Water polo is a water-based team sport performed by two teams of seven players each. The game is divided into four quarters during which teams try to score goals by throwing the ball into the rival team’s goal. The match is won by the team with the most goals after the game. Each squad has six players on the field and one goalkeeper. Players, except for the goalkeeper, perform both offensive and defensive roles. It is usually performed in an all-deep pool where players are not allowed to touch the bottom.
Water polo equipment includes a water polo ball, a floatable ball of various colours; numbered and coloured caps; and two goals, which either float in the water or are affixed to the pool’s sides.
The game is believed to have originated in Scotland in the mid-nineteenth century, specifically in the 1870s as a form of “water rugby” by William Wilson. The game grew in popularity after the formation of the London Water Polo League and it has since spread to areas of Europe, the United States, Brazil, China, Canada, and Australia.
William Wilson invented water polo regulations in the late nineteenth century in the United Kingdom. Wilson is thought to have been the first Baths Master of Glasgow’s Arlington Baths Club. The first games of ‘aquatic football’ were performed at the Arlington in the late 1800s, using an Indian rubber ball. Based on the English pronunciation of the Balti term for a ball, pulu, this “water rugby” became known as “Water Polo.” Early on, recovering the ball required brute muscle, wrestling, and holding rival players underwater.
Players who were submerged for an extended amount of time usually surrendered possession. The goalie guarded the goal by jumping in on any opponent trying to score by placing the ball on the deck.
