swimming pool

Pool in which a water polo game takes place; a game has four periods of seven minutes each divided by breaks of two minutes each.

excluded players re-entry area

Space where players who commit an exclusion foul serve a 20-second penalty.

7 m line

coach

The team’s leader; the coach plots strategy and decides who plays in different situations.

secretaries

Officials who write up the game’s report (such as goals scored, fouls and exclusions) and signal the return of temporarily excluded players.

timekeepers

Officials in charge of the game’s time, exclusions, continuous possession of the ball (maximum 35 seconds before taking a shot) and so on.

goal judge

Official whose main function is to decide on the validity of goals and to report balls gone behind the goal line (corners).

goal line

Line that the ball must pass to score a goal; the players line up along it before a period begins.

2 m line

4 m line

half-distance line

Mark dividing the pool into two zones, one per team; the teams change zones after two periods of play.

referee

Official who is in charge of enforcing the rules; this individual supervises the game and signals violations by blowing a whistle.

team bench

Space where substitute players and team officials sit; a team has 13 players but only seven are in the water at the same time.

goalkeeper

Player whose role is to prevent the ball from entering the goal; the goalkeeper wears a red cap.