water polo
Enable an AI agent to recognise water polo activity, assess its playing and operational state, and identify actions permitted by the applicable rules and aquatic safety conditions.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
Researched by: Codex + Grok
Purpose and description
Enable an AI agent to recognise water polo activity, assess its playing and operational state, and identify actions permitted by the applicable rules and aquatic safety conditions.
Water polo is a seven-a-side aquatic team sport played in deep water in which two teams score by throwing a buoyant ball into a floating goal while swimming and treading water, under World Aquatics rules that forbid standing on the pool floor, limit each possession with a shot clock, and treat holding an opponent under the surface as a major foul.
It can be Classify an observed activity as a water polo match, practice or declared adaptation.; Reconstruct possession, score, clocks and participant availability from observations and official decisions.; Identify candidate legal restarts, substitutions and re-entry actions under the recorded ruleset.; Assess attacking and defensive options using player distribution, possession and time remaining.; Flag conflicting evidence or missing conditions that prevent a reliable state judgment.; Recommend pausing activity and alerting the responsible official or safety personnel when readiness conditions fail..
Distinguishing features
Opposing teams contest a ball in water and attack defended goals; a swimming race lacks this possession-and-goal structure.
The activity organises play around throwing, receiving and shooting the ball while moving or maintaining position in water; underwater hockey instead centres on a submerged puck and sticks.
Player roles and rules distinguish goalkeeping from field play; informal pool ball games may lack this distinction.
An organised match uses water-polo-specific possession, foul and restart decisions; swimming with a ball alone is insufficient to identify a match.
A water polo drill can be identified through its explicit relationship to match skills or situations even when it omits opponents, goals or full match timing.
Scope
+ Recognition of water polo matches, adapted formats and water polo training activities
+ Team participation, goalkeeper roles, substitutions and temporary exclusions
+ Ball possession, passing, shooting, goal events and restarts
+ Playing time, possession time, sanctions and match outcomes under an identified ruleset
+ Water polo playing-area readiness and immediate conditions for safe participation
- Pool construction, filtration and facility asset maintenance
- Athlete identity, employment, medical records and long-term development
- Club governance, league administration and tournament scheduling
- Manufacture, procurement and maintenance of balls, caps and goals
- General swimming instruction, aquatic rescue procedures and clinical treatment
Characteristics
- Activity form
- match | scrimmage | drill | adapted game Determines which match structures and rules must be present and which omissions are intentional.
- Applicable rules and adaptations
- Governing ruleset, edition, competition conditions and declared local adaptations Anchors judgments about legal participation, contact, timing, scoring and restarts.
- Aquatic playing configuration
- Playing-area length, width and depth in metres; goal dimensions in metres Supports assessment of suitability for the selected format without assuming universal dimensions.
- Player role and availability
- Field player | goalkeeper; active | substitute | temporarily excluded | unavailable Determines who may participate and whether role-specific permissions apply.
- Possession
- Team in control | contested | no established control | uncertain Supports interpretation of attacking play, turnovers and possession-clock decisions.
- Match phase
- Pre-start | live play | stopped | interval | suspended | finished Constrains whether play, substitution, restart or result confirmation may occur.
- Clock readings
- Period identifier and remaining game and possession time in seconds, where applicable Makes time-dependent opportunities and infringements assessable.
- Recognised score
- Goals awarded to each team Separates official scoring state from observed shots and disputed goal events.
- Sanction and restart status
- Recorded decision, affected participant, restart entitlement and unmet conditions Determines the immediate next permitted action and any restriction on participation.
- Participation readiness
- Ready | restricted | stop required | not established, with supporting observations Prevents an assumption that an organised fixture is automatically ready for safe aquatic play.
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 6 bundles · 11 layers · 18 findings · 29 questions.
Water polo identity and rule context Establishes what form of water polo is being represented and which rules give its events meaning.
An agent must distinguish a governed match from a drill or adapted pool game before applying match constraints.
Activity recognition
Identifies the activity through aquatic movement, ball play and attacking or defending goals.
Recognisable play structure
Record the observed features that justify identifying the activity as water polo, including any deliberately omitted match elements.
- How do ball handling, movement in water and attacking or defending goals establish this activity as water polo? definition
- Is this a match, a water polo drill or an adapted game, and which absent features are intentional? boundary
Governing play rules
Connects the activity to the rules and adaptations needed to interpret it.
Ruleset authority
Record the governing rules edition, competition-specific provisions and agreed adaptations without treating one format as universal.
- Which rules document and edition govern this activity, and who designated them? provenance
- Which adaptations change player numbers, water depth expectations, ball handling, contact or timing? boundary
Aquatic playing readiness Represents the water environment, playing equipment and immediate participation conditions.
Water polo depends on a usable aquatic field and participants who can sustain its movement and contact demands.
Pool, goals and ball
Assesses whether the configured water area and equipment support the intended format.
Usable water polo field
Record playing dimensions, boundaries, goals, ball and required markings against the selected format.
- What are the measured playing-area dimensions and depth, and where are the goals and relevant markings? measurement
- Which observed equipment or boundary defects must be resolved before this format can start or resume? action
In-water participation
Captures immediate readiness for sustained aquatic play and the availability of responsible supervision.
Aquatic readiness and distress
Record known participation restrictions, observed difficulty remaining safely in play and the responsible response arrangements.
- What evidence establishes that participants can meet this session's swimming and water-support demands? provenance
- What observed distress or environmental condition requires play to stop and responsible personnel to be alerted? action
Teams, roles and playing numbers Represents team affiliation, goalkeeping responsibilities and changes in who may be in the water.
Available players and role-specific permissions directly change legal participation and tactical possibilities.
Field and goalkeeper roles
Identifies participants and the roles relevant to interpreting their actions.
Team and role identification
Record each active participant's team, identifying cap or other designation, role and direction of attack.
- How are the two teams and each designated goalkeeper identified during this activity? definition
- Which ball-handling or playing-area permissions depend on goalkeeper status under the applicable rules? boundary
Substitution and exclusion
Tracks numerical strength and conditions governing entry or return to play.
Eligible in-water lineup
Record active players, substitutes and excluded participants, including the conditions that permit a change in availability.
- How many eligible players from each team are currently in the water, and what explains any numerical imbalance? measurement
- Which location, timing, signal or other condition must be satisfied before a substitute or excluded player may enter? action
Possession and goal creation Represents control of the ball, movement into scoring positions and the interpretation of shot outcomes.
An agent needs the relationship between ball control, aquatic positioning and goal threat to assess the state of play.
Ball control and pressure
Captures possession and the spatial conditions shaping passing, carrying and defending.
Possession and playing options
Record ball control, player positions and observable defensive pressure while distinguishing observations from tactical inference.
- Which team or player controls the ball, and what observation supports that judgment? provenance
- Which passing, movement or shooting options are available given the defenders, boundaries and remaining possession time? action
Shots and goal decisions
Distinguishes attempts, saves, rebounds and recognised goals.
Shot outcome and goal status
Record the observed outcome of a shot separately from the official decision that changes the score.
- What distinguishes a shot attempt, save, rebound, out-of-play ball and awarded goal in the governing rules? definition
- What observation and official decision establish whether this attempt changed the score? provenance
Clocks, contact and restarts Represents the temporal and officiating decisions that determine whether and how play proceeds.
The same ball action can have different consequences depending on clock state, contact decisions and restart conditions.
Game and possession timing
Tracks the period, game clock and possession clock where the format uses them.
Clock state and expiry
Record clock values, running or stopped status and the events used to start, stop or reset them.
- What period and game and possession clock readings apply, and are those clocks running or stopped? measurement
- Which recorded event authorises the next clock start, stop or reset, or establishes that play has ended? action
Contact, sanctions and resumption
Connects observed incidents to official decisions, participation consequences and the next permitted restart.
Incident decision and next play
Record relevant ball and contact circumstances, the official ruling and any unresolved disagreement before deriving the next action.
- What ball-control and contact circumstances were observed, and what foul or sanction did the official actually award? provenance
- Which team may restart, from where, and with what restrictions on taking the restart or scoring directly? action
- Which unresolved ruling, player-availability condition or safety interruption prevents resumption? boundary
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
A model that cannot be lined up against existing standards, identifiers and practice cannot be adopted by anyone who already uses them.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Kinds and varieties
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- men's water polo
- women's water polo
- indoor/pool water polo (standard 7-a-side)
- beach water polo (World Aquatics 5-a-side outdoor form)
- youth and age-group water polo (including introductory Flippa Ball)
- masters water polo
- collegiate water polo under NCAA rules
- recreational inner-tube water polo
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of water polo this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Identifiers and schemes
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Wikidata - Q7707 - Item for the sport water polo.
- IOC sport code - WPO - Results and programme code used in Olympic systems.
- Library of Congress Subject Headings - Water polo - Authorized subject heading for the sport.
- Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of water polo this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Standards and regulation
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- World Aquatics Water Polo Rules and Competition Regulations (World Aquatics, formerly FINA)
- World Aquatics Facilities Rules for pool depth, markings, goals and balls (World Aquatics)
- Olympic programme and eligibility rules for water polo (International Olympic Committee)
- NCAA Men's and Women's Water Polo Rules (National Collegiate Athletic Association, United States)
- National federation playing rules aligned to World Aquatics (e.g. USA Water Polo, British Swimming / Swim England, Hungarian, Serbian and Australian federations)
- Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of water polo this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Olympic Games, World Aquatics Championships and continental championships as the elite international circuit
- Professional and semi-professional club leagues, especially in Hungary, the former Yugoslav states, Spain, Italy and Greece
- United States collegiate dual-meet and championship play, concentrated in California
- School, club and masters programmes in public and university pools
- Recreational and introductory variants (inner-tube water polo, Flippa Ball) used for participation rather than elite ranking
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of water polo this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Typical measurements
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- playing-field length (elite pool game) - 25-30 - m
- playing-field width (elite pool game) - 20 - m
- minimum water depth - ≥1.8 (2.0 preferred so players cannot stand) - m
- period playing time - 8 - min
- periods per match - 4 - count
- possession / shot clock - 30 - s
- exclusion (man-down) duration - 20 - s
- ball circumference, size 5 (men) - 0.68-0.71 - m
- ball circumference, size 4 (women) - 0.65-0.67 - m
- ball mass - 400-450 - g
- goal inner width × height - 3.00 × 0.90 - m
- players in the water per team - 7 (6 field + goalkeeper) - count
- match squad - 13 - count
- Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of water polo this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Forced submersion and drowning risk during wrestling, especially when a player is held under while exhausted
- Concussion, dental and facial injury from elbows, heads, the ball and the goal frame
- Shoulder and rotator-cuff overuse from shooting, passing and swimming
- Knee and hip overload from prolonged eggbeater kicking
- Loss of flotation from cramp or exhaustion in deep water
- Otitis, sinus infection and other waterborne illness
- Hypothermia in outdoor or poorly heated pools
- Collision with walls, lane fittings or the rigid goal
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of water polo this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Regional variation
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- English water polo; German Wasserball; Italian pallanuoto; Hungarian vízilabda; South Slavic vaterpolo; Japanese/Chinese 水球 (suikyū / shuǐqiú)
- United States NCAA rules differ from World Aquatics on substitution, timeouts and some foul administration
- Australia uses Flippa Ball as the standard children's introductory game
- Inner-tube water polo is a common North American recreational form, not an elite code
- Competitive density is highest in Hungary, Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Spain, Italy and Greece; US strength is concentrated on the West Coast collegiate circuit
- Women's Olympic water polo dates only from 2000; some federations still have a much thinner women's club structure than men's
- Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of water polo this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- swimming (pool racing) - Racing is individual timed locomotion in lanes; water polo is oppositional scoring with a ball, caps, a goal and permitted contact.
- team handball - Handball uses the same throw-and-goal logic on a court with running; water polo is played swimming in deep water with no standing.
- canoe polo - Canoe polo players contest a ball and goals from kayaks; water polo players are unaided swimmers.
- underwater hockey (octopush) - Underwater hockey is fully submerged play with a puck on the pool floor; water polo is a surface game with a thrown ball and above-water goals.
- artistic swimming - Shares deep-water treading skill but is a judged routine, not a contact scoring contest against another team.
- water basketball - Uses a hoop rather than a water-polo goal and is typically recreational with less regulated contact.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of water polo this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Sources
- Water Polo Rules / Competition Regulations, World Aquatics (formerly FINA) - Field dimensions, period and shot-clock timing, squad size, foul and exclusion regime, ball and goal specifications, and the distinction between pool and beach water polo.
- Water polo, Olympic sport pages, International Olympic Committee - Olympic status (men from 1900, women from 2000), international competitive use, and the IOC sport identity of the game.
- Water polo, Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation - Common naming across languages, historical outline, typical pool and equipment figures, and the neighbouring aquatic games against which water polo is distinguished.
- Men's and Women's Water Polo Rules, National Collegiate Athletic Association - The United States collegiate rule set as a living regional variant of the World Aquatics game (substitution, timeouts, and match administration).
What the second pass must settle
- Does an existing Vercy world model already own water polo or a broader concept that should supply its authoritative publication?
- Which governing rules editions and competition formats should be supported, particularly where player numbers, clocks, exclusions and restart permissions differ?
- Which adapted forms, including shallow-water and reduced-team activities, belong within this registry entry?
- What evidence and responsible authority establish participation readiness and stop-play conditions for each intended setting?
- How should conflicting video observations, clock displays and official decisions be reconciled while preserving uncertainty and later corrections?