Water Polo

Water polo is a team water sport, which can be best described as a combination of swimming, soccer, basketball, and wrestling. A team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The goal of the game resembles soccer, to score as many goals as possible, each goal being worth one point.

The game is divided into four quarters, each of seven minutes. The game clock is stopped when the ball is not 'in play' e.g. between a foul being committed and the free throw being taken and between a goal being scored and the re-start. This causes the average quarter to last around 12 minutes 'real time'. A team may not have possession of the ball for longer than 35 seconds without shooting for the goal - after this time, possession passes to the other team. However if a team shoots the ball within the alloted 35 seconds, and regains control of the ball, the shot clock is reset to 35 seconds.