History
As swimming became a popular recreation in England during the 1860s and 1870s, several water sports developed, roughly patterned after land sports. Among them were water football (or soccer), water rugby, water handball, and water polo, in which players rode on floating barrels, painted to look like horses, and struck the ball with a stick.
Water rugby became the most popular of these sports, but somehow the water polo name became attached to it, and it's been attached ever since.
As played in England, the object of the game was for a player to touch the ball, with both hands, at the goal end of the pool. The goaltender stood on the pool deck, ready to dive on any opponent who was about to score.
Water polo quickly became a very rough sport, filled with underwater fights away from the ball, and it wasn't unusual for players to pass out for lack of air.
In 1877, the sport was tamed in Scotland by the addition of goalposts. The Scots also replaced the original small, hard rubber ball with a soccer ball and adopted rules that prohibited taking the ball under the surface or "tackling" a player unless he had the ball.
The Scottish game, which emphasized swimming speed, passing, and team work, spread to England during the early 1880s, to Hungary in 1889, to Austria and Germany in 1894, to France in 1895, and to Belgium in 1900.
Water polo was the first team sport added to the Olympic program, in 1900.
Water Polo in America
John Robinson, a swimming instructor from England, organized the first U. S. team at the Boston Athletic Association in 1888. Within two years, water polo was also being played at the Sydenham Swimmers Club in Providence and at the New York Athletic Club.
Most American teams played in small indoor pools, which weren't suitable for the open passing game that had developed in Scotland. Because of that, and probably also because of the influence of American football, the U. S. version of water polo became even rougher than the primitive English version had been.
A unique, "softball" form of the sport developed, using a semi-inflated ball that could easily be held and carried below the surface, so a player could grab the ball and make a dash toward the goal, often swimming underwater to get there.
In the softball variety of water polo, as in American football at the time, mass formations became the rule, with the ballcarrier guarded by an escort of teammates while defenders tried to break through, or under, the blockers to get at the ball.
The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) took over as the national governing body for water polo in 1906. However, at the 1912 national championship tournament, the semi-final game between the New York Athletic Club and the Chicago Athletic Association became a major brawl, and the AAU dropped water polo.
In 1914, most U. S. teams agreed to conform to the international rules, and the AAU again began conducting national championships. (Some teams and unsanctioned leagues, however, kept playing the "softball" version of water polo into the 1930s.)
The AAU was replaced as the sport's national governing by U.S. Water Polo, Inc., in 1977.
James R. Smith of the United States developed a special water polo ball to replace the leather soccer ball in the late 1930s. The new ball had a cotton (now nylon) bladder with a covering of rubber fabric to keep it from absorbing water and becoming heavier and more slippery in the course of a game.
Because it created a faster, higher-scoring game, the new ball was widely adopted after World War II and it became the sport's official ball in the 1956 Olympics.
Women's Water Polo
Women played water polo early in the century, but during the 1920s most physical educators decided that the sport was too rough for women and it was dropped by swimming clubs and colleges.
It was revived in the late 1950s by Rose Mary Dawson, the women's coach at the Ann Arbor, Michigan, Swim Club, and the AAU began conducting a women's championship in 1961. Ann Arbor won the first three national titles, led by goalie Micki King, who later became an Olympic gold medalist in diving.
Women's water polo, which is not essentially different from the male form of the sport, quickly spread to California and Florida, which have produced most of the top teams since the early 1970s.
A women's championship has been conducted by the Fédération Internationale de Natation Amateur (FINA) as part of the World Aquatic Games since 1986.
How It's Played
Water polo is played in a pool at least 1.8 meters (5 feet, 11 inches) deep, with a goal 3 meters (9 feet, 10 inches) high and at least 0.9 meters (2 feet, 11 inches) above the water. The goal is marked by vertical posts, a crossbar, and nets, as in soccer and hockey.
For the men's sport, the pool is 30 meters (98 feet) long and 20 meters (65 feet) wide. Women play in a somewhat smaller pool, 25 by 17 meters (82 by 56 feet).
There are seven players per team, six swimmers and a goalie. The home team wears dark (usually blue) caps, the visiting team wears white caps, and goalies wear red caps with the number "1" in white or blue.
A game begins with the ball in the center of the pool, and both teams sprint for it from their own goal lines. The ball can be advanced by passing with one hand or "dribbling," swimming with the head above the water and the ball between the arms so it rides on the wave created by the swimmer's head. No player except the goalie can hold the ball with both hands.
Defensive players are not allowed to interfere with an opponent's movements unless the player is holding the ball. Major fouls are penalized by one minute in the penalty box, and a player is ejected after committing five personal fouls. A penalty shot, taken from the 4-meter line, is awarded for fouls near the goal that prevent scoring.
For minor fouls, such as holding or punching the ball, a free throw is awarded from the spot of the foul. The player taking the free throw may pass the ball or drop it and begin dribbling. At least two players must touch the ball after a free throw before a goal can be scored.
A game is divided into quarters ranging from 5 to 8 minutes in length, depending on the level of play. After a tie, there are two overtime periods of 3 minutes each. If the game is still tied after the overtime periods, teams continue to play 3-minute overtimes until there is a decision.
