Water Polo
The History of Water Polo
There is little known about how water polo was actually invented but it came out of mid-19th century England. It was played in rivers and lakes and was played like rugby in the water. Early players played with a valcanized rubber ball from India called a "pulu" or ball. That is where the name polo came from. The London Swimming Association developed a set of rules for water polo in 1870. In this game players placed the ball with two hands on the deck at the other end of the poolto score a goal. Players often put the ball in there trunks and swam under water to the goal. Games often were just gang fights in the water. The players would wrestle each other underwater with the fight often ending with one person floating to the top unconsious. Scotish players changed the rules to put the emphazise on speed and passing. The game was more like water soccer than water rugby. They also brought goals to the game and outlawed taking the ball underneath the water. The game hit America in 1888 and was played in the rugy style. It drew great crouds mainly to see the violence. By 1912 the whole world had adopted the Scotish rules.
A leather ball was used in the 1912 Olympics and was very heavy, slippery, and lopsided because thee ball took on water. In 1936 after the Olympics the ball was made out of a cotton blatter, then changed to nylon, which was covered by rubber fabric for good gripping. The original ball was red then changed to yellow for better visibility. This ball became the offical ball in 1956.
Modern Water Polo
Today water polo has developed into a fast paced game. Each team has seven players, six field players and one goalie. The team has a hole man or a 2-meter who plays in the middle of th offence like a center. He/She gets the ball then is normally fouled or shoots. If the hole man is foulded he/she passes the ball to drives who try to shoot. Fouls are called often, however fouling is not always a bad thing. Fouling a hole man means he doesn't get to shoot. There are three diferent kinds of fouls in water polo. A simple foul where one team gets a free pass or turns the ball over to the oposing team for a free pass. A kick out which is called for more serious things like sinking, holding, splashing, or pulling someone without the ball. This results in a player going to the side corner of the pool for 20 seconds, till the first goal, or till a change in possesion. The last type of foul is a brutality. This is when you punch, draw blood, or do other intentional violent acts. This result in expulsion from the game without substitution.
My Water Polo Expirences
I began to play water polo last summer with the Jungle Cat Water Polo Club run by SLUH coach Mr. Baud. I have developed a love for the game since then. I played for SLUH in the fall. We went undefeated in JV and Freshman teams. The Varsity team finished 2nd in state. I swam for SLUH to condition for water polo in the winter. I am once agian playing for Jungle Cat this summer and played for them last spring. We may be taking a trip to play in the Junior National Olympics with Jungle Cat this summer. I am looking forward to that expiriece and to playing next year.
Olympic Water Polo
Water Polo became the first team sport in the Olympics in 1900. The United States won there first and only gold medal in the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis, but no other country would play by American rules. Today water polo dominated by European teams. In a water polo tournament olympic players lose from 5-10 pounds. They swim about 2 miles a game. Here is a chart on Olympic Water Polo.
Olympic Water Polo
| YEAR |
CHAMPION |
USA MEN |
| 2000 |
Hungary |
6th |
| 1996 |
Spain |
7th |
| 1992 |
Italy |
4th |
| 1988 |
Yugoslavia |
2nd |
| 1984 |
Yugoslavia |
2nd |
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