Water polo championships in the context of official sport organizations

Added: 01/16/2006

Water polo championships take place all over the world every year. This water game gained its popularity at the beginning of 20th century. Today even student associations included water polo to the list of student championship program. The set of game rules is changed regularly by the FINA but it is still based in the variant offered by Scottish Association.

Water polo popularity is constantly speeding up at the scale of international sport arena. The history of this game has still some dark spots but it is clear that the humanity is grateful to England for one more popular sport game development. This water play was partly copied and still represents an allusion version of rugby that is originated as well in England.

The game?s name inherited its origin from Indian word ?pulu?, that means ?balls? in all their variants. The first used ball presented a little rubber inflated ball. That was London Swimming Association that gave a birth to water polo in 1870 designing a set of common rules for indoor variant of water polo. This event predetermined future water polo championships.

There are some components that are required from every team member and that are the pledge of success in any water polo championships. The first one is swimming. It is an initial element. At the same time ball handling skills are not less important: the water conditions are very strict and demand very resolute ball control. There exist different water treading variants that depend on individual team style and even on certain water polo championships competition.

One of the most popular treading variant is so-called American ?egg-beater? style. Leg movements resemble egg-beater motion. The secret of players following this style success is the ability to keep constantly the horizontal position, at the same time the player can get high out of the water in the pool and perform perfectly passes, shots and blocks.

The first model of this game was entirely different one from the modern that represents water polo at the Olympics. The game purpose was scoring the ball by planting it to the end of the pool using both hands. There were even some traditional tricks during the game performance that are sure not available at present time in water polo championships: a player could place little rubber ball into his swimming suit and swim under the water as long as it was possible reaching in this way the purpose.

But all rules list was completely changed and new one prepared by Scottish Association (in maximum way similar to modern variant used in water polo world championships). Some of the last changes were added in 2005 by FINA. According to these rules water polo is divided into four times (periods); their duration depends on play level.

Water polo pool sizes are not fixed unambiguously and vary between 20 x 10 and 30 x 20 meters with the minimum depth 1.8 meter. There are two limit lines used in all water polo championships: yellow one ?four meters line? (the place where from the players shoot penalties.) and red o line ?two meters line? (this place is taboo for any player from the attacking team if he/she has no ball.

NCAA water polo championship?s frequency of holding is an obvious proof of the steady growth of water polo popularity. Water polo championships are held all over the world every year. The present water polo triumph is registered in the USA.

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