FASCINATING, TOUGH, LOYAL: WATER POLO

 

Hello everyone, today I want to talk to you about a beautiful sport, which is also my best favourite: water polo.

History tells us that water polo was born in Scotland and is a sport with rules similar to those of football. It is a team game, where the players have to score goals in the opponent's goal. The game consists of four halves and each team has six players and a goalkeeper; all is regulated by a referee. The game is played inside a swimming pool where there are signs which delimit "the penalty area" and the half of the pitch. The match starts on the referee's whistle and the fastest team to catch the ball, located in the middle of the pitch, will have the opportunity to start the action.

 

It must be said that it is a really tiring sport because you have to swim at speed respecting many rules and you have to be very careful not to commit fouls: these can be simple or serious. The simple ones are when you sink the ball into the water, splash the water in the face of your opponents or when you catch the ball with two hands, while serious ones can lead to expulsion such as when hitting an opponent or when holding a ball opponent.

 

There are six players playing outside and a goalkeeper. In this sport there are many important roles called by  numbers 1,2,3,4,5,6. Positions 1,2 and 6 are forwards. Conversely, 3,4 and 5 positions are defenders. As for me, I started playing with the S.S.D. Sublacensis in Subiaco, we did several championships and in 2018 we won the Under 16 regional championship. Then some of my teammates   and I joined the team C.C. Lazio water polo in Rome with which we had a wonderful experience: the Water polo Summer Experience, a week of intense training in Slovenia where we played against local teams. The last team I played with was the "Empolum" in  Tivoli.  Then Covid- 19 stopped every sport activity.    

 

My favourite player is Pietro Figliuoli: captain of the Italian national team and striker of Prorecco. He is a giant,  one meter and ninety-two tall who has a great team spirit and puts a lot of passion into what he does. I was struck by a sentence in which he said: “when you win,  it is a joy for everyone, when you lose it is a defeat for everyone”.  And that's right! This is true team spirit.

 

Unfortunately, as I said,  with Covid we were forced to stop while now with the maximum commitment of our coach it seems that things are going to start again by optimizing a swimming pool in Tivoli and making  a new team. With the hope that things go back to normal,  I’m  considering joining them. Fingers crossed.   

Cristiano P., 3sc