Warm-up of the Italian national team during the European Canoe Polo Championship 2013

Canoe polo, also known as kayak polo, is one of the competitive disciplines of kayaking. The sport is also known simply as "polo" by its players and supporters.

Each team has five players on the pitch (and up to three substitutes), who compete to score in their opponent's goal, which is suspended two meters above the water. The ball can be thrown by hand or flicked with the paddle to pass between players and shoot at the goal. Pitches can be set up in swimming pools or any stretch of flat water, which should measure 35 meters by 23 meters.

Kayak polo combines boating and ball-handling skills with a contact team game, where tactics and positional play are as important as the speed and fitness of the individual athletes. The game requires excellent teamwork and promotes both general canoeing skills and a range of other techniques unique to the sport.

The kayaks are specifically designed for polo and are faster and lighter than typical kayaks which give them superior maneuverability. The blades of a polo paddle have thick rounded edges to prevent injury. Paddles are also very lightweight and designed with both pulling power and ball control in mind. Nose and tail boat bumpers, body protection, helmets, and faceguards are all compulsory.

In International Canoe Federation nomenclature used in some European countries, chiefly the United Kingdom, the term canoe can refer to a kayak too.^[1] The boats in this game are paddled with a double-bladed paddle and are called "kayaks".

History

The sport originated in the late nineteenth century in Great Britain, with Punch magazine publishing a picture entitled 'Polo on the Sea' in 1875.^[2] However, the birth of the modern sport could be considered to be the demonstration event held at the National Canoe Exhibition at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, London, in 1970.

In response to the interest created at the Crystal Palace event, the first National Canoe Polo subcommittee of the British Canoe Union was formed, and it was this committee that developed the modern framework of the game. The National Championships were held every year at the National Canoe Exhibition, and this activity led to the inclusion of Canoe Polo in the demonstration games at Duisburg, Germany in 1987.^[3]

In India, Canoe Polo was initiated by the University of Kashmir, Srinagar in 2008 when the University Aquatics Coach Muhammad Yusuf conducted a promotional match between the University of Kashmir and Islamia College on the waters of Nigeen Lake in Srinagar. Later this event was included in the annual water sports calendar of the university. The J&K Water Sports Association is also promoting this sport in Jammu and Kashmir on a larger scale.

Features

The game is now played in many countries throughout all inhabited continents, for recreation and serious sport. The sport has World Championships every two years and European, Asian, African, and Pan American Continental Championships held every year in between World Championship years. Internationally the sport is organized by the Canoe Polo committee of the International Canoe Federation, as one of the disciplines of the sport of canoeing.

Finnish canoe polo championships, Lahti, Finland, 2010

Practicing on the River Cam, England, 2004

Junior World Championship, Belfast, 2022

The game is often described as a combination of water polo, basketball and kayaking. The tactics and playing of the game are not unlike basketball or water polo but with the added complexity of the boats, which can be used to tackle an opposition player in possession of the ball, or jostle for position within 6 meters of the goal.

Tactics

There are several attacking and defensive tactics all with different variations.

Fouls

Most of the rules concern the safety of the players involved or are designed to keep the game fast-paced and exciting to play and watch.

• Illegal substitution and entry into the playing area: Only 5 players are allowed in the playing area at once. During a substitution a player must be completely off the pitch (including all kit) before another player can come on.
• Illegal possession: A player must dispose of the ball within five (5) seconds of gaining possession, either by passing it to another player or by performing one throw causing the ball to travel by at least one metre measured horizontally from the point of release.
• Illegal hand tackle: Types of hand tackle include any hand-tackle where the tackled player does not have possession of the ball or is sharing possession of the ball with another player or any body-contact other than one open hand to the opponents' back, upper arm or side or any hand tackle which endangers the tackled player.
• Illegal kayak tackle: Any kayak-tackle that results in significant contact between the tackler's kayak and the head or body of an opposing player, or endangering a player, tackling a player not within 3 metres of the ball or who is not competing for the ball.
• Illegal use of the paddle: Playing, or attempting to play, the ball with a paddle when the ball is within arm's reach of an opponent, contacting an opponent's person or any use of a paddle that endangers a player.
• Illegal jostle: When a player is stationary or attempting to maintain a position and their body is moved by more than half a metre by sustained contact from an opponent's kayak or jostling the player behind the goal line.
• Illegal screen/obstruction: A player actively or deliberately impeding the progress of an opponent when neither player is within three metres of the ball or a player who is not competing for the ball who actively impedes the progress of an opponent who is competing for the ball on the water and not in the air.
• Illegal holding: A player gaining support or propulsion by placing their hand, arm, body or paddle on an opponent's kayak, or holding the opposing player or their equipment or using surrounding pitch equipment (goal, side-lines, pool wall), fending off an opponent.
• Unsporting behaviour: Players showing dissent, retaliation, foul or abusive language, delaying tactics, interference with opponents equipment, bouncing the ball out of play or any action that the referees consider detrimental to the game.

Three general principles can be applied when determining the severity of a foul.

Deliberate foul – A foul where no effort was made to avoid the illegal play. Any deliberate foul should receive a minimum of a green card- either immediately or at the next break in play if playing advantage.

Dangerous foul – Is significant contact with the opponent's arm, head or body that may result in personal injury and is illegal.

Significant contact – Any high impact or continuous contact, that may result in equipment damage or personal injury.

Equipment

Water polo balls: old (left) and new designs.

Specialized equipment is needed to play Canoe polo. Items required are:

• Ball: A water polo ball is constructed of buoyant material to allow it to float on the water. The cover is textured to give players additional grip. The size of the ball is different for men's, women's and junior games.
• Buoyancy aids: A buoyancy aid is used to protect the players' torso from injury, and must provide an inch of foam on the front, sides and back of the player. All buoyancy aids are numbered to make the player identifiable to the other players, referees and spectators. Buoyancy aids are reversible and are colored with the team's primary and secondary colors on each side. This allows opponents to reverse their buoyancy aids and play in their away colors if the opposing team's primary color is the same or similar.
• Helmet and face guard: Helmets and face-guards are compulsory to protect players head and face from injury caused by accidental contact from paddles or other kayaks.
• Goals: The goals (measuring 1 meter high by 1.5 meters wide) are a frame with a net, suspended 2 meters above the water. A player, acting as goal keeper, defends the goal with their paddle by sticking it up vertically. Special rules concern the goal keeper, such as: the attacking team not being allowed to interfere with or jostle them. The length of the paddles used by the goal keepers are often longer than those used by other players.
  

  Canoe polo kayak
• Kayak: A special kayak is used. They are constructed from carbon-Kevlar or a similarly lightweight material. This makes them faster and more manoeuvrable than other kayaks. They are fitted with an inch of protective foam around both ends of the kayak to prevent injury and damage at high speeds.
• Paddle: A paddle is used to propel the players during the game. The paddle can be used to flick and play the ball. Paddles are strictly forbidden of being played within an arms reach of an opposing player to reduce the risk of injury.
• Spray deck: A spray deck is used to secure the cockpit of the kayak and prevent water filling the kayak during play.

ICF Canoe Polo at the World Games

Men

Year	Host	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2005	Duisburg, Germany	Netherlands	Germany	United Kingdom
2009	Kaohsiung, Taiwan	France	Netherlands	Australia
2013	Cali, Colombia	Germany	France	Italy
2017	Wroclaw, Poland	Germany	Italy	Spain
2022	Birmingham, US	Germany	France	Spain

Women

Year	Host	Gold	Silver	Bronze
2005	Duisburg, Germany	Germany	United Kingdom	Japan
2009	Kaohsiung, Taiwan	United Kingdom	Germany	France
2013	Cali, Colombia	Germany	United Kingdom	France
2017	Wroclaw, Poland	Germany	France	Italy
2022	Birmingham, US	France	Germany	New Zealand

See also

• International Canoe Federation
• British Canoe Union

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kayak polo.

• Official 2016 World Championship page
• CanoePolo.com Archived 2017-12-20 at the Wayback Machine—a canoe polo forum
• PoloPage.com – Canoe Polo Videos
• Technical Information and rules Archived 2011-04-06 at the Wayback Machine from the International Canoe Federation
• GER vs ITA, 2010 World Championships, Milan on YouTube—International Canoe Federation clip