| One of the most fascinating and entertaining water sports today is Water Polo, which is fast gaining popularity in many parts of the world.
It is basically a team sport, so it is a great delight to watch even for the spectators. Each team comprises six players plus one goalie. Both teams have to defend their own goals, while trying to attack the goal of the opponent team.
The fun of this game lies in the fact that the player is required to swim and stay afloat, and at the same time manage a good coordination with his team members to keep control of the ball, and break the cordon of the opponents to score a goal.
Water Polo, like many other sports, requires very good eye and hand coordination. The team that knows how to handle and pass the ball between its players smoothly, gives less opportunities for the ball to reach in the opponents’ control.
The trick to keep the ball in control is give a “dry” pass to another member of your team. “Dry” pass refers to throwing the ball to another member, without letting the ball fall on the surface of water. It allows for the ball to move at fast speed from one player of the team to another, and gives least opportunity for the opponents to snatch the ball in the middle.
A “Wet” pass an intentional pass in the water, to throw it out of reach of the opponent who has the chance to score a goal against you. In water polo, the goal is allowed to be scored by hitting the ball with any body-part except the feet or a closed fist.
Water polo players must have a great athletic body and high stamina, and above all, they must be excellent swimmers. The players of both teams will have to swim full length of a 30 meter pool many times during the course of the game, so a great muscular strength and lung power are a must. Another rule is that while swimming during the game, the body of the player must not touch the sides or the bottom of the pool.
To enhance the fun of the game, new innovations keep getting introduced to the sport, to make it more and more interesting all the time.
Some of the popular variations of water polo are as follows:
INNER TUBE WATER POLO: In this game the players must float within Inner Tubes instead of swimming without any support. This conserves the players’ energy and stamina, and consumes less effort to play. This allows even less experienced players to enjoy this game.
SURF POLO: This amazing version of the game is played on Surf-boards. It was originally played on the pristine beaches of Hawaii, and over time its popularity has increased.
CANOE POLO: This form of the game combines paddling the canoe while handling the ball at the same time. This game also challenges the fitness and endurance levels of the players, and is a great visual sight to enjoy. |
