Welcome to the exhilarating world of water polo! This guide will provide the essential knowledge and skills needed to either jump in the pool, watch the next Olympics, or become a passionate spectator, fully appreciating the thrilling and fast-paced nature of water polo.
The Basics of Water Polo
Water polo is a team sport played in a pool, combining elements of swimming, passing, shooting, and strategic thinking. The objective is to outscore the opposing team by throwing the ball into their goal while defending your own.
- Each team consists of 7 players in the pool at a time, 6 field players and 1 goalie.
- Water polo games are played over 4 quarters, with each quarter lasting between 6-8 minutes depending on the level of competition or league.
- Players cannot touch the bottom of the pool, meaning that players tread and swim for the entire game.
- Players are only allowed to touch the ball with one hand, except for the goalie who can use both hands.
- Players swim, pass, shoot, and defend while adhering to rules such as ball possession time limits, exclusion fouls, and shot clock violations.
- The team with the most goals at the end of regulation time wins the game.
What equipment do you need to play water polo?
In order to host a tournament, run a game, or facilitate a water polo training session you’ll need a few key pieces of equipment.
- Your own swim suit.
- Set of team caps to identify both the players and their team, and to protect your ears.
- Water polo balls, sized for men, women, and younger age groups.
- Goals
- Cones to mark the pool setup
- Scoreboard and shot clocks
- Whistles for the referees
What are the basic skills of water polo?
Strong swimming skills, treading water, and ball-handling skills are the most essential skills a water polo players needs. Water polo players need to have exceptional fitness and endurance, and should be particularly efficient at freestyle and backstroke. It’s also essential to have very strong legs in order to tread up high to pass or shoot, push against opposing players to gain position, or tread and jump to quickly move.
Accurate passing and shooting is crucial to competing in water polo. There are many different shooting and passing techniques that players can utilize in different situations. This makes ball-handling skills one the most important skills a water polo player can have.
In addition to fitness and hand-eye coordination, water polo players must possess excellent game awareness and strategic thinking. As they play both offense and defense, it is crucial to develop skills in body positioning, field blocking, effective team communication, tactical formations, and overall game strategy.
What happens underwater in water polo?
Underwater actions in water polo are integral to the game’s dynamics and strategy. While most of the game unfolds above the water’s surface, underwater maneuvers such as holding, grappling, and strategic positioning play a vital role. These tactics enable players to gain leverage over opponents, creating space for passes, powerful shots, and effective defensive maneuvers.
What do the different whistles mean in water polo?
Referees blow the whistle for ordinary fouls, exclusion fouls, change of possession, out of bounds shots resulting in 2 meter corner throws, goals scored, and at the end of play for shot clocks and game clocks.
There are certainly a lot of whistles throughout a water polo game, which can make it confusing for spectators or even players to understand what’s going on.
Here are the most common calls from the refs that you’ll see in water polo:
- One whistle signifies an ordinary foul, meaning the offensive player was impeded and now gets a free pass.
- Two whistles signifies a turnover or change of possession.
- Three whistles signifies that a player was temporarily excluded.
