Water Polo
When do we Play:
Every Thursday 7.45-9.30
For swimmers Age 8 - 18 + years
This is open to anyone who is able to swim to a confident level and can tread water for 3 minutes or longer, out of their depth.
If you would like to play Water Polo please contact :
What is Water Polo?
To learn about water polo is to know it originated in England and Scotland and was one of the original team sports at the first modern Olympic Games in 1900. Great Britain won the first four men’s Olympic gold medals in 1900, 1908, 1912 and 1920.
The sport combines speed and strength as well as teamwork and a high level of fitness – one outfield player can cover up to two miles in one game alone.
To help you understand more about water polo, we’ve broken down the basic water polo rules into simplified sections below. Put simply, there are goals at each end of the pool and the winner of the game is the team that scores the most goals by getting the ball between the posts.
Players
When learning about water polo you’ll find each team is allowed to have seven players in the water at any one time (six ‘outfield’ players and a goalkeeper). Other than the goalkeeper, you will see the other players moving continuously around the pool. They are not allowed to touch the bottom of the pool and must tread water the entire time – although players use a movement called the egg-beater which is more efficient than the normal action of treading water. Players can move the ball by throwing it to a teammate or swimming while pushing the ball in front of them. They can only hold the ball with one hand, other than the goalkeeper who can use both hands. Water polo players need remarkable stamina because of the considerable amount of holding and pushing that occurs during the game. As it’s such a fast game and can be quite draining, each team is also allowed a maximum of six substitutes.
Game Time
FINA rules, a water polo match is divided into quarters. Each of the four periods is eight minutes long but because the clock is stopped when the ball is not ‘in play’, in real life the average quarter lasts around 12 minutes. Each team is only allowed to hold onto the ball for a maximum of 30 seconds before shooting for the goal. If they haven’t done this then possession passes to the other team.
