Home > List > Water Polo

Water Polo

Water polo is a team sport played in swimming pools. The sport was developed in England in the 19th century. The first water polo game was played in the 1800's in the United States. It had elements of the old rugby, and it looked like American football in the water.

---

---

The game that developed into the modern water polo was a game similar to rugby which was played in lakes or rivers. The aim of the game is to carry the ball to the opposing team's side. Water polo consists of two teams with seven players each, six field players and one goal keeper.

The sport has four periods with eight minutes each. There are two-minute breaks between each period. If the scores are tied at full time, there will be two three-minute periods of extra time. A team gains a point when the ball passes the goal line. The player can score a goal anywhere in the field, but the goal keeper cannot touch the ball beyond the half way mark.

---

---

Similar Sports

• Beach Water Polo — an open water version of water polo played on a smaller field with four players per team.
• Water Basketball — a mix of basketball and water polo played in a swimming pool with basketball goals.
• Canoe Polo — players in kayaks attempt to score by throwing or hitting a ball through a goal suspended two meters above the water.
• Kayak Football — participants in kayaks attempt to get a small soft football into the end zone.
• Water Volleyball — a team sport derived from volleyball in which the games are played in water.

Related Pages

• Polo (Horse Polo) — a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to hit a ball into a goal using a long-handled mallet.
• Complete list of sports
• The Encyclopedia of Sports