Getting to Know Water Polo, Here's the Complete Playing Technique!

InfoKekinian.com – This time we will invite you to get to know sports water polo, which is a sport like handball but where it is played in a swimming pool. Curious? Come on, let's see.

Of course, everyone has their own hobbies in sports, so you can take part in various kinds of sports, from the easiest to the most extreme.

In today's article, we will discuss material on getting to know the sport of water polo. Water polo is a sport that is often competed in, including at the ASEAN Games.

For more information, please refer to this article to the end.

Definition of Water Polo

As the name implies, water polo is of course played in water and each team tries to score by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal during the water polo game.

The team with the most goals at the end of the game will emerge victorious. And there are six players and one goalkeeper in a team.

Similar to football, the aim of the game is to score as many goals as possible, with each goal worth one point.

History of Water Polo

This water polo sport has been around since 1908 and continued to develop during the 1950s and 1960s. Water polo is a sport that has been played for a long time in Indonesia.

In Scotland, competition for the sport started at the first National Games Week in 1984. William Wilson was the inventor of the first water polo rules and a pioneer of Scottish water sports.

In the late 1800s, the first game of water polo, sometimes known as water football, was played in Arlington with an Indian rubber ball.

Development of Water Polo in Indonesia

The development of water polo in Indonesia is very rapid, where water polo has been played since 1908 and was developed in the 1950s and 1960s.

Currently, the development of Indonesian water polo is so successful that it is recognized at the Asian and international levels.

The Indonesian water polo squad competed in various international competitions, including GANEFO, Asian Championship & Asian Games 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966 and 1970. Even the exploitation of the achievements of the Indonesian water polo squad is considered very worthy of thumbs up.

However, the sport fell into disrepair from 1980 to 1999, so it did not develop properly. Indonesia only participated in the Sea Games with a water polo team.

There were ten provinces that developed the sport of water polo in 2000. This sport has undergone many revisions of regulations and is growing rapidly around the world.

The Indonesian water polo squad, which was once highly respected in Asian countries, is only allowed to compete at the Southeast Asian or Sea Games level.

PRSI development continues to advance this sport by organizing the 2005 Water Polo Pre-League, 2006 Water Polo I League, and 2014 Indonesian Water Polo League.

The organization's parent government, observers of Indonesian aquatic sports, and the water polo community in Indonesia continue to work together to restore this sport to its former glory.

The Indonesian water polo league is considered very successful, so this league also allows international players to participate.

Water Polo Technique

The following are the techniques of the sport of water polo:

1. Water Polo Swimming Training Techniques

All water polo players must master various swimming styles, including freestyle, sidestroke, breaststroke, backstroke, stomp on the water, and jump in the water.

2. Exercise technique with the ball

There are several basic skills related to ball handling, including:

Picking up the Ball

Fingers and thumbs should be distributed evenly across the mass of the ball to get a firm grip when picking it up. Ball can be played underwater or over water.

Moving the Ball

Transferring the ball from player to player is allowed, but pushing the ball underwater is not allowed, as this may result in a substitution.

Players must pass the ball to the other team in this case.

Passing the Ball

In water polo, there are two ways to pass the ball, namely dry passing and wet passing. Said to be a dry bait is when a player passes the ball without being hit or touching the water.

The goal of optimal speed is to pass the ball from one hand to the other without touching the water.

Players make it easier for their teammates to catch the ball by using back spin.

While the wet bait technique is used to land the ball deliberately in the water. This is a very effective offensive strategy for teams with solid hole sets.

Shooting the Ball

Except for fists, every part of the body can be used to score goals.

In order to score goals, the players always try to shoot from close range as a light hit on the ball in the right direction.

This is because it will be very difficult to beat the goalkeeper from afar.

Target-shooting players can choose a power-shooting strategy which requires them to build up the power of the ball by pushing it at between 60-90km/h before aiming it at the goal.

Some players make use of the bounce shot, in which the ball is initially shot in one direction, but subsequent bounces move it toward the goal.

Players may also use the lob shot technique, in which the ball is thrown in a long, curved curve towards the goalposts.

Benefits of Water Polo

Here are some of the health benefits of playing water polo:

Good For Heart Health

Water polo is very beneficial for heart health because all the movements keep the heart pumping optimally.

This water polo sport, if incorporated into a healthy lifestyle as a routine, can help maintain heart health.

Burn Appropriate Amount of Calories

Because players cannot touch the bottom of the pool when playing water polo, we will devote all of our energy to competing. Therefore, the player's feet must remain moving throughout the game.

This steady activity can burn calories to the maximum, so it can help you lose weight.

This exercise can burn about 10 calories every minute. However, it varies for each individual based on their physical condition.

Build Endurance

Water polo can build stamina and endurance which allows us to do strenuous activities without getting tired or losing energy.

According to Health Fitness Revolution, a 2001 study showed that endurance-boosting exercises are especially good for reducing oxidative stress, which can damage healthy body cells.

Therefore, it can be said that water polo is not only very good for strengthening the immune system, but also contributes to a culture of healthy living as a whole.

Build Muscle

When playing water polo, of course, the whole body of the players moves. In addition, they have to keep their bodies on the surface.

This causes infrequently used muscle areas to be trained using actions such as twisting, hand raising, and kicking.

Does not make the body tired quickly

The best option is to exercise in water as your body temperature won't rise significantly. Water can have a cooling effect that keeps us from getting tired quickly.

Therefore, water polo and other water sports can help train the body to exercise for a long time without getting tired.

FAQs

Here we have summarized some questions that are commonly asked in getting to know the sport of water polo:

How Long is a Water Polo Court?

Water polo is of course carried out in a swimming pool with a width of 20 m and a length of 30 m, and a minimum depth of 1.8 m.

How Wide is a Water Polo Goal?

In the game of water polo, the size and height of the goal is around 90 cm which is measured from the top of the water.

What Sports Are In The Water?

The following are sports or games that are carried out in water:

1. Swimming
2. Beautiful pool
3. Surf or surf
4. water polo
5. Canoe
6. Rafting
7. Diving or diving
8. Snorkeling.

Conclusion

That's a little information on getting to know the sport of water polo that you need to know. And we can conclude that water polo is a sport that combines wrestling, football, basketball and swimming.

This sport is played by two teams, each team containing 7 players consisting of 6 players and 1 goalkeeper.

And this game has rules similar to football such as, score as many goals as possible.

Even though this one sport is still quite foreign to hear, are you still interested in trying it?