WATER SPORTS
JANUARY 7, 2022
15 Fun Facts Of Water Polo Sport
Here are the 15 fun facts of Water Polo sport, a game initially called water rugby, played on the river and lakes over England during 19th century.
- The rules of water polo were originally developed by William Wilson in Great Britain during the mid-nineteenth century.
- The sport has similarities with the rugby game. It was played in rivers and lakes in England and Scotland initially where they called it water rugby.
- It was introduced into the Olympics in 1990 but women only allowed to play the game after 1950s. Before that, water polo was considered to be too brutal for woman to play.
- Water polo is now a game that played by both men and women.In the Olympic 2000, the woman water polo was added to the list.
- The most popular ball used in water polo is the Mikasa wave W6000W. The ball has been approved by the Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA) as the official game ball for their events.
- Water polo balls need to be fully inflated. 13-14 psi (pounds per square inch) for mean and 12-13 psi for women.
- Water polo players wear caps in the water to identify their teammates because the only part of the body out of the water is the head.
- The sport resembled rugby on the water and is considered to be based more on brute strength than athletic skill.
- Water polo requires strong swimming power mostly freestyle, breaststroke and backstroke. Speed isn’t necessary but power and endurance is the most important.
- The pool for water polo is at least 6 feet deep. In the shallow water, players are prohibited from touching the bottom of the pool.
- Players will have to tread water the whole time. The ball will be turned over to the opposing team if one player touching the pool’s bottom.
- In general a water polo player swims around of 1.344 meters of a total swimming during a water polo game.
- From time and motion calculation analysis indicate that field players spend only 45% to 55% of actual game time in a horizontal body position.
- Water polo players use a special move or kick while they are not swimming known as the Egg Beater. It makes them possible to move around without swimming.
- The fastest water polo player is Pietro Figlioli having won above 95% of any swim off in a game.
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