|
[ Match Reports ] [ Water Polo Fixtures ] [ Water Polo Sessions ] [ Results & League ] [ Basic Water Polo Rules ]
Basic Water
Polo Rules
The Game
The playing area is 30 X 20
metres with a minimum of 2 metres (6 1/2 feet) of depth.
Each team is allowed 13
players, with seven (a goalkeeper and six field players) participating at any
one time. Players tread water the entire game and cannot touch the bottom or
sides of the pool. Except for the goalkeeper, players may handle the ball with
only one hand.
The game is played in four
quarters, each quarter being seven minutes in length with two-minute intervals
between quarters (28 minutes of stopped time). In the case of a tie, two
three-minute periods of overtime are played. If the score is tied after
overtime, sudden-death overtime is played.
Substitutions are most
common after a goal is scored, between periods, or for an ejected player.
Players can also substitute by swimming to their bench corner and tagging an
entering player.
Each team is allowed two time-outs during regulation.
The referee indicates fouls
by blowing a whistle and using hand signals to point out the location of the
foul and the attacking direction of the fouled player. Unlike most sports that
stop on a whistle, action in water polo is initiated by the whistle.
A goal (1 point) is scored
when the ball is thrown or pushed completely past the face of the goal.
Time Clocks
As in basketball, two
clocks are used to time a water polo game. One indicates the time remaining in
the quarter and the other, called the shot clock or 35 second clock, indicates
how much time remains for the offensive team to shoot the ball (the team is
allowed 35 seconds to shoot the ball).
Starting
Each quarter is started
with the teams lined up on opposite goal lines. On a signal (whistle) from the
referee, the teams sprint toward center pool where the referee tosses the ball
into the water. The team gaining possession of the ball advances it toward its
offensive end of the pool by swimming, dribbling or passing the ball.
Fouls
There are two types of
fouls in water polo -- ordinary fouls, which account for approximately 90
percent of the whistles during the game, and major fouls. Players are allowed
three major fouls before they foul out of the match. Major fouls include
exclusion and penalty fouls.
Common ordinary fouls
include:
- Touching the ball with
two hands;
- Taking the ball under
water when tackled;
- Impeding an opponent who
is not holding the ball;
- Pushing off an opponent;
and,
- Stalling (failing to
shoot or advance the ball within 35 seconds).
When the referee calls an
ordinary foul, the offended team is awarded a free throw at the point of the
foul, or behind the point of the foul if the free throw is taken immediately.
The offended team must put the ball in play within three seconds by releasing,
swimming or passing the ball. A player cannot shoot the ball on a free throw,
unless the foul occurred beyond seven metres away from the goal.
Common exclusion fouls
include:
- Kicking or striking;
- Deliberate splashing in
the face;
- An ordinary foul
committed by the defense during dead time (after a foul occurs, but before
the offended player has put the ball into play);
- Interfering with a free
throw;
- Misconduct or disrespect
to the referee;
- Holding, sinking or
pulling back an opponent not holding the ball.
Exclusion fouls result in a
player being excluded for 20 seconds.
The excluded player (or
his/her substitute) may not return until the 20 second exclusion time expires, a
goal is scored or a change of possession takes place, whichever occurs first. A
player with three major fouls is removed from the game with substitution.
Deliberate kicking or striking with intent to injure (brutality) results in
ejection of the offending player for the remainder of the game, without
substitution.
Penalty fouls are committed
within the four-metre area where a goal probably would have resulted. The
offensive player fouled while in control of the ball and facing the goal inside
the four-metre line is usually awarded the penalty throw. A penalty foul is
recorded against the player committing the foul. Any player in the game from the
offended team can take the penalty throw. The shot is taken from the four-metre
line, with only the goalie defending.
The award of a penalty
throw most commonly occurs in the following situation within the four-metre
area:
- Any player, including
the goalkeeper, pulling down or pushing away the goal;
- Any player, except the
goalkeeper, playing the ball with both hands or a clenched fist;
- The goalkeeper or a
defensive player taking the ball underwater;
- When an offensive player
in control of the ball and facing the goal is fouled by holding, sinking or
pulling back.
| 