Time-motion analysis of international level water polo players

The purpose of this study was to classify and quantify the activities of elite Water Polo (WP) players participating at international level games. It was hypothesised that the frequency and duration of different activities depend on players' position. Activities of 48 WP players (16 center forwards, 18 attackers and 14 center defenders) were videotaped and analysed, during eight different games of the 1997 FINA CUP in Athens. Motions-frequency analysis revealed that WP is characterised by a relatively small number of different activities compared with other team sports. The activities with the higher frequency and overall duration which characterise this sport were (a) treading water (11:08 +/- 01:47min:sec) where the body is in a vertical position, (b) swimming (09:27 +/- 01:18min:sec) and (c) contact with the opponent (05:22 +/- 01:54min:sec). Additionally, there was a long duration when the game was paused (08:56 +/- 00:57 min:sec). All these activities sum to the 91% of medium to large mean duration (8-25sec) and interchange with the activities in offence and defence of smaller mean duration (1.8-5.5sec) which represent only 9% of total duration of the game. Furthermore, the frequency and duration of the activities depend on players position.