Water Polo
Water polo developed into different forms in the United States and Europe. The European Game is now universally accepted
Title:
Water sport Federation of Turkmenistan
E-mail:
tkmaquatics@gmail.com
President:
Guvanch Ataniyazov
TOUGH BEGINNINGS
Water polo is a tough sport, but when it first began it was even tougher. Fighting between players was common, if not the norm. In 1897, New Yorker Harold Reeder formulated the first American rules for discipline, which were aimed at curbing the sport’s more violent tendencies.
NAMING THE GAME
In the early days, the players rode on floating barrels that resembled mock horses, and swung at the ball with mallet-like sticks. This made it similar to equestrian polo, hence its name. In the United States it was termed softball water polo due to the use of an unfilled bladder as a ball.
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- The first organized Water Polo games were played in 1877 in Scotland after swimming teacher William Wilson created rules for the “aquatic football” game. Today Wilson is generally credited as the founder of this sport.
- In the early years, the game had similarities to rugby but it was played in the water. In order to score a goal, a player had to successfully place the ball onto the deck of the pool which was being defended by the opponent team
- In 1900 Men’s Water Polo became the first Olympic team sport when the Summer Games were held in Paris, France.