The NCAA News - News and Features

March 23, 1998

Collegiate, international water polo games to be more alike

For years men's water polo coaches have sought to bring the collegiate and international games closer together with regard to rules.

Effective with the 1998 season, coaches will get their wish.

At its annual meeting March 8-11 in Newport Beach, California, the NCAA Men's Water Polo Committee voted unanimously to adopt the Federation Internationale de Natation Amateur (FINA) rules, with some exceptions.

In adopting the FINA rules with exceptions, it was the sense of the committee that a common set of rules would benefit both players and referees who currently must adapt to different rules based upon collegiate, national (U.S. Water Polo, Inc.) and international contests.

While the committee adopted the bulk of the FINA rules, they did maintain the following NCAA rules:

1. All timeout rules. (Rules 5-3, 5-4 and 6-4)

2. Unlimited roster during regular season.

3. Two-point shot. (Rule 5-9-b)

4. Caps. However, effective August 1, 1999, the home team caps may not be red and the hats of the goalkeeper shall be solid red. (Rules 1-11 and 1-12)

5. Substitution for injured player. Injured player may return to the game at a later time. (Rules 2-8 and 5-3-e)

6. Taunting, brutality and fighting. (Rules 7-3-f, q and r)

7. Change of ends each quarter if requested by one coach. (Referees shall not change sides during the game in this case.) (Rule 5-7)

8. Team areas behind the goal line from the corner of the pool to a point 1.2 meters from the goal or along the side of the pool up to the two-meter marker. (Rule 1-5)

9. Five-minute halftime unless dictated by television or promotional considerations with mutual agreement from participating teams. (Rule 5-1)

10. With wall goals, the defending goalkeeper must assume a position with hips on the goal line against a penalty throw. (Rule 8-11)

11. Stalling shall be called consistently throughout the game. (Rule 7-1-h)

12. Overtime. (Rule 5-8)

13. Interference with free throw. (Defensive player may have hand up that is away from the throw behind the defensive player's head.) (Rule 8-3-d)

14. The pregame meeting, nail inspection, penalty for nails. (Rules 2-4, 2-10, 4-2, 4-3 and 7-3-n)

15. Protests. (Rule 2-17)

The Committee also revised some of the current NCAA rules that are being maintained, in addition to changes in hat colors and possible extension of length of halftime, including:

1. Avoiding the use of alumni referees except by mutual agreement. (Rule 2-1)

2. Referee authority extends 15 minutes before the game to the conclusion of the game. In addition, a new interpretation was added that there shall not be interaction between officials and coaches, other than pregame instructions, before or after a regular-season or tournament game. (Rule 2-2)

3. The goal judges, if competent, or the two game referees, shall line up the teams at the beginning of the quarter. (Rule 2-6)

4. Revisions were made to the stalling rules to incorporate the FINA rule relating to if the goalkeeper is the only player of his team in his half of the field of play. It is stalling for him to receive the ball from another member of his team in the other half. This replaces the current reference to outlet pass. (Rule 7-1-h)

The committee also noted that FINA adopted the following rules changes effective March 6, 1998, which will be applicable to NCAA competition in 1998:

1. All players not in the game at the time, together with the coaches and officials, with the exception of the head coach, shall all sit on the team bench and shall not move from the bench from the commencement of play, except during the intervals between periods. (Rule 5-2) Interpretation: The coach shall be allowed to stand and to move around his team's bench and, when his team is in attack, to advance to his team's four-meter mark. When his team is defending, he should return to the bench. If the coach makes any remarks to the referee, he shall be instructed to remain at the bench for the remainder of the game.

2. A goal may not be scored by a direct shot outside the seven-meter line in these additional instances: if the referee calls for the ball, if the ball leaves the field of play, or any other cause of delay.

3. A goal throw shall be awarded when the entire ball has passed fully over the goal line between the goal posts and underneath the crossbar, or strikes the goal posts, crossbar or the defending goalkeeper direct from: (i) a free throw awarded inside seven meters; (ii) a free throw awarded outside seven meters not taken immediately; (iii) a goal throw not taken immediately; or (iv) a corner throw.

4. At a neutral throw, a referee shall throw the ball into the field of play.

5. It is a foul to advance beyond the goal line at the start of a period, before the referee has given the signal to start. The free throw shall be taken from the location of the ball or, if the ball has not been released into the field of play, from the half-distance line.

6. It is an ordinary foul to push or push off from an opponent who is not holding the ball.

7. The 35-second clock is reset on a shot, change of possession, exclusion foul, penalty foul, goal throw, corner throw or neutral throw.

8. Brutality may be called during any stoppages or timeouts.

9. It shall be a penalty foul for an excluded player to reenter or a substitute to enter the field of play improperly during the last minute of the game, the last minute of the second period of any extra time or at any time during a third period of extra time. The offending player shall also be excluded from the remainder of the game, with substitution.

10. For indicating a player's cap number, to communicate better with the players and the secretary, signals shall be made using both hands, if appropriate, where the number exceeds five. One hand shows five fingers with the other hand showing additional fingers to make up the sum of the player's number. For the number 10, a clenched fist is shown. If the number exceeds 10, one hand is shown as a clenched fist with the other hand showing additional fingers to make up the sum of the player's number.

In other actions, the committee: