(Article is provided by the Ontario active 2010 Pause to Play Website www.pausetoplay.ca) WATER POLO

You don’t need much equipment to play water polo. Just get a couple of nets and a ball. Oh, and of course you’ll need a pool of water (hence the name ‘water polo’). You can play in your friend’s pool, the local community pool…indoors or outdoors, wherever there’s a large mass of water. Water polo is a combination of soccer, basketball, ice hockey and rugby, all rolled into one. But the best part about water polo is that it’s a team sport, so your friends can be a part of the fun too. And hey, if you like it a lot, and if you become a water polo pro, you can travel and compete on regional select, provincial, national or even professional teams. "Fun Fact: Olympic and university water polo periods are eight minutes in length, while various age groups play five- or six-minute quarters." Each of the two teams begins the game by lining up at their respective ends. When the referee blows the whistle and drops the ball, they swim to the ball in the middle of the pool, racing to get it first. On offense, players pass the ball to their teammates who try to throw the ball in the other team’s net at the opposite end of the pool. The defensive team tries their best to stop them. Water polo is played in four eight-minute, action-packed periods. The team to get the ball to fully cross their opponent’s goal line the most over the four periods wins. But it’s not as easy as that. You’re not allowed to touch the side of the pool or the bottom…and you can’t touch the ball with both of your hands…just one at a time. Plus, teams are only allowed possession of the ball 30 seconds at a time. If they go over, the ball is given to the opposing team and they get a chance to score. If you have a group of friends, bring some along to be replacement players – you’ll tire out fast. "Fun Fact: Professional water polo players swim up to 2.5 km during ONE GAME." EQUIPMENT You don’t need much stuff to play water polo, but these are essential: Pool The pros use a pool 30 m long, 20 m wide and no less than 2 m deep. Make sure it’s filled with water before you jump in. Cap It’s always a good idea to wear a coloured cap on your head – to protect your ears and to tell friend from opponent. Ball A yellow waterproof ball with very good grip – about the size of a soccer ball. Net Goal nets are placed at each end of the pool. They have openings 3 m wide and 0.9 m high from the surface of the water. “Fun Fact: One of the best water polo players ever was Spain’s Manuel Estiarte, who played in a record six Olympics and led in scoring for four of them.” POSITIONS ON A WATER POLO TEAM There are six ‘field’ positions, but players will often play several positions throughout the game as the situation demands. The most common setup is to have two rows of three players and one as the goalie. Here are the offensive positions: Centre forward (a.k.a. hole set) Plays in the centre of the field closest to the opposing team’s goal. Best spot to score from – this is usually the person who scores. If Shaq played water polo, this is where he’d play. Wings and drivers Pass the ball up the field to the centre forward. Point player Excels at passing to teammates. Defends the opposing team’s centre forward, like a point guard in basketball. Goalie Tries to stop the ball from entering the net. This player gets to do things that no other player can do: touch the ball with two hands, strike the ball with a fist and touch the bottom of the pool. Defensive positions are often the same, but played either man-to-man or zone. The object of the game is to stop the other team from scoring. “Fun Fact: Did you know that originally water polo was considered too difficult for women to play?” SKILLS Swimming Before you attempt to play water polo, it’s a smart idea to learn how to swim. You’ll be swimming back and forth in the pool constantly. Ball handling Since you can touch the ball with only one hand (except for goalies), you’ll need to learn how to grab it, control it and shoot it – fast! Treading water Using an egg-beater motion with your legs as you rapidly move your arms over the water surface works best. You can’t touch the bottom of the pool, and you can’t grab onto the side either. You’ll be in the pool for up to eight minutes at a time, so being able to tread water well is very important. Add ball handling and throwing into the mix, and it can be quite a challenge – for both amateurs and professionals. “Fun Fact: The Hungarian water polo teams are considered to be some of the best. They’ve won the Olympic gold a record 7 times – in 1932, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1964 and 1976.” RULES Here are some of the things you can’t do while playing water polo. These are considered minor fouls and result in the fouled player taking a free throw or loss of possession: • Touching the bottom of the pool or holding on to the side or goal • Pushing off from or impeding an opponent who is not holding the ball • Holding the ball underwater when tackled • Holding the ball with two hands • Hitting the ball with your fist • Being inside your opponents’ 2 m line except when behind the line of the ball These are considered exclusion fouls and result in the offending player being sent out of play for 20 seconds or until a goal has been scored: • Pushing or holding an opponent underwater • Intentionally splashing an opponent in the face • Committing any foul within the 5 m line which prevents an opponent from scoring • Disrespecting an official • Impeding the taking of a free throw, goal throw or corner throw • Leaving the pool except in the case of injury or with the referee’s permission • Interfering with a penalty throw These are considered penalty fouls and result in the fouled player taking a penalty shot on the other team’s net at the 5 m line: • A defending player committing a foul within the 5 m area which prevents a probable goal from being scored • For a defending player to kick or hit an opponent within the 5 m area • To intentionally interfere with the alignment of the goal • For an excluded player or substitute player to re-enter the field improperly with the object of preventing a goal “Fun Fact: You can burn 600 calories per hour playing water polo – not bad for a sport that’s fun too!” “Fun Fact: Water polo is the favourite sport of England’s Prince William and Canada’s Prime Minister, Paul Martin, played water polo in university. Other famous water polo players include Alexander Fleming (discoverer of penicillin) and Johnny Weissmuller (‘Tarzan’ actor).”