The Rules

The teams are composed of seven players in the pool at a time, this includes a goalie and six field players. Every field player plays both roles of offense and defense. Then, the way the players set up in the water, has to do with the play they are performing, much like hockey or basketball. One of the most important rules of the game is that the ball can only be handled by one hand at a time. (ball size = volleyball, yellow with rubber grip) If at any time a player holds the ball with two hands, it becomes a turnover and the possession of the ball goes to the opposing team.

Like in other contact sports, fouls are a great  part of the game. In waterpolo, players can be fouled infinite amounts of times, which opens up other opportunities for attacking/defending. This does not mean some fouls are not accepted, if there is rough contact or it is against the rules, the player will be ejected from the game for 30 seconds (like hockey) giving the opposing team a great upper hand. If a player has three ejections, he is kicked out for the rest of the game, so a huge part of the game, is knowing how to draw fouls and get other people ejected. Like in other sports, fouling close to the goal line, can result in a penalty shot. Penalty shots in water polo are shot from 4 meters away from the goal cage, in which the goal keeper has very limited reaction time since they are so close.