Water Polo in the London Olympics 2012
Quick, exhilarating and not for the faint-hearted, Water Polo should offer plenty of action in the pool at London 2012.
Key facts
Venue: Olympic Park – Water Polo Arena
Dates: Sunday 29 July – Sunday 12 August
Medal events: 2
Athletes: 260 (156 men, 104 women)
Water Polo developed during the 19th century as an aquatic version of rugby, played informally in rivers and lakes. The version of the game that survives today is closer to Handball: a fast, tough and demanding sport, it’s featured on every Olympic programme since the Paris 1900 Games.
Did you know?
Only the goaltender may handle the ball with more than one hand.
Around 800 water polo balls will be used during the competition.
Water Polo developed in England in the nineteenth century. Great Britain won four of the first five Olympic Water Polo tournaments.
Players wear caps fitted with soft plastic earflaps protectors, similar to scrum caps in rugby.
The basics
Played by teams of seven in a pool with a goal at each end (the goals are 3m wide and 90cm high), Water Polo is a thrilling spectacle. Matches are divided into four periods of eight minutes, and each team has only 30 seconds to attempt to score before the ball is returned to the opposition. Players aren’t allowed to touch the sides or the bottom of the pool during play, and may swim as much as three miles during a match.
The men’s and women’s competitions at London will both begin with group play. The teams are divided into two groups, and each team will play every other team in its group. From here, the competitions progress through quarter-final and semi-final rounds before the top two teams go head to head for the gold.
Olympic Water Polo, past and present
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Water Polo developed separately on either side of the Atlantic, with different styles of play in Europe and America. Eventually, the rules became formalised, which in turn helped the sport to gather popular momentum when 12 nations competed at the 1920 Games in Antwerp.
At London 2012, the Water Polo competition will take place at the brand new Water Polo Arena, constructed especially for the Games immediately next to the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park.
Jargon buster
Ball under: A foul called on a player for taking or holding the ball underwater when an opponent tackles the player.
Dry pass: A pass in water polo that is designed to be caught before the ball hits the water.
Eggbeater: A powerful way of treading water, used in synchronised swimming and water polo.
Man-up play: Players may be ejected for 20 seconds for selected infringements (‘exclusion fouls’), resulting in a man-up situation for his or her team’s opponents.
Swim-off: A race for the ball in the centre of the field of play to start each period.
Get involved
If you want to know more about clubs, facilities and coaching schemes in your area, check the websites for British Swimming, Scottish Swimming .Welsh Amateur Swimming Association, Swim Ulster; and for more information in general, check the website for the International Swimming Federation Federation Internationale de Natation
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