Introduction

Water polo is a new game that has just entered into the Olympics, people say that it takes up more time than any other event in the Olympics.

On the 23^rd of July, the game started in Tokyo, Japan, and it had events for both men and women competition.

Although it takes up a lot of time and so it gives you enough time to understand what you are watching, it isn’t still simple to grasp the whole thing and its rules still seem strange to some of the fans.

Although you are here to figure out what the depth of the pool is, you can still take your time to go through this article and know some things about the game water polo pool and its Olympic side.

When water polo season starts and begins to pick up, there are some questions that begin to come out of the crowd so some people can figure out what they are doing and maybe grow interested in the game.

People with the responsibility to answer this question are the fans, they have to explain the concept of the games to their friends and family.

Also, the coaches and players are mostly interviewed and asked a lot of questions about water polo.

It is a weird sport, played in the pool with what looks like a volleyball. Let’s just give you some details that would help you understand better.

How Deep Is A Water Polo Pool?

A standard water polo pool is usually as deep as 6 feet or approximately 2 meters. 2 meters is what they use in the Olympics, but the 6 feet pools are more common.

The dimensions of the water polo pool are usually different, so there is no fixed size of the with, most times it depends on the depth of the water polo pool.

Describe Water Polo

Firstly, as we have said before, the volleyball and the ball used in water polo are very similar and so many people think that a volleyball is what is used in a water polo game. It is not.

Since the ball looks like a volleyball, people think that they just adopted volleyball rules and then began playing in the swimming pool, honestly, this would have been a fun explanation for it, but this isn’t what it is about.

For some reason which we cannot yet comprehend, the water polo game players say that this game is more similar to soccer and baseball, only played in the water.

Reasons we’re given as to why they have made this claim, firstly, they say that water polo is a very competitive game that involves a team effort just like soccer.

Another resemblance is that they have players out in the open, six players to be precise, then a goalie who is there to protect the post from being infiltrated by the ball of the opposition.

They both aim at the same thing because both sports involve both teams trying as hard as they can to score more than their opponents.

How does the water polo game have similar features to basketball?

For one thing, for the basketball fan you know that when a player is able to get the ball into the opponent’s half of the court, a timer called the second shot clock comes up, telling you how long you can take without taking a shot at the opponent’s goal.

To make it easier to understand, before an amount of time while in the opposition’s half, the other team would have to take a shot because if their holding time runs out, the ball is given to the defending side.

This time given is called the second shot clock, in water polo, the time is usually 30 to 35 minutes, 30 for men competition, 35 for women.

Also, just like basketball games, the water polo games are divided into four quarters.

The quarter lasts for six or eight minutes, it varies by the age of the players.

It also depends on whether the game played at that time is a singular game or a tournament, it would have to take lesser time when it is a tournament because more than one game has to be played for that day.

How Is The Water Polo Game In The Olympics?

This game involves a lot of swimming and swimming has become one of the important games played in the Olympics.

This game is another Olympic game that is played in the pool, people say that water polo is just as interesting as swimming in the Olympics.

It is also one of the oldest games in the Olympics, it started back in 1900 with only men playing, but in the year 2000, the women’s event started in the Olympics which was held in Sydney.

The game comprises of two teams with seven players playing on two teams, both teams have to pass, catch and shoot inside the water in order to win the game.

Usually, the game in the Olympics has four quarters that last up to 8 minutes so, one team has to have scored more than the other during this time.

Sometimes the game occurs so fast but has a lot of incidents involved in it, some players take shots that travel as fast as 70 km/hr.

What Are The Positions Registered To Each Player?

We all know that this has been mentioned before in this article, but we would like to clear things up here, the game has seven players, six of them go out to score while one defends the post, similar to the keeper in soccer. The players that go out are called field players.

Those field players are split into different positions, three different positions to be clearer.

The three positions which they are split into are the wing, hole set or center, and the point.

Now, just like other sports that involved scoring, there are strategies and formations that are used in the game.

Let’s say the six players are arranged in a shape similar to the shape of a V or one similar to an umbrella, the tactic here is that five of the players are placed outside with one player placed at the center near the goal right at the two-meter park.

The players that are positioned on both sides of the pool and near the opponent’s post are called wings.

There is no rule against these players swimming in and out of the center and mostly switching positions with each other while trying to create a chance for a shot.

The player at the down point of the V shape is always far away from the opponent’s post and close to his post, this player is referred to as the point.

Like I said before, these players switch positions, but these positions stand as we have illustrated them.

The last position is the hole set, the player here is also called the center, he is placed 2 meters in front of the goal.

Can A Player Touch The Pool Ground While Playing?

Some pools have a shallow end but most players still have the height to touch the bottom of the pool while playing.

Although in this game, it isn’t allowed for a player to give himself momentum by hitting the ground first, if any player does so, the ball is given to the opponent.

Only the goalie can touch the ground during the game, it is rare but the posts are placed higher than usual so the advantage of the goalie is reduced.