Water Polo: team and substitutes

The team consists of 11 players, of which 7 are involved in the game at the same time, one of the players is the goalkeeper. The rest are substitutes. This game is characterized by frequent substitutions. Players can be substituted in case of injury or during stoppage of play (“quarter pause”, goal scoring).
The fundamental principle of the game is that players are not allowed to touch the ball with both hands. The only exception is the goalkeeper. Only one hand is allowed to play, either by executing passes, or by pushing the ball in front of you during a swim.

Game time

The game consists of 4 periods of 8 minutes net time with 3 breaks of 2 minutes each. The game lasts approximately 40 min if all pauses associated with the fact that the game is interrupted (when scoring a goal, committing errors, touchdowns and corner kicks) are taken into account. Playing time starts when a player touches the ball. Before play begins or when play resumes after a break the players line up on the goal line at least 2 meters from each other and from the goal posts.
The team has only 30 seconds to mount an attack, otherwise the ball goes to the opponent. The team in possession of the ball is entitled to two minute timeouts during regular game time. In extra time, the team can only count on one.
The referees at the goal raise the red flag, signaling to the head referee that the players are correctly lined up. The head referee whistles to start the game and throws the ball into the middle of the field or retrieves the ball from a special “basket”. After a goal, the game resumes with a throw-in at the half way line and players from each team are in their own half of the field.

A goal is scored if the ball has completely crossed the goal line between the posts. A goal may be scored by any part of the body if at least two players have touched it with the palm of their hand after the start or resumption of play. A goal from free throws, corner kicks or contested balls is scored only if the second field player intentionally touched the ball.

The goalkeeper’s rules of play have distinctive features. The goalkeeper has the right to hit the ball with his fist or pick up the ball with both hands at the same time. However, the goalkeeper is not allowed to cross the middle line or touch the ball outside the line. The goalkeeper is not allowed to throw the ball over the middle line. After an offside position, the goalkeeper takes a shot from between the goal posts.

If a player knocks the ball over his own goal line (without scoring a goal) into touch or if the ball gets there after it was last touched by a player of the defending team, the referee awards a corner kick, which is carried out by a player of the opposing team. The corner ball is kicked from the two meter line. None of the water polo players, except the goalkeeper, may be within the two-meter line.

If players of both teams have made mistakes and the referee cannot determine who broke the rules first, (as in stoppage of play due to injuries or accidents) the referee orders a disputed ball, i.e. throws the ball as precisely as possible to where the mistake was made. In this case, players of both teams are at an equal distance from the ball. Athletes have the right to touch the ball after it has touched the surface of the water.

Violations of the rules, which are penalized by the referee, are divided into simple and gross.

A free throw is awarded for simple mistakes. It is performed by any player of the opposing team from the place where the mistake was made. The referee signals with a whistle or a flag (blue or white) which team is awarded the free throw.