History of water polo

Development of the game

The rules of water polo were originally developed in the mid-nineteenth century in Great Britain by William Wilson, a British journalist, swimming instructor, and coach. Wilson was also the author of The Swimming Instructor, one of the earliest books on swimming. He invented the game while working at the Arlington Baths Club in Glasgow.

The game originated as a form of rugby football played in rivers and lakes in England and Scotland with a ball constructed of India rubber, probably from the 1850s onwards. This ‘water rugby’ came to be called ‘water polo’ based on the English pronunciation of the Tibetan Balti language word pulu, which means ‘ball’. 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.

In the first edition (1893) of their book Swimming, Archibald Sinclair and William Henry state "On May 12, 1870, a committee was appointed by the Swimming Association, then known as the London Swimming Association, to draw up a code of rules for the management of the game of ‘football in the water.’ " This indicates that forms of the sport we now call ‘water polo’ existed before the current name was in common use. Other names included ‘water base ball’ and (more frequently) ‘aquatic football’. For example, in the South Eastern Gazette (in Kent; now closed), on Tues 28 July 1857, it says "An aquatic foot-ball match is fixed for to-morrow, Wednesday".

One of the earliest recorded games of a sport called ‘water polo’ occurred at the Crystal Palace (London), on 15 September 1873. It was reported in the Morning Post (now closed) and The Standard (later London Evening Standard). The weather was "cold and raw" according to the Penny Illustrated News. It was held in the boating lake that still exists. It was part of the 4th Open Air Fete of the London Swimming Club (founded in 1859).

The modern game also developed in Scotland in the late 19th century, when the first games of water polo were played at the Arlington Baths Club in Glasgow (the Club was founded in 1870, and still exists today). In 1886, the Scottish Amateur Swimming Association (Western) held their first championship, the West Cup. West of Scotland beat South Side 1-0. This is probably the first club tournament in the world, and is still played for today.

The Swimming Association of Great Britain (SAGB; forerunner of the Amateur Swimming Association, of England) recognised the sport on 13 April 1885. Canada was one of the first countries outside the United Kingdom to adopt the sport. The Midland (of England) Counties Swimming and Aquatic Football Association probably set up the first water polo league in the world. Their first champions, in 1884, were Birmingham Leander who beat Hanley 1-0.

The first national club championships (in England) were played in 1888. Burton Amateur Club defeated Otter Swimming Club 3–0 in the Old Lambert Baths in London. Burton Amateur was formed in 1878, and still exists today. Otter was formed in London in 1869; and also still exists today, with male and female water polo teams. Though originally it was a male-only swimming club. The London Water Polo League, encouraged by the Otter Club, was formed in 1889. In that year, Nautilus were the first champions, defeating Otter 2-0. The next league was the Northern Counties. Their first champions were Manchester Osborne, who beat Manchester Leaf Street 4-1, in 1892. The longest running single match is the annual one between Oxford and Cambridge universities, which was first played on 16 October 1891, at the Old Crown Baths, Kensington Oval, London when Oxford won 4–1.

The first international water polo match was between England and Scotland at the Kensington Baths in London, on 28 July 1890. Scotland won 4–0. The England team were F Browne, WG Carrey, HF Clark, JF Genders, William Henry, J Finegan and JL Mayger. The referee was Archibald Sinclair (who also founded the London Water Polo league) from Ranelagh Harriers, England. William Henry (1859-1928) and Archibald Sinclair (1866-1922) went on to publish a book called ‘Swimming’ (Longmans & Co, London) in 1893. It included a chapter on water polo and may be the first book to have a chapter on the subject.

Outside England and Scotland

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.

In 1888, the sport was brought to the USA, by John Robinson, an English swimming instructor; by organising a team at the Boston Athletic Association. Two years later, J.H. Smith and Arnold Heilban started a team at the Sydenham Swimmers Club (later at the Metropole AC) in Providence, Rhode Island. In the autumn of the same year (1890) the New York Athletic Club (NYAC) introduced the game to members. The first US championships were held on 28 January 1890, in Providence, when Sydenham Swimmers Club defeated Boston Athletic Association by 2:1.

Between 1890 and 1900, the game developed in Europe, spreading to Hungary in 1889, Belgium in 1890, Austria and Germany in 1894 and France in 1895, 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. Due to the different codes, European teams did not compete. By 1914, most US teams agreed to conform to international rules. 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. 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.