Water polo

What's Water polo?

Water polo is a team water sport. A team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Gameplay involves swimming, players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a net defended by a goalie. As such, water polo has similarities to association football (soccer) and netball.

We need...

The pool Porter A ball Referee Players

Positions There are seven players in

the water from each team at one time. There are six fielders 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 consist of the center or set position, the flat, the wing and the point positions. Players who are skilled in all of these positions on

offensive or defensive are called utility players. Utility players tend to come off of the bench, though this isn't 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 2-sided attacks.

Offence

The offensive positions include: one center (a.k.a. two-meter offense, hole set, hole man, bucket, pit player or pit-man), two wings, two drivers (also called "flats"), and one "point" man, positioned furthest from the goal. The center directs the attack, and the wings, drivers and point are often called the perimeter players.

Defense

Defensive positions are often the same positionally, but just switched from offense to defense. For example, the center forward or hole set, who directs the attack on offense, on

defense is known as "hole D" ( a.k.a. hole check, pit defense or two-meter defense), and guards the opposing team's center forward. Defense can be played man-to-man or in

zones, such as a 2-4 (four defenders along the goal line). It can also be played as a combination of the two in what is

known as an "M drop" defense, in which the point defender moves away ("sloughs off") his man into a zone in order to better defend the center position. In this defense, 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.

Goalie

The goalkeeper is generally one of the more challenging positions. A goalie has to be able to jump out of the water, using little more than one's core and legs, and hold the vertical position without sinking into the water, all while tracking and anticipating a shot.

The goalkeeper is given several privileges above those of the other players, but only if he or she is within the five meter area in front of his goal:

The ability to touch the ball with two hands.

The ability to strike the ball with a clenched fist.

The ability to touch the bottom of the pool. (Pool depth permitting)

Basic Skills

Swimming: Water polo is a team water sport requiring an ability to swim. Field players must swim end to end of a 30-meter pool non-stop many times during a game without touching the sides or bottom of the pool.

Ball handling skills: As all field players are only allowed to touch the ball with one hand at a time, they must develop the ability to catch and throw the ball with either hand and also the ability to catch a ball from any direction, including across the body using the momentum of the incoming ball.

Treading water: The most common form of water treading is generally referred to as "egg-beater", named because the circular movement of the legs resembles the motion of an egg-beater.

Reflexes and Awareness: At higher levels of the sport the pace of play rapidly increases, so that anticipation and mental preparation is important. "Field sense" is a major advantage in scoring, even if a player lacks the speed of an opponent.

History The modern game originated as a

form of rugby football played in rivers and lakes in England and Scotland with a ball constructed of Indian rubber. This "water rugby" came to be called "water polo" based on the English pronunciation of the Balti word for ball, pulu. Men's water polo at the Olympics was the first team sport introduced at the 1900 games, along with cricket, rugby, football, polo , rowing and tug of war.[ Women's water polo became an Olympic sport at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games after political protests from the Australian women's team.

Every 2 to 4 years since 1973, a men's Water Polo World Championship is organized within the FINA World Aquatics Championships. Women's water polo was added in 1986. A second tournament series, the FINA Water Polo World Cup, has been held every other year since 1979. In 2002, FINA organized the sport's first international league, the FINA Water Polo World League.There is also a European Water Polo Championship that is held every other year.

Matt Biondi Matt Biondi was born in 1965 and learned to swim from his father, a former

water polo coach.During his first competition he false started twice and lost his swim suit on the dive.From early on Matt Biondi competed both in swimming

and in water polo. He always said the combination of both sports kept him mentally sharp.During his first year at the University of California, he won the

NCAA National Water Polo Championship with his team. He would win it twice more.In 1984 he competed in the Los Angeles Olympic Games, where he won

the gold medal on the 4 x 100 meter freestyle. In the Seoul Games (1988) he won 5 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze medal and set 4 new World Records. In his last

Olympics in Barcelona (1992) he added another 2 gold and 1 silver medals. His 11 Olympic medals was an all time record that was only beaten by Michael

Phelps he won his 14th Olympic gold medal at the Beijng Olympics in 2008.Matt Biondi also swam 12 world records.He also holds the record of 7

medals on 1 World Swimming Championships (Madrid - 1986). Four years later he would add another 4 World Championship medals in Perth.He was elected

Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World Magazine in 1986 and 1988.