What is canoe polo?
Canoe Polo is a 5 a side, fast and dynamic team sport where players compete to score goals in raised nets. Polo combines paddling and ball handling skills with an exciting contact team game, where tactics and positional play are as important as the speed and fitness of the individual athletes. Canoe Polo, an international canoe federation discipline, is a spectacular and rapidly growing sport. It is a game of two halves of 10-minutes where two teams of five players battle it out with a water polo ball in kayaks.Canoe Polo is basically water polo, in canoes. Teams of five players pass the ball in order to move closer to the opponent’s goal, ultimately to achieve good shooting positions and score a goal!Early games were played in canoes and kayaks, so canoe polo was an easy and logical name for the sport. The Rob Roy is of interest because it was possibly the first example of a decked canoe that would today be called a kayak.
What are the positions in canoe polo?
Different positions of canoe polo players including goal keeper (GK), flat 3 defenders (FDFs), and chase defender (CHDF) Canoe polo is played either indoors in swimming pools or outdoors on a pitch which should measure 35 meters by 23 meters. The boundaries of the pitch are ideally marked using floating ropes (similar to lane markers in swimming), although for smaller venues the edges of the pool are frequently used.Canoe Polo is played by two teams of five players on a rectangular playing pitch that can be in open water or in a swimming pool. Matches are played over two halves of 10 minutes with the aim to score into a goal which is suspended above the water at each end of the pitch.
How many countries play canoe polo?
Canoe Polo is a game that tests your fitness, reaction time, teamwork and boat skills. Although relatively unknown, it’s an international sport played in 50 countries all over the world and is receiving increased press and television interest. Canoe Polo Equipment The main items are: Kayaks: Short and nimble, with padded ends for safety. Paddles: Lightweight and designed for both paddling and ball control. Safety Gear: We take safety seriously – helmets, faceguards, and body protection are all must-haves.
What are the basic rules of canoe polo?
In general play, only those players in possession of the ball, or competing for it, may be tackled, but once in the jostling area, players may be jostled when not competing for the ball. The goalkeeper must not be tackled or jostled, and must not be prevented from taking up a position under the goal. The referees do not swim with the players, but are on the long side of the playing field, out of the water. In league games a 30-second rule is used. This means that there must be a shot taken at the goal within 30 seconds, otherwise the ball is turned over to the counterparty.