Introduction

Water polo traces its roots to classic Polo originally started in the Eastern Indies, where British troops experimented with a new game involving a ball and horses. The game flourished in America and Europe.

One of the most demanding team sports, water polo requires tremendous all-around athleticism. Players can swim up to five kilometres during the course of a game, all without touching the sides or bottom of the pool. Athletes must also be able to handle the rigours of contact sport: constant battles for the ball mean frequent fouls and stoppages of play.

The object in water polo is simple: put the ball into your opponent's net.

Each team has seven players in the pool at one time, including one goalkeeper, plus six reserves on the sidelines. The game is divided into four seven-minute periods, with a two-minute break between periods.

Players advance the ball by dribbling (swimming with the ball) or passing it, and can score goals using any part of their body except a clenched fist.

Understanding Water Polo

A water polo ball is the same size as a soccer ball, but is yellow, waterproof, and weighs only 400-450 grams.

Players wear two uniforms - in case the outer suit gets ripped during the heat of battle. They also wear caps, numbered 2 to 13, with ear protectors to guard the head and eardrums. One team wears white caps and the other wears dark blue. Both goalkeepers wear red caps with the number one.

The game is played in a pool measuring 30 metres long by 20m wide, and at least two metres deep. There is a floating net at each end, three metres wide and 90 centimetres high.

Different coloured buoys, or cones, indicate the various lines in the playing area. White buoys mark the two goal lines and the half-distance line. Yellow buoys represent the four-metre lines and green buoys indicate the seven-metre lines. The exclusion areas are marked off as red rectangles behind each goal line.

Rules

Every match consists of four periods (or 'quarters'), each seven minutes long (actual playing time), with a two-minute break between periods. Whenever the referee whistles, the clock stops. Each team is allowed two one-minute timeouts during the match, and a three-minute timeout in overtime. If the score is tied at the end of regular game's time, there is an overtime of two three-minute periods.

At the start of the match and at the start of every period, the ball is placed in the middle of the field of play on a special float, and the players line up on their goal line. When the referee whistles, the float is pulled away, leaving the ball resting on the water. The fastest swimmer on either side tries to reach the ball first and pass it to his or her teammates, thus gaining the offensive advantage.

The offensive side has 35 seconds in which to score a goal. If no goal is scored within this time, the defending side gets the ball and has the right to attack. After a goal is scored, players go to their own end of the pool and the team that has conceded the goal puts the ball into play.

There are two referees supervising a match, who indicate their decisions to the players and to the secretariat by hand signals and by blowing a whistle. The goal-judges are at the edge of the pool on the goal line, on the opposite side from the referee. The timekeepers measure playing time; the penalty time that a player has to spend out of the game; and the time for which a team has possession of the ball. They also blow a whistle to mark the end of a period. The scorers record the score and any major fouls.     

There are two kinds of fouls, minor and major, each bearing different kinds of penalties.  For a minor foul, a foul is awarded against the team committing it.
A major foul occurs when a player makes a deliberate body check of any kind against an opponent, or commits an unsporting act. Major fouls count as penalties and are punished by the player being sent off for 20 seconds. A player committing three fouls is sent off for the remainder of the game and may be replaced by another player, but only after 20 seconds. An expulsion for striking an opponent means that the player cannot be replaced at all (the team has to continue one player short).

Depending on the actual area where the foul occurs, the punishment for a major foul may be either a foul or a penalty: for a major foul within the 4m line, a penalty is awarded.