About The Sport
Water polo is a highly physical team sport in which the players of each squad try to score as many goals against the opposition as they can, while preventing their rivals from scoring goals at the same time. It requires fast reactions and finesse as well as great endurance, as players can swim up to five kilometres in a match.
Each team consists of seven players (one of whom is the goalkeeper), and six substitutes (one of whom may be a second goalkeeper). None of the players may touch the bottom of the pool. It is also forbidden for players to hold on to the ball with both hands or to strike it with the fist, except in the case of the goalkeeper.
A match consists of four periods (or ‘quarters’), each of which features eight minutes of playing time. Whenever the referee whistles, the clock stops. There is a two-minute break between periods one and two, five minutes between periods two and three, and two minutes between periods three and four. Possession time was reduced to 30 seconds per team after the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.
A goal is scored when the whole ball passes the goal line. The winner is the team that scores the most goals at the end of all four periods.