History Of Water Polo

             The word water polo originated from the Indian term "pulu," meaning ball: the ball game played in water. The sport actually began as a form of rugby football played in rivers and lakes. Before the introduction of a goal, the object of the game was to get the pig skin ball from one side of the pool to the opponents side.

                        By 1869, an Indian rubber ball began replacing the original ball which was made from a pig's stomach.   Eventually rules for football were applied to the game in the water.  Brute strength was the only tactic before passing and "dribbling" evolved later on and many fights occurred throughout the game.  Soon, in Scotland,  the game changed from a football style of play to a soccer style as a goal was placed at each end of the pool.  Players could be tackled as long as they held onto the ball and the primary rule that players could only touch the ball with one hand at a time also came into effect. In the late 1880s, these Scottish rules were generally adopted throughout Great Britain.        

            In 1888, the United States became the next country to play water polo when John Robinson, an English swimming instructor, organized a team at the Boston Athletic Association. It was one of the most intense and roughest games ever played. The first American championships took place on January 28, 1890 in Providence where the Sydenham Swimming Club defeated the Boston Athletic Association, 2-1. By the turn of the century, the game was one of the more popular spectator sports in America. 

             Water polo spread to Hungary in 1889, Belgium in 1890, Austria and Germany in 1894 and France in 1895. The game was included in the Olympic Games of 1900 as an exhibition at the Paris Games. It was the first team sport that ever participated in the Olympic games.  In 1911, the first step to make English-Scottish rules obligatory was made by the Federacion International de Natacion Amateur (FINA) for all members in participating nations.  

       Although men's water polo has been part of the Olympic games for over a century, just recently in 2000 women's water polo was added.   The Australian team became the first to win gold in this new event.                            

    Water polo has been gradually growing on the east coast. My high school offered both a men's and women's water polo team, which is rare for most high schools. I began playing my freshman year to keep in shape for the swim team. Before long, I fell in love with the sport and placed it as a priority over swimming; water polo combined my love of the water with team competitions in a game situation. 

    My Junior year in high school, I tried out for the Women's Junior National Team at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center.  For the first time I shared my love for water polo with 59 other girls my own age from across the country.  Some girls began playing the sport for club teams in California when they were only five years old.  Being able to play among the skill and talent of phenomenal players was one of the best experiences of my life. 

    Although many injuries and surgeries have created obstacles in my quest to follow my dream of playing, my love for this sport (that so many people have never heard of!) gave me the strength to pull through.  Now that my season has recently ended, and the opportunities to play competitively are slim,  I feel as if a part of me has died.  But I will always refer to myself as a water polo player.