History of water polo

The history of water polo as a team sport began in mid nineteenth-century England and Scotland, where water sports were a feature of county fairs and festivals.^[1][2]

Development of the game

William Wilson, Scottish aquatics pioneer and originator of the first rules of water polo.

The rules of water polo were originally developed in the mid-nineteenth century in Great Britain by William Wilson. The modern game originated as a form of rugby football played in rivers and lakes in England and Scotland with a ball constructed of Indian rubber. This "water rugby" came to be called "water polo" based on the English pronunciation of the Balti word for ball, it means pulu.^[3][4] Early play allowed brute strength, wrestling and holding opposing players underwater to recover the ball; the goalie stood outside the playing area and defended the goal by jumping in on any opponent attempting to score by placing the ball on the deck.

By the 1880s, the game stressed swimming, passing, and scoring by shooting into a goal net; players could only be tackled when holding the ball and could not be taken under water. Canada was one of the first countries outside Britain to adopt the sport. The Montreal Swimming Club which had formed in 1876 formed a water polo team in 1887 and games were played in the St. Lawrence River along the shore of St. Helen's Island. To deal with constant changes in rules, in 1888, the London Water Polo League was founded and approved rules to allow team competition, forming the foundation of the present game. The first English championships were played in 1888. In 1890, the first international water polo game was played; Scotland defeated England, 4–0.^[5]

Water polo final at the 1908 Summer Olympics

Between 1890 and 1900, the game developed in Europe, with teams competing in Germany, Austria, France, Belgium, Hungary and Italy, using British rules. A different game was being played in the United States, characterized by rough play, holding, diving underwater, and soft, semi-inflated ball that could be gripped tightly and carried underwater. In 1900, the sport of water polo was added to the program of the Olympics – the first team sport to be added.^[6] Due to the different codes, European teams did not compete. By 1914, most US teams agreed to conform to international rules.^[7] An international water polo committee was formed in 1929, consisting of representatives from Great America and the International Amateur Swimming Federation (FINA). Rules were developed for international matches and put into effect in 1930; FINA has been the international governing body for the sport since that time.

Over the years, both technical and rule changes affected the character of the game. In 1928, Hungarian water polo coach Béla Komjádi invented the "air pass," or "dry pass", a technique in which a player directly passes the ball through the air to another player, who receives it without the ball hitting the water. Previously, players would let the ball drop in the water first and then reach out for it, but the dry pass made the offensive game more dynamic, and contributed to Hungarian dominance of water polo for 60 years.^[8] In 1936, James R. ("Jimmy") Smith, California water polo coach and author of several books on water polo mechanics, developed a water polo ball made with an inflatable bladder and a rubber fabric cover, which improved performance. The previous leather ball absorbed water and became heavier during the game. In 1949, rule changes allowed play to continue uninterrupted after a referee whistled an ordinary foul, speeding up play. In the 1970s, the exclusion foul replaced a point system for major fouls; players guilty of this foul were excluded for a 1-minute penalty and their team forced to play with fewer players. Possession of the ball was limited to 45 seconds before a scoring attempt. Time of penalties and possession has been reduced since then. The direct shot on goal from the seven (7) meter line after a free throw was allowed in 1994, and changed to a five-meter shot in 2005.

Local rule variations

United States

In 2006, revisions were made to the NFHS 2006–2007 swimming/diving and water polo rulebook (USWP and NCAA rules still vary). The four and seven-meter lines were merged to a five-meter line. Under the revised rules, a goalkeeper may use two hands and stand on the bottom of the pool (if shallow) until the 5-meter line, and go beyond the 5-meter line according to the field rules (one hand on the ball no standing), but still not pass the half line. The goalie may strike the ball with a clenched fist, although this is not recommended.

New cap rules were also enacted. A goalie cap must now be in quarters alternating red/dark for home and red/white for away. The goalie must be number 1,or 13. For women, a red swim cap must be worn under the goalie cap. A team's dark swim cap is no longer acceptable as it is hard to distinguish a goalie from field players if official cap is off.

Olympic competition

Game at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Men's water polo at the Olympics was the among the first team sports introduced at the 1900 games (along with cricket, rugby, football (soccer), polo (with horses), rowing and tug of war).^[9] Women's water polo became an Olympic sport at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games after political protests from the Australian women's team. Such protests were rewarded when Australia won the gold medal match against the United States with a "buzzer-beater" last-minute goal, taken from outside the seven-meter line.

Some of the best ever include Spain's Manuel Estiarte who played in a record six Olympics and led in scoring for four of them. Dezső Gyarmati of Hungary won water polo medals at five successive Olympic Games (gold 1952, 1956, 1964; silver 1948; bronze 1960), a record in water polo.^[10] Another major figure in the sport was Tamás Faragó,^[11] who led Hungary to Olympic Medals in 1972, 1976 and 1980. The play of American Terry Schroeder^[12] led the United States to its first Olympic silver medals in 1984 and 1988.

The most famous water polo match in history is probably the 1956 Summer Olympics semi-final match between Hungary and the Soviet Union. As the athletes left for the games, the Hungarian revolution began, and the Soviet army crushed the uprising. Many of the Hungarian athletes vowed never to return home, and felt their only means of fighting back was by victory in the pool. The confrontation was the most bloody and violent water polo game in history, in which the pool reputedly turned red from blood. The Hungarians defeated the Soviets 4–0 before the game was called off in the final minute to prevent angry Hungarians in the crowd reacting to Valentin Prokopov punching Ervin Zador's eye open. The Hungarians went on to win the Olympic gold medal by defeating Yugoslavia 2–1 in the final. Half of the Hungarian Olympic delegation defected after the games. A documentary by Lucy Liu, Freedom's Fury, premiered in April 2006, recounting the events of the 1956 Hungarian uprising and climaxing with this politicized game.

International play

Every 2 to 4 years since 1973, a men's Water Polo World Championship is played together with the World Swimming Championship, under the auspices of FINA. Women's water polo was added in 1986. A second tournament series, the FINA Water Polo World Cup, has been held every other year since 1979. In 2002, FINA organized the sport's first international league, the FINA Water Polo World League, in which the best national teams compete against one another in an annual season format with nearly half a million dollar purse.

Internationally, the biggest water polo competition in the world is played in the Netherlands. Prince William of Wales was the captain of his collegiate water polo team at St Andrew's University, Scotland. The annual Varsity Match between Oxford and Cambridge Universities is the sport's longest running rivalry, first played in 1891.^[13]

Results of the major international championships

Olympic Games

Olympic medals in men's water polo

Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1900 Paris	Great Britain	Belgium	France (1)
			France (2)
1904 St. Louis	United States	United States	United States
1908 London	Great Britain	Belgium	Sweden
1912 Stockholm	Great Britain	Sweden	Belgium
1920 Antwerp	Great Britain	Belgium	Sweden
1924 Paris	France	Belgium	United States
1928 Amsterdam	Germany	Hungary	France
1932 Los Angeles	Hungary	Germany	United States
1936 Berlin	Hungary	Germany	Belgium
1948 London	Italy	Hungary	Netherlands
1952 Helsinki	Hungary	Yugoslavia	Italy
1956 Melbourne	Hungary	Yugoslavia	Soviet Union
1960 Rome	Italy	Soviet Union	Hungary
1964 Tokyo	Hungary	Yugoslavia	Soviet Union
1968 Mexico City	Yugoslavia	Soviet Union	Hungary
1972 Munich	Soviet Union	Hungary	United States
1976 Montreal	Hungary	Italy	Netherlands
1980 Moscow	Soviet Union	Yugoslavia	Hungary
1984 Los Angeles	Yugoslavia	United States	West Germany
1988 Seoul	Yugoslavia	United States	Soviet Union
1992 Barcelona	Italy	Spain	Unified Team
1996 Atlanta	Spain	Croatia	Italy
2000 Sydney	Hungary	Russia	Yugoslavia
2004 Athens	Hungary	Serbia and Montenegro	Russia
2008 Beijing	Hungary	United States	Serbia
2012 London	Croatia	Italy	Serbia

Olympic medals in women's water polo

Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2000 Sydney	Australia	United States	Russia
2004 Athens	Italy	Greece	United States
2008 Beijing	Netherlands	United States	Australia
2012 London	United States	Spain	Australia

Championships organized by the Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA)

I. FINA World Aquatics Championships

Men

(Source: FINA Men's Water Polo Records)

Year and City	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1973 Belgrade, Yugoslavia	Hungary	USSR	Yugoslavia
1975 Cali, Colombia	USSR	Hungary	Italy
1978 Berlin, Germany	Italy	Hungary	Yugoslavia
1982 Guayaquil, Ecuador	USSR	Hungary	Germany
1986 Madrid, Spain	Yugoslavia	Italy	USSR
1991 Perth, Australia	Yugoslavia	Spain	Hungary
1994 Rome, Italy	Italy	Spain	Russia
1998 Perth, Australia	Spain	Hungary	FR Yugoslavia
2001 Fukuoka, Japan	Spain	FR Yugoslavia	Russia
2003 Barcelona, Spain	Hungary	Italy	Serbia and Montenegro
2005 Montreal, Canada	Serbia and Montenegro	Hungary	Greece
2007 Melbourne	Croatia	Hungary	Spain
2009 Rome, Italy	Serbia	Spain	Croatia
2011 Shanghai, China	Italy	Serbia	Croatia
2013 Barcelona, Spain	Hungary	Montenegro	Croatia
2015 Kazan, Russia	Serbia	Croatia	Greece

Women

(Source: FINA Women's Water Polo Records)

Year and City	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1986 Madrid, Spain	Australia	Netherlands	United States
1991 Perth, Australia	Netherlands	Canada	United States
1994 Rome, Italy	Hungary	Netherlands	Italy
1998 Perth, Western Australia	Italy	Netherlands	Australia
2001 Fukuoka, Japan	Italy	Hungary	Canada
2003 Barcelona, Spain	United States	Italy	Russia
2005 Montreal, Canada	Hungary	United States	Canada
2007 Melbourne	United States	Australia	Russia
2009 Rome, Italy	United States	Australia	Russia
2011 Shanghai, China	Greece	China	Russia
2013 Barcelona, Spain	Spain	Australia	Hungary
2015 Kazan, Russia	United States	Netherlands	Italy

II. FINA Water Polo World Cup

Men

(Source: FINA Men's Water Polo Records)

Year and City	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1979 Belgrade, Yugoslavia	Hungary	United States	Yugoslavia
1981 Long Beach, California	USSR	Yugoslavia	Cuba
1983 Malibu, California	USSR	Germany	Italy
1985 Duisburg, Germany	Germany	United States	Spain
1987 Thessaloniki, Greece	Yugoslavia	USSR	Germany
1989 Berlin	Yugoslavia	Italy	Hungary
1991 Barcelona, Spain	United States	Yugoslavia	Spain
1993 Athens, Greece	Italy	Hungary	Australia
1995 Atlanta, Georgia	Hungary	Italy	Russia
1997 Athens, Greece	United States	Greece	Hungary
1999 Sydney	Hungary	Italy	Spain
2002 Belgrade, Serbia	Russia	Hungary	FR Yugoslavia
2006 Budapest, Hungary	Serbia and Montenegro	Hungary	Spain
2010 Oradea, Romania	Serbia	Croatia	Spain
2014 Almaty, Kazakhstan	Serbia	Hungary	Croatia

Women

(Source: FINA Women's Water Polo Records)

Year and City	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1979 Merced, California	United States	Netherlands	Australia
1980 Breda, Netherlands	Netherlands	United States	Canada
1981 Brisbane, Australia	Canada	Netherlands	Australia
1983 Sainte-Foy, Quebec, Canada	Netherlands	United States	Australia
1984 Irvine, California	Australia	United States	Netherlands
1988 Christchurch, New Zealand	Netherlands	Hungary	Canada
1989 Eindhoven, Netherlands	Netherlands	United States	Hungary
1991 Long Beach, California	Netherlands	Australia	United States
1993 Catania, Italy	Netherlands	Italy	Hungary
1995 Sydney	Australia	Netherlands	Hungary
1997 Nancy, France	Netherlands	Russia	Australia
1999 Winnipeg, Canada	Netherlands	Australia	Italy
2002 Perth, Western Australia	Hungary	United States	Canada
2006 Tianjin, China	Australia	Italy	Russia
2010 Christchurch, New Zealand	United States	Australia	China
2014 Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia	United States	Australia	Spain

III. FINA Water Polo World League

Men

Year and City	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2002 Patras, Greece	Russia	Spain	Hungary
2003 New York	Hungary	Italy	United States
2004 Long Beach, California	Hungary	Serbia and Montenegro	Greece
2005 Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro	Serbia and Montenegro	Hungary	Germany
2006 Athens	Serbia and Montenegro	Spain	Greece
2007 Berlin, Germany	Serbia	Hungary	Australia
2008 Genoa, Italy	Serbia	United States	Australia
2009 Podgorica, Montenegro	Montenegro	Croatia	Serbia
2010 Nis, Serbia	Serbia	Montenegro	Croatia
2011 Firenze,Italy	Serbia	Italy	Croatia
2012 Almaty,Kazakhstan	Croatia	Spain	Italy
2013 Chelyabinsk,Russia	Serbia	Hungary	Montenegro
2014 Dubai, UAE	Serbia	Hungary	Montenegro
2015 Bergamo, Italy	Serbia	Croatia	Brazil

Women

Year and City	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2004 Long Beach, California	United States	Hungary	Italy
2005 Kirishi, Russia	Greece	Russia	Australia
2006 Cosenza, Italy	United States	Italy	Russia
2007 Montreal, Canada	United States	Australia	Greece
2008 Santa Cruz, Spain	Russia	United States	Australia
2009 Kirishi, Russia	United States	Canada	Australia
2010 La Jolla, United States	United States	Australia	Greece
2011 Tianjin, China	United States	Italy	Australia
2012 Changshu, China	United States	Australia	Greece
2013 Beijing, China	China	Russia	United States
2014 Kunshan, China	United States	Italia	Australia
2015 Shanghai, China	United States	Australia	Netherlands

(Source: FINA)

US colleges and clubs

Peter J. Cutino Award

Today club water polo is gaining popularity in the United States. Though the majority of domestic club teams are based in California, Florida, Illinois, and Texas, New England and Missouri preparatory high schools also often field teams. Club water polo teams in the United States often compete in national championships such as Junior Olympics, National Club Championships, and the Speedo Cup. Club teams from Washington, Oregon, Utah, and Michigan were entered at the 2005 USWP Junior Olympics.

Aniko Pelle (Hungary) and Sofia Konoukh (Russia) were among the first of an increasing number of international players competing in U.S. collegiate women's water polo. Because of water polo's increased popularity globally, the influence of international coaches like USC's Jovan Vavic from the former Yugoslavia, and the perks of attending an American college, international players are attracted to the premier US colleges. The 2005 Hawaii women's water polo team, coached by Canadian Michel Roy, has nine international players, the most of any team in the nation.

Teams from California dominate at the collegiate level. In the United States, water polo players tend to have prestigious academic backgrounds as well. A number of players, including former USA team captain Wolf Wigo, who retired after Athens 2004, Jacqueline Frank DeLuca, bronze medal Olympic goalie, and international phenom Tony Azevedo attended Stanford University. The sport's most notable balancing act to date includes Omar Amr,^[14] who played on the US National Team while attending Harvard Medical School and recovering from a near career ending knee injury in 2001.

College championships

In the 2008 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship, the UCLA women beat University of Southern California 6 to 3, for their fourth consecutive championship title. In the 2007 Men's NCAA Finals, the UC Berkeley Golden Bears defended their 2006 title by defeating the No. 1-ranked USC water polo men, 8–6. The most prestigious individual water polo honor, the Peter J. Cutino Award, was established in 1999 by the San Francisco Olympic Club, and is presented annually to the top American male and female collegiate water polo player. In 2008, Tim Hutten from UC Irvine and Courtney Mathewson from UCLA won the Cutinos.

Notes

Further reading

• Charroin, Pascal (1998). L'eau et la balle: Une histoire du water-polo (in French). Harmattan. p. 248 pages. ISBN 2-7384-6397-5. 
• Norris (Ed.), Jim (April 1990). The World Encyclopedia of Water Polo by James Roy Smith. Olive Press. p. 513 pages. ISBN 0-933380-05-4. 
• Philipps, Wolfgang (2015). „Aquatic football“, „aquatic polo“, „water-polo“... Grundzüge der Geschichte des Wasserballs in Großbritannien und Hannover (1870 bis 1933) (in German). In: Christian Becker et al. (eds.): „Als der Sport nach Hannover kam“. Geschichte und Rezeption eines Kulturtransfers zwischen England und Norddeutschland vom 18. bis zum 20. Jahrhundert. Lit-Verlag. p. 224 pages, ISBN 978-3-643-13152-2. pp. 107-135.

See also

• Glossary of Water Polo
• Rules of water polo
• Dimitrios Diathessopoulos, the father of Greek water polo.

External links

• Water Polo Competitions and Winners Worldwide
• FINA Media Room

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