WATER POLO

Summary of the event. What actually happens?

When we play we need to throw a soft ball into a soccer-like net and the net is protected by a goalie. The game is kind of like a mixture of handball and swimming. The hard part is that you need to swim the whole time, and after a while it gets hard to throw the ball since you’re so busy trying to stay above the water. If you do happen to touch the bottom of the pool, or even the sides you will be penalized.

What does it feel like to participate?

Everything seems a little fast because the game only has four periods of eight minutes (32 minutes in all) and time flies by when you’re having fun. Due to the short periods, it starts to get very competitive near the end of the periods. I think that it is really fun to play the sport too.

What kind of training is involved?

To train for Water Polo you need A LOT of training in treading water, enough that you can tread for at least 40 minutes straight, you also need to train yourself in teamwork because you aren’t the only player out there. You should try to work with treading with only your legs too, that way you can have free hands while you throw, but don’t practice that as much as you’re normal treading since you don’t have the ball for more than a minute in most games. Really, all you need to do to train for water polo is your swimming skills and make sure you can work with people.

What equipment do you need?

All you really need for Water Polo is a ball and two nets, but because of recent safety rules we need to wear this weird looking headgear that is kind of annoying to wear

When and where is the event being held during the upcoming Olympics in Beijing?

The water polo event for men and women will be held at the Ying Yung Natatorium in August 06-17 2008