of extreme physical contact. It has been called "the most physically demanding and mentally challenging of all sports" by leading exercise physiologists. The sport combines swimming speed, ball handling skills and team play into a game that is played in an all deep pool. As with any sport, the rules and game-play can get complicated. But here are some basics to get you started.
Basic Rules
Basic Rules
- With the exception of the shallow-end goalie, players aren’t allowed to touch the bottom of the pool.
- With the exception of the goalies, players aren’t allowed to touch the ball with two hands.
- No punching, head-butting, scratching, pulling, etc.
- Hitting a player’s arm when that player is in control of the ball constitutes a minor foul and the player is allowed a free pass.
- Over-aggressiveness by a defender is cause for an exclusion, in which the defender must go to his team’s corner of the pool and wait there for 20 seconds or until the offense scores a goal or until ball is turned over.
Basic Game-play
Each team can only have 7 players in play at any given time – 6 field players and a goalie.
A goal is made when the ball completely passes across the front of the goal box – it doesn’t necessarily need to touch the sides or back of the goal.
Referee Signals
One whistle – minor foul or goal.
History
Water Polo has been played as a sport since the late 1800's, and was described as "a football game in water", and required brute strength. As the rules changed to make the game faster, brute strength was replaced by more technique, speed and tactical moves. The game changed from a rugby style to a soccer style of play. Water polo was the first Olympic Team Sport. Men's Water Polo was the first team sport entered into Olympic competition in 1900, in Paris, France. After a long wait... 100 years to be exact... women's water polo joined the Olympic family in Sydney, Australia in the year 2000.
Freedom’s Fury Video
Narrated by Mark Spitz this film tells the true story of the brutal clash between Hungary and USSR in the water polo pool at the 1956 Olympics. As the Soviet tanks were suppressing the peoples' uprising in Hungary, the Water Polo team decided to give the population something to cheer about by beating the Soviets in the water polo pool.
Each team can only have 7 players in play at any given time – 6 field players and a goalie.
A goal is made when the ball completely passes across the front of the goal box – it doesn’t necessarily need to touch the sides or back of the goal.
Referee Signals
One whistle – minor foul or goal.
- Minor Foul – ref points at defender that caused the foul.
- Goal – ref points at offensive end of the pool.
- Ref points at defensive end of the pool.
- Shot clock ran out.
- Field player with the ball touched the floor – ref steps on the pool deck and points to the defensive end of the pool.
- Field player touched the ball with two hands
- Ref points at defender then at the corner of the pool.
- Ref crosses arms straight out in front of him then pulls them out to his sides forming a “T” shape.
History
Water Polo has been played as a sport since the late 1800's, and was described as "a football game in water", and required brute strength. As the rules changed to make the game faster, brute strength was replaced by more technique, speed and tactical moves. The game changed from a rugby style to a soccer style of play. Water polo was the first Olympic Team Sport. Men's Water Polo was the first team sport entered into Olympic competition in 1900, in Paris, France. After a long wait... 100 years to be exact... women's water polo joined the Olympic family in Sydney, Australia in the year 2000.
Freedom’s Fury Video
Narrated by Mark Spitz this film tells the true story of the brutal clash between Hungary and USSR in the water polo pool at the 1956 Olympics. As the Soviet tanks were suppressing the peoples' uprising in Hungary, the Water Polo team decided to give the population something to cheer about by beating the Soviets in the water polo pool.