Waterpolo Rules in Brief For Minor Officials

Waterpolo Rules in Brief For Minor Officials

Game Timekeeper Duties

To have a stopwatch, a whistle and red, white and blue flags. The game scoreboard horn can be substituted for a whistle, if available.
To time the exact periods of actual play and the intervals between the periods. Wait until a player touches the ball at the swim off before you start the watch.
To audibly announce the time of each exclusion foul, penalty foul, personal foul, timeout and goal.
To audibly announce the start of the last minute of each quarter and to signal this by raising the yellow flag. To time the exclusion times of players ordered from the water (kickouts) in accordance with the Rules, together with the re-entry times of such players or their substitutes.
As soon as the kickout is signaled by the referee, start the watch and let it run for 20 seconds of game time. Note also that since the shot clock is reset to 30 seconds after a kickout, the period of exclusion ends if the shot clock reaches 10 seconds.
To control the periods of exclusion of players and to signal the expiration of the period of exclusion by raising the appropriate flag (blue or white); except when a referee signals the re-entry of an excluded player or a substitute when that player's team has retaken possession of the ball. If the team on the offensive at the time of the kickout still has possession when the 20 seconds have expired, raise the appropriate flag (blue or white) to signal re-entry for the excluded player.
To signal, without delay, the award of a third personal foul against any player by raising the red flag. Raise the red flag and start the watch as soon as the third kickout is signaled by the referee. Keep the red flag up for 20 seconds or until a goal or turnover occurs. If the team on the offensive at the time of the third kickout still has possession when the 20 seconds have expired, raise the appropriate flag (blue or white) to signal re-entry for the substitute.
To signal with the red flag and by whistle for any improper re-entry of an excluded player or improper entry of a substitute (including after a signal by a goal judge to indicate an improper re-entry or entry), which signal shall stop play immediately.
Example: If a player is in the water and his/her number is not on the game sheet, this would need a red flag and a whistle to stop the game.
Example: If you had signaled three personal fouls for a player and you see the same player re-entering the game at any time thereafter, this would need a red flag and a whistle to stop the game.

To signal by whistle the end of each quarter independently of the referees and this signal shall take immediate effect except:

in the case of the simultaneous award by a referee of a penalty throw, in which event the penalty throw shall be taken in accordance with the Rules;
if the ball is in flight and crosses the goal line, in which event any resultant goal shall be allowed.

When the quarter is over, immediately start the clock again for 2 minutes and at 1:30, blow the whistle to let the referees and the teams know the next quarter will start in 30 seconds.

Shot Clock Timekeeper Duties

Working the Shot Clock can be intimidating but it is a great way to learn water polo. You have to watch the game very closely, seeing all the calls the refs make and getting into the flow of the game so you can react accordingly. Think of the shot clock as a ‘possession’ clock…. Team can possess the ball for 30 seconds at which time they must shoot or lose the possession.

To time the periods of continuous possession of the ball by each team.

The Shot Clock starts as soon as possession is clear after the swim off.
When a foul is called, the Shot Clock is stopped.

After a foul, the Shot Clock continues as soon as the ball is back in play (the fouled player either passes, pops the ball or swims with it).

The Shot Clock is stopped immediately upon the referee stopping the game clock (asking for the ball to be removed from the water, signaling a timeout). A common mistake is to reset the Shot Clock when the referee signals a timeout. Simply stop the Shot Clock and continue it when the ball is put back into play.

Shot Clock Rules

Resets

Here are the rules for resetting the shot clock to 30 seconds:

Every time there is a change in possession, the Shot Clock is reset. If there is a "scramble" for the ball, do not interrupt the running of the Shot Clock until there has been a definite, clear change of possession.

Immediately after every shot, no matter how weak or whether it is blocked, shot out of play, directly on goal, etc., the Shot Clock is reset.
As soon as a kickout is called, the Shot Clock is reset.
After a reset of the Shot Clock, do not begin running the Shot Clock down until possession is clear or until the ball is back in play. For example, if the ball is shot and has gone out of bounds, reset the Shot Clock as soon as the shot is taken but wait until a player puts the ball back into play before beginning to run the Shot Clock down.
Once the game clock is less than 30 seconds, the Shot Clock Timekeeper should turn off the Shot Clock and blank the display on the next reset.

Starts and Stops

The Shot Clock starts as soon as possession is clear after the swim off.

When a foul is called, the Shot Clock is stopped.

After a foul, the Shot Clock continues as soon as the ball is back in play (the fouled player either passes, pops the ball or swims with it).

Secretary Duties

The secretary must have a pen

To maintain the complete record of the game, including the players, the score, timeouts, exclusion fouls (kickouts), penalty fouls, and personal fouls (misconducts) awarded against players or coaches. The time of all events must be noted on the game sheet. Some tournaments may use computer software instead of a paper game sheet.

To indicate on the boards which cap number has had kickouts or team has had time-outs.

Penalty Shots

A penalty shot is awarded when either an act of brutality or a foul that prevents a probable goal occurs within the five-meter zone. Anyone but the goalkeeper can take the penalty shot.

General Reminders for Minor Officials

The game sheet is the source of almost all protests. The Secretary has to accurately record the time of each event in a game – goals, kickouts, penalty shots, timeouts, yellow/red cards, misconducts. The Game Timekeeper calls out the time of each event and plays a very important role in making sure the Secretary is told the time of all events. Things often happen very quickly – a kickout is called and then a goal is scored within seconds. The accurate timing of both events must be recorded on the sheet and it is not always clear to anyone at the desk who got the kickout and who scored the goal. Then teams can line up to do the restart after a goal very quickly, the game continues and the Secretary is still trying to get this all written down in the correct places. There are very, very significant penalties if a team sends an illegal player into the game or if a coach calls an illegal timeout. In the heat of the moment, coaches, players and referees often miss these infractions. If these events are missed by the desk as well, a protest will result. The game sheet must be accurate in order for the desk officials to recognize these events as they occur. If you are not sure, signal this to the referee who will give guidance.

Game Timekeeper and the Shot Clock Timekeeper start timing as soon as the ball is touched after a swim off (not when the referee blows the whistle to commence the swim off).

When a five meter penalty shot is called, the defending player who committed the penalty foul is given a kickout, even though he/she does not leave the field of play. The Game Timekeeper is to announce the time of the penalty foul and the Secretary is to record it on the game sheet beside the offending player's name and also in the running score column.

The Secretary must be sure to note all kickouts and penalties accurately beside the relevant players, and also in the running score column.

The Game Timekeeper announces the time of all goals, kickouts, penalties, misconducts (yellow/red cards) and timeouts. The Game Timekeeper announces and signals the last minute of play and the last 10 seconds of play with the yellow flag (raising it at 6:00 and lowering it at 6:50). The Timekeeper times the two-minute interval between quarters and signals the 1:30 minute mark by blowing the whistle. Note that some tournaments may use different quarter durations and the time between quarters may be shortened if the tournament is running behind schedule.

The Game Timekeeper starts the watch immediately when a kickout or a timeout is called. 60 second timeouts begin when the referee signals the timeout, not when the coach demands it. For timeouts, the Game Timekeeper blows the whistle at the 45 second mark and at the 60 second mark. The Game Timekeeper signals the re-entry of players on a kickout with white or blue flags, if the player has not already been waved back in by the referee before the 20-second kickout has expired. The Game Timekeeper signals the permanent exclusion of players after three kickouts with a red flag and, if a player enters illegally at any time during the game, the Game Timekeeper signals this with a red flag and a whistle to stop play. If a coach has called for an extra timeout and the referee has awarded it, the Game Timekeeper should blow the whistle to inform the referee that the timeout is illegal. Referees will sometimes ignore coaches when they know the timeout is illegal and in such case the coach usually figures it out and stops demanding the timeout.

The Game Timekeeper and the Shot Clock Timekeeper must watch for any stoppage in play signaled by the referee. Referees may stop a game for, among other things, injuries, too many balls in the water, disciplinary measures (yellow/red cards), asking players to retrieve or retie their hats and confusion at the desk. The Secretary does not make a note on the game sheet of the time when a referee stops the game in this manner.

Some General Rules

Swimmers must not touch the bottom or sides of the pool but tread water or swim throughout the match

Swimmers must not hold on to the goalposts for a rest

Clenched fists are banned

Only goalkeepers may touch the ball with two hands

The ball must not be held underwater

The attack must shoot at goal within 30 seconds

If 30 seconds expire without a shot, the opposing team is awarded a free throw, or throw-in, to begin its own offence

Impeding an opponent who does not have the ball or pushing off an opponent is a foul

A foul inside the five-metre line results in a penalty throw

There are three types of foul; ordinary, exclusion and penalty

Exclusions last 20 seconds

An offside rule applies; players must be behind the line of the ball before passing the two-metre line of the goal they are attacking

Goalkeepers may catch, hold or throw the ball with both hands inside their five-metre lines and must never cross the halfway line

Kicking is a foul that results in exclusion

Bleeding players must immediately be substituted

A penalty shot is thrown from the five-meter line (13 feet, 1 inch). About 85 percent of penalty shots score.

Please take some time to look at the official FINA rules for water polo.

They can be found at:

The FINA Web Site