1q84林少华:水球英文介绍

An Introduction to Water Polo
Water Polo is considered to be one of the toughest and most physically demanding sports. It requires fast swimming, great physical strength and high cardiovascular stamina. International athletes train at least 6 hours a day in the pool, working on their strength, fitness, speed and flexibility to reach the level of fitness required to compete.

These skills help them tread water without using their hands, swim four to five kilometres in an average match, shoot and pass accurately when they are physically exhausted, and deal with, or even inflict, heavy contact. It is estimated that the average water polo athlete will lose between 5 and 10 pounds during an Olympic tournament.

The sport can be likened to a sort of aquatic handball, in which a ball has to be throw into a goal. The game consists of four quarters and is played in a pitch that is 30m long, 20m wide and at least 2m deep. Each team consists of a squad of 13 players and a coach. There are 7 players in the water at one time consisting of one goalkeeper and 6 field players. The other 6 players make up the bench. The coach is responsible for calling the plays, team changes and timeouts. The game is strictly adjudicated with two referees and a table of judges.

There are 3 clocks in water polo:

The match clock times 7 minutes for each period and is paused for each stoppage in play (as in basketball or ice hockey).
The shot clock - each attack has up to 35 seconds of possession before play is reversed.
The exclusion clock - when a player is "kicked out" or excluded (sin binned) for 20 seconds.

Water Polo began in England in the late 19th century and is the oldest team sport in the Olympic Games, with the first Olympic water polo game taking place in 1900 in Paris. Great Britain defeated Belgium, 7-2, in the final game. The Varsity match, an annual game between Oxford and Cambridge universities, is the longest running water polo fixture in the world and is currently in its 107th year.

The most famous water polo game of all was the semi-final match between Hungary and the Soviet Union in the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne. It was a month after Soviet tanks rolled into Budapest to crush the anti Communist uprising. With feelings between the two sides antagonistic, the game descended into a series of brawls and the Police had to escort the Hungarians from the pool.