Water polo

Water polo Party: Greece-Hungary

Water polo or water polo is a sport that is practiced in a swimming pool, in which two teams face each other. The objective of the game is to score the highest number of goals into the opposing team's goal during the duration of the match.

The teams have 6 field players and 1 goalkeeper in the water and there must be a maximum of 6 substitute players on the bench. They are differentiated by the color of the cap.

There are offenses, temporary expulsions and permanent expulsions. A game is divided into four periods of eight minutes of effective play. A total of 32 minutes of the entire match.

This sport was created in 1877 by swimming instructor and journalist William Wilson and was recognized by the UK Nautical Association in 1885.

Rules of the game

Water polo ball

• No player, except the goalkeeper, can play the ball with two hands anywhere in the field. In case this happens, it will be missing instantly.
• A participant can score goal with any part of the body excepting the closed fist. In this case, the player will be expelled. You are only allowed to use the closed fist to the doorman, as long as it is to defend your goal.
• Until the player drops the ball of the hand (when the player is sunk on the contrary), the referee will not be missing.
• The player who prevents the movement of the opposite player will be expelled.
• It is not allowed to stand by the doorman in front mode while the team of the front is defending.
• When a team stays with a lesser player, they have to spend twenty seconds or their team recovers the ball so that this player or, failing, the alternate player can enter the playing field.
• If a player's ball is plunged, it will be foul against the player's team.
• It is forbidden to splash water in the eyes of a player. If this is done, it will be necessary to expel.
• Each coach can request a one-minute dead time in each period, plus one in extra time.
• You must steal the ball without holding the opposite player, otherwise you will be forced out.
• Lack should be removed immediately, passing a companion or lifting the ball into the air whenever it separates from the palm of the hand.
• You can spend the time you want to your colleagues, until you run out of the 30 seconds you'll be running out of time and you'll have to throw the ball to the goal or give it directly to the contrary.
• A goal will be marked when the ball completely passes the goal line between the poles under the goal traverse.
• Teams of 13 players maximum, with a minimum required of six players and the goalkeeper.
• The duration of the party will be four parts of 8 minutes each, on a regular basis. If the equipment is tied, they go directly to criminals or criminals.
• Each team will play with different colored hats (almost always blue and white), the place chooses color, being red for the goalkeepers.
• Players cannot jump with both hands at a time (not including the goalkeeper), if the player is within 5 meters, it will be penalized. If you are outside the 5-metre area you will be expelled.

The referees and table managers where the party's incidences are controlled are out of the water and side of the pool.
In the pool areas are demarcated for a correct location of the players during the game, and for the arbitrators to apply the rules of faults and shootings, out of play, and they are;

2 meter zone for offside. 5 meter zone for the immediate kick after a foul and the point where the penalty is taken Zone that determines the middle of the field, 15 meters for men. 3. The players can only catch the ball with one hand, if they do it with both it is a foul, the only one who can catch it with two hands is the goalkeeper.

4. Each team is distinguished in the water by the color of the caps. The colors are usually blue and white. The goalkeepers wear red caps.

5. The players cannot sink the ball in the water when it is in play, it is a foul.

6. No one can lean on the edges of the pool when playing, it is a foul. You cannot stand at the bottom of the pool or push yourself from it, it is also a foul. (Rules change by category)

Playing positions

There are six field players and one goalie on each team. Except for the goalkeeper, the positions of the other players can vary throughout the match as the situation demands. The players, therefore, must know how to function in any position despite having one where they are specialists.

Attack

Water polo Party in the Athens JJOO 2004

Traditionally, players stand in an arc around the opponent's goal at a distance of approximately seven meters. The buoy (also called pivot or avant-piquet) is located in the center of the attack and at a distance of about two or three meters from the opponent's goal.

This configuration can vary depending on the tactical needs, as well as there can be an exchange of positions between the players during the attack. When a defender is sent off and the attacking team has one more player, the arrangement changes. There are several plays to take advantage of this superiority, the most widespread being the "4-2" and the "3-3", where the first digit indicates the number of players who are located on the two-meter line, and the second, the number of players who are located on a slightly further line, about five or six meters.

Defense

The defense positions are the same as those of the attackers, with a multitude of tactical possibilities, such as individual defense, pressing zone, zones for some position where the rival is weaker, double defense of the buoy or zone " m". The defense in numerical inferiority usually adapts to the attack that the opposing team decides, being the usual either defenses based on the blocking of arms, where the idea is to prevent the attacker from seeing the goal clearly, or fast defenses trying to make it difficult to ball circulation.

Goalkeeper or goalkeeper

The goalkeeper, whose functions are to prevent goals from the opposing team, block the ball and reject it to prevent it from entering his goal, has certain types of privileges compared to other players, as long as he is within the zone of five meters in front of his goal:

• He's the only player who can play the ball with both hands.
• He's the only one who can hit the ball with his fist closed.
• He's the only one who can get up with both hands at once.

In addition, the regulation prevents him from passing midfield. However, his role is not exclusively defensive, being as a general rule the one who gives the first pass of the attack and especially the long passes in counterattacks. The goalkeeper also sometimes has to give long passes so that the player can tap on the goal line two meters.

The positions on the field of play

Although the coach always decides the places or positions of his players and, except for the goalkeeper, the regulations are the same for all players, as a rule and for their effectiveness the following positions are usually used:

• The boya: The most characteristic position of the waterpolo; it is usually the most corpulent player, smarter and more powerful shot. It has to be located near the gate, two or three meters. Its function is to finish the plays. Having this facet of organizer has to play much of the back time to the goalie.
• 1 and 5: They tend to be two, one on each side of your team's goal, ideally that end 1, right, be left. They must play with the buoy and try to be online clear with him.
• 3: It is situated in the same line as the buoy but at more distance from the gate, so it has to have a good control of the long passes.
• 2 and 4: Placed in front of the sticks about 5 meters from the gate, between the center and the ends. Its function is penetration and dynamization, so they have to be technical and fast.

As in handball or soccer, the goalkeeper has a game role that is very different from his teammates, his training and physical qualities have to be different. In water polo the goalkeeper is a fundamental piece of the team.

International competitions by nations

Olympic Games

Olympic medals, men's category

Year	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1900 Paris	United Kingdom	Belgium	France
1908 London	United Kingdom	Belgium	Sweden
1912 Stockholm	United Kingdom	Sweden	Belgium
1920 Antwerp	United Kingdom	Belgium	Sweden
1924 Paris	France	Belgium	United States
1928 Amsterdam	Germany	Hungary	France
1932 Los Angeles	Hungary	Germany	United States
1936 Berlin	Hungary	Germany	Belgium
1948	Italy	Hungary	Netherlands
1952 Helsinki	Hungary	Yugoslavia	Italy
1956 Melbourne	Hungary	Yugoslavia	Soviet Union
1960	Italy	Soviet Union	Hungary
1964	Hungary	Yugoslavia	Soviet Union
1968 Mexico City.	Yugoslavia	Soviet Union	Hungary
1972 Munich	Soviet Union	Hungary	United States
1976 Montreal	Hungary	Italy	Netherlands
Moscow	Soviet Union	Yugoslavia	Hungary
1984 Los Angeles	Yugoslavia	United States	Germany
1988 Seoul	Yugoslavia	United States	Soviet Union
1992	Italy	Spain	Unified equipment
1996 Atlanta	Spain	Croatia	Italy
2000 Sydney	Hungary	Russia	Yugoslavia
2004 Athens	Hungary	Serbia and Montenegro	Russia
2008 Beijing	Hungary	United States	Yugoslavia
London	Croatia	Italy	Serbia
2016 Rio de Janeiro	Serbia	Croatia	Italy
2020	Serbia	Greece	Hungary

Men's Olympic Historical Medalist

No.	Country				Total
1	Hungary	9	3	4	16
2	Serbia	5	5	3	13
3	United Kingdom	4	0	0	4
4	Italy	3	2	3	8
5	Russia	2	3	5	10
6	Germany	1	2	1	4
7	Croatia	1	2	0	3
8	Spain	1	1	0	2
9	France	1	0	2	3
10	Belgium	0	4	2	6
11	United States	0	3	3	6
12	Sweden	0	1	2	3
13	Greece	0	1	0	1
14	Netherlands	0	0	2	2

Olympic medals, women's category

Women's water polo was introduced at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

Year	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2000 Sydney	Australia	United States	Russia
2004 Athens	Italy	Greece	United States
2008 Beijing	Netherlands	United States	Australia
London	United States	Spain	Australia
2016 Rio de Janeiro	United States	Italy	Russia
2020	United States	Spain	Hungary

Women's Olympic Historical Medalist

No.	Country				Total
1	United States	3	2	1	6
2	ItalyItaly	1	1	0	2
3	Australia	1	0	2	3
4	NetherlandsNetherlands	1	0	0	1
5	SpainSpain	0	2	0	2
6	GreeceGreece	0	1	0	1
7	Russia Russia	0	0	2	2
8	HungaryHungary	0	0	1	1

Types of passes

Passing the ball from one teammate to another until it reaches the opponent's goal is the essence of almost all goal ball games. In the sport of water polo there are several ways to pass the ball.

• Front pass

Player in basic position, with the ball controlled, turns towards the place where he wants to direct the shot, throwing arm behind his head and launches by progressively extending the arm, forearm and hand.

• Pass Swedish.

The ball is caught by the upper or lower part and the hand is pronated so that the back is facing the player who has the ball, it is thrown by extending the arm.

• Pass backwards

It is used to pass the ball to an objective that is behind the thrower, the ball must be caught from above, like the Swedish pass, the ball is thrown with the extension of the arm backwards.

• Pass by palm

The difference with the rest of the passes is that in this one, the player does not stop or receive the ball, but rather, with a light contact, helps direct it towards another teammate or goal.

• Corrected passage

Action of transmitting the ball to a teammate, in a dynamic offensive swimming action, by means of a static feint and twisting of the trunk with a lateral jump towards the opposite side of his right hand. The hand gripping the ball is directed towards the opposite shoulder, which together with the lateral jump and twist performed, are in a position to project the ball to its destination, which is generally the player in attack position 6 or buoy. (National coaching school, top water polo coach book)

• Lower grip pass

It is a quick pass between teammates who are normally standing still (static position) and attacking. As its name indicates, it is characterized by the fact that the ball is grabbed from below and behind, it must be a quick pass since the ball can be lost quickly in this position.

• Vaseline

It is a pass over the rival player, which takes the form of a parabola. When the ball is released from the attacker's hands, it rises to a height that is impossible for the defending player to reach, and then descends into the hands of another attacking player.

Official measures

At the regulatory level, the same rules are used for the World Water Polo Championships as those applied in the Olympic Games.

The dimensions that the pool must have to develop international competitions must be 30 meters long by 20 meters wide and a minimum depth of 2 meters throughout the playing field according to the International Swimming Federation (FINA).

In the case of women's water polo, the measurements are a little smaller and the pools are 25 meters long by 17 meters wide.

Depth of pools:

The depth occupied in the pools suitable for practicing this sport is as follows:

Minimum depth throughout the pitch according to FINA: 2 meters to ensure that the player does not touch the bottom.

Average depth occupied in Olympic Games or high-level international competitions: 2.70 meters.

Maximum depth: 3 meters.

The purpose of these measures is that the player cannot touch the bottom to force him to stay afloat by occupying "the blender kick" or "egg beater" as known in different countries.

The sport is generally practiced in Olympic pools, which meet these depth measurements.

Ball

The official ball of the water polo championship is similar in size to a traditional soccer ball, the difference is the material with which the ball is made.

The balls have a mass of 400 grams(g) and an approximate weight of 3.925 newtons(n) and a circumference of about 70 centimeters.