Water polo
Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with more goals at the end of the game wins the match. Each team is made up of six field players and one goalkeeper. Excluding the goalkeeper, players participate in both offensive and defensive roles. It is typically played in an all-deep pool where players cannot touch the bottom.
A game consists mainly of the players swimming to move about the pool, treading water, passing the ball, and shooting at the goal. Teamwork, tactical thinking and awareness are also highly important aspects. Water polo is a highly physical and demanding sport and has frequently been cited as one of the most difficult to play.
Special equipment for water polo includes a water polo ball, a ball of varying colors which floats on the water; numbered and coloured caps; and two goals, which either float in the water or are attached to the sides of the pool.
The game is thought to have originated in Scotland in the mid-19th century; specifically, William Wilson is thought to have developed it in the 1870s as a sort of "water rugby". The game further developed with the formation of the London Water Polo League and has since expanded, becoming popular in parts of Europe, the United States, China, Canada, and Australia.
History
The history of water polo as a team sport began as a demonstration of strength and swimming skill in mid-19th century England and Scotland, where water sports and racing exhibitions were a feature of county fairs and festivals. Men's water polo was among the first team sports introduced at the modern Olympic games in 1900. The present-day game involves teams of seven players, with a water polo ball similar in size to a soccer ball but constructed of air-tight nylon.One of the earliest recorded viewings of water polo was conducted at the 4th Open Air Fete of the London Swimming Club, held at the Crystal Palace, London on 15 September 1873. Another antecedent of the modern game of water polo was a game of water 'handball' played at Bournemouth on 13 July 1876. This was a game between 12 members of the Premier Rowing Club, with goals being marked by four flags placed in the water near to the midpoint of Bournemouth Pier. The game started at 6:00 pm and lasted for 15 minutes watched by a large crowd; with plans being made for play on a larger scale the following week.
The rules of water polo were originally developed in the late nineteenth century in Great Britain by William Wilson. Wilson is believed to have been the First Baths Master of the Arlington Baths Club in Glasgow. The first games of 'aquatic football' were played at the Arlington in the late 19th century, with a ball constructed of India rubber. This "water rugby" came to be called "water polo" based on the English pronunciation of the Balti word for ball, pulu. Early play allowed brute strength, wrestling and holding opposing players underwater to recover the ball. Players held underwater for lengthy periods usually surrendered possession. The goalie stood outside the playing area and defended the goal by jumping in on any opponent attempting to score by placing the ball on the deck.
Geography
Water polo is now popular in many countries around the world, notably Europe, Australia, Brazil, Canada and the United States.Some countries have two principal competitions: a more prestigious league which is typically a double round-robin tournament restricted to the elite clubs, and a cup which is a single-elimination tournament open to both the elite and lesser clubs.
Rules
The rules of water polo cover the play, procedures, equipment and officiating of water polo. These rules are similar throughout the world, although slight variations to the rules occur regionally and depending on the governing body. Governing bodies of water polo include World Aquatics, the international governing organization; European Aquatics, which governs international European matches; the NCAA, which governs collegiate matches in the United States; the NFHS, which governs high schools in the US, and the IOC, which governs Olympic events.Positions
There are seven players in the water from each team at one time. There are six players that play out and one goalkeeper. Unlike most common team sports, there is little positional play; field players will often fill several positions throughout the game as situations demand. These positions usually consist of a center forward, a center back, the two wing players and the two drivers. Players who are skilled in all positions of offense or defense are called utility players. Utility players tend to come off of the bench, though this is not absolute. Certain body types are more suited for particular positions, and left-handed players are especially coveted on the right-hand side of the field, allowing teams to launch two-sided attacks.Offense
The offensive positions include: one center forward, two wings, two drivers, and one "point", positioned farthest from the goal. The wings, drivers and point are often called the perimeter players; while the hole-set directs play. There is a typical numbering system for these positions in U.S. NCAA men's division one polo. Beginning with the offensive wing to the opposing goalie's right side is called one. The flat in a counter clockwise from one is called two. Moving along in the same direction the point player is three, the next flat is four, the final wing is five, and the hole set is called six. Additionally, the position in which a player is can give advantages based on a player's handedness, to improve a shooting or passing angle.The center sets up in front of the opposing team's goalie and scores the most individually. The center's position nearest to the goal allows explosive shots from close-range.
Defense
Defensive positions are often the same, but just switched from offence to defence. For example, the centre forward or hole set, who directs the attack on offence, on defence is known as "hole D", and guards the opposing team's centre forward. Defence can be played man-to-man or in zones, such as a 2–4. It can also be played as a combination of the two in what is known as an "M drop" defence, in which the point defender moves away his man into a zone in order to better defend the centre position. In this defence, the two wing defenders split the area furthest from the goal, allowing them a clearer lane for the counter-attack if their team recovers the ball.Goalkeeper
The goalkeeper has the main role in blocking shots against the goal as well as guiding and informing their defense of imposing threats and gaps in the defense. The goalkeeper usually begins the offensive play by passing the ball across the pool to an attacker. It is not unusual for a goalkeeper to make an assisting pass to a goal on a break away.The goalkeeper is given several privileges above those of the other players, but only within the five-meter area in front of their own goal:
- The ability to punch the ball with a clenched fist,
- The ability to touch the ball with two hands.
Common techniques and practices
Offense strategy
Player positioning
The most basic positional set up is known as a "3–3", so called because there are two lines in front of the opponent's goal. Another set up, used more by professional teams, is known as an "arc", "umbrella", or "mushroom"; perimeter players form the shape of an arc around the goal, with the hole set as the handle or stalk. Yet another option for offensive set is called a 4–2 or double hole; there are two center forward offensive players in front of the goal. Double hole is most often used in "man up" situations, or when the defense has only one skilled "hole D", or to draw in a defender and then pass out to a perimeter player for a shot.Another, albeit less common offense, is the "motion c", sometimes nicknamed "washing machine offence", in which two "weak-side" perimeter players set up as a wing and a flat. The remaining four players swim in square pattern in which a player swims from the point to the hole and then out to the strong side wing. The wing moves to the flat and the flat to the point. The weak side wing and flat then control the tempo of play and try to make passes into the player driving towards the centre forward who can then either shoot or pass. This form of offence is used when no dominate hole set is available, or the hole defence is too strong. It is also seen much more often in women's water polo where teams may lack a player of sufficient size or strength to set up in the centre forward. The best advantage to this system is it makes man-coverage much more difficult for the defender and allows the offence to control the game tempo better once the players are "set up". The main drawback is this constant motion can be very tiring as well as somewhat predictable as to where the next pass is going to go.