Sutton Bingham & District Canoe Club

Polo Page

Canoe Polo is the fastest growing competitive canoeing discipline not only in the UK but world-wide. Fabulous to play, and full of spectator interest, polo combines paddling and ball handling skills within an exciting contact team game where tactical and positional play are a fascinating ingredient of this thoroughly entertaining sport.

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 shield the ball. The game requires excellent teamwork and promotes both general canoeing skills as well as a range of other techniques unique to the sport. Two teams, each with five paddlers on the pitch at any one time (and up to three substitutes) compete to score goals in their opponent's net which is suspended two metres above the water.                                             

Basic Game Play

The ball is passed from hand to hand among the players, or flicked with the paddle. A player in possession can be tackled by being pushed on the shoulder or back. Players may only have the ball in their possession for a maximum of five seconds. Players can 'dribble' the ball by throwing it one meter or more, ahead of themselves or sideways into the water.  

You can't get too caught up in the moment, though, or you're in for a rude awakening from your opponents. Ramming isn't allowed, but pushing, shoving and capsizing all make for a faster game. Most of the rules concern the safety of the players involved. Penalties include goal- and sideline throws, free shots, goal penalty shots, and penalty cards.

Pitch

Pitches can be set up in swimming pools or any stretch of flat water. The pitch should measure 35m by 23m, but are often whatever is available. The edges of the pitch are marked by the sides of the pool, or better, by floating ropes.

Goals

The goals (measuring 1m by 1.5m) are a frame with a net, suspended two metres above the water. A player, acting as goalie, defends the goal with their paddle by sticking it up vertically.

Timing

The match lasts for two halves of ten minutes with teams swapping ends at half-time. Each half begins with a "sprint" where the team lines up against its goal-line and the ball is thrown into the middle of the pitch by the referee. One player from each team sprints to win possession of the ball. During the match each team's players vie with each other for control, either passing to their teammates or shooting for goal. To keep the pace, each player can only keep the ball for five seconds at a time.

Sutton Bingham Teams

Each year the club enters one, and sometimes two, teams into the South West Regional Canoe Polo League. This league has four divisions, with around 40 teams entered for this current season. Tournaments are held at Kingswood Swimming Pool in Bristol and Millfield School Swimming pool in Street, where the club welcomes you to come along to watch, cheer us on, and find out more about the sport.

The club holds practice sessions at Sherborne School pool and attends various summer events with Taunton and Wellington Canoe Clubs, where a pitch can be set up on the River Tone. There are also plenty of opportunities to "throw a ball around" at the reservoir.                                                            

More Info

There is plenty of information, including a full set of the game's rules and how to get started, on the BCU polo web site: www.canoepolo.org.uk

Email: Dan Brown