There are literally dozens of competitive team sports out there (yes, not just basketball and football), and there are even those that happen in the water. An example of which is none other than water polo.

Water polo is an Olympic sport, having been added to the Olympics in 1900 when the sporting event was held in Paris.

While it is difficult to determine its exact origins, it is widely believed that it began as a sport in England during the 19th century.

So how exactly is this game played? And how does one win?

How Water Polo is Played

Pleroma
Croatia's #09 Jerko Marinic Kragic attempts a shot as he is marked by Serbia's #06 Nikola Dedovic in the men's water polo gold medal match between Serbia and Croatia during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Paris La Defense Arena in Paris on August 11, 2024. ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP via Getty Images

As mentioned, water polo is a competitive team sport, which means there are two teams battling it out. Each team has seven players at a given time. Six are field players, while the remaining one is the goalkeeper.

Water polo is typically played in a swimming pool with a goal set up on opposite ends.

A game is played in four quarters that are eight minutes long each, and basically, what each team needs to do is to score goals. Now how can they do that? A goal is scored by making sure the ball ends up in the opponent's goal. It's a whole like soccer, but just in water.

Where it differs aside from the water aspect is that water polo players have to use their hands to throw the ball. Using one's hands is not allowed in soccer unless you're throwing the ball in.

It should be noted that field players can only use one hand when playing. Only the goalkeeper can use both hands but only within their five-meter area.

In addition, players have to swim, tread, pass, and throw in order to make sure that ball is heading to its intended destination.

How Is a Game of Water Polo Won?

Water Polo
Croatia's #01 Marko Bijac tries to stop a shot by Serbia's #09 Nemanja Vico in the men's water polo gold medal match between Serbia and Croatia during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Paris La Defense Arena in Paris on August 11, 2024. ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP via Getty Images

Like most—if not all—sports, a game of water polo is won by the team with the most points. In this case, it's the team with the most goals.

Given this, teams have to play offense and defense in order to score and to stop the opposing team from scoring.

For a deeper look at the rules and intricacies of the sport, you can check here.