While HCPS does not offer water polo as a competitive sports, one student here has had some experience with this activity. French exchange student Mathilde Chone competes in what is described by some as an exhausting and exhilarating sport.
Although she ran cross country for the Hawks and is now on the swim team, Chone’s sport of choice is water polo, in which she has been competing for six years. “I practice two times per week, and I have matches on the weekend, about one time per month,” she explains. The pool that she practices in is very deep because the players are not allowed to touch the bottom of the pool. The exchange student said that In between swimming back and forth and vying for the ball, players must tread water the entire time. They use a special form of treading called “the eggbeater” because it helps them stay upright and alert in the water.
“Each team has seven people. There are six people around the basket. We swim and we can’t have any feet on the bottom. There is just one ball, and we have 30 seconds to attack and then 30 seconds to defend,” explains Chone. “If you make a goal, you win one point, and each time you score you win one point.”
The limited time makes the game fast-paced and stressful, because if one team does not score within 30 seconds, the opposing team immediately gets the ball. Also, the players can only use one hand when touching the ball, unless they are the goalie.
There is a two-meter line and a five-meter line, and attacking players cannot enter inside of the two-meter line unless they are touching the ball. There are six positions in water polo, including a hole set, left wing, right wing, left flat, right flat, and a point. The left and right wings stay close to the two-meter line on their designated side. The left and right flats do the same, only on the five-meter line. The hole set stays in front of the center of the goal, and the point remains in the center of the goal but behind the five-meter line. Chone says that she plays one of the wings because she is a fast swimmer.
Chone says that water polo is her favorite sport because there is a clear goal for her and her teammates to aspire to.