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• Introduction
• Playing Area and Equipment
• Teams and Officials
• How Water Polo Is Played
• History of Water Polo

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One of the most strenuous sports played today is water polo. The game is played in indoor and outdoor swimming pools. Good players must be expert swimmers and ball handlers who can hold their breath for long periods.

Under Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) rules water polo is played in a pool 22 to 33 yards long and 9 to 22 yards wide. The water must be at least one meter (39.37 inches) deep. International matches are usually played in water not less than 1.8 meters (71 inches) deep.

The goals, one at either end of the pool, are wood or metal frameworks 10 feet wide and at least one foot deep. They are enclosed by nets at the top, back, and ends. When the water is five feet or more deep, the goal crossbar is located three feet above the surface; in shallower water, 7.88 feet above the bottom of the pool. The ball, a hard, inflated leather-covered or rubber sphere, is 27 to 28 inches in circumference. It weighs 14 to 16 ounces.

A team consists of seven players—a goalkeeper (goalie), three forwards (chiefly offensive players), and three backs (chiefly defensive players). Each team has four reserves, or substitutes. One team wears dark blue caps; the other, white caps. The goalies wear blue-and-red or white-and-red caps.

Officials consist of a referee, two goal judges, and a timekeeper. The referee controls the game. He calls fouls and ejects players from the pool for misconduct or disobedience. He starts and restarts the game with a whistle and uses a blue or white flag to indicate the team awarded a free throw. The goal judges, one at either end, stand even with the goal lines. Both judges use a white flag to signal for a free throw and a red flag for a corner throw. Both flags are used to signal a goal. Each judge is responsible for keeping the score of both teams at his end of the pool. The timekeeper records the actual playing time and the intervals between periods on a stopwatch. He uses a whistle to stop play. Games consist of four 5- or 7-minute periods, with 2-minute intervals. The teams change goals each period.

At the start of each period six players on each team take positions on their own goal line about 40 inches apart and at least 40 inches from the goal. Two players—one from each team—are positioned in midpool. The referee starts the game by blowing his whistle and tossing the ball near the center of the pool. The player first reaching the ball makes a one-handed pass backward or sideways to a teammate, who advances the ball by swimming or passing. Opponents try to grab the ball or knock it free. Only goalies may use two hands. A goal (one point) is scored by knocking the ball over the goal line and into the goal with any part of the body but the clenched fist.

When an attacking player knocks the ball across the goal line outside the goal, the defending goalie is awarded a goal throw. He puts the ball in play by passing it to a teammate outside the two-yard line. If a ball crossing the goal line outside the goal was last touched by a defender, the attackers are awarded a corner throw. The attacker nearest the point where the ball crossed the goal line puts the ball in play at the two-yard mark at the edge of the pool. All other players except the defending goalie must hold their positions outside the two-yard mark until the ball is put in play.

Ordinary fouls, such as clinging to goalposts, holding the ball underwater when tackled, or splashing in an opponent’s face, are penalized by giving the nearest opposing player a free throw from the point of foul. Major fouls include striking an opponent, interfering with a free throw, or holding an opponent not having the ball. If a major foul is made within four meters of the goal line, the nearest opponent takes a free throw at the goal. The offender is ordered from the pool until a goal is scored.

The first regular game of water polo was played at Bournemouth, England, in 1876. The first rules were established in Scotland in 1877, when goalposts were suggested. The sport was introduced into the United States in 1888, into Germany about 1894, and into Belgium and Hungary about 1900. During the early 1900s the AAU championship games in the United States were played with a soft ball. The United States won the first Olympic water-polo championship. Great Britain won the next three titles. Hungary has dominated the sport in the Olympics since 1932.

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