A water polo cap is a piece of headgear used in
water polo
Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...
and a number of
underwater sports. The caps are used to identify both the player and their team, and to protect their ears from injury possibly caused by a
water polo ball hitting the head.
Use for water polo
Caps are differentiated by the number printed on them as well as the color. Players from the visiting team will wear dark caps, whereas the home team players will wear white caps. The goalkeepers wear quartered red caps, numbered "1", while substitute goalies have caps which are either numbered "1-A" in
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
games, or "13" in
FINA
World Aquatics, formerly known as FINA (; ), is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administering international competitions in List of water sports, water sports. It is one of several interna ...
international games. Thus, each team will have two sets of caps: one white and the other dark colored. According to the ''
NFHS'' water polo uniform rules, the numbers on the cap contrast the color of the cap, and both the color of the cap and the color of the number contrast the color of the ball.
Use by underwater sports disciplines
In
underwater football,
underwater hockey and
underwater rugby, water polo caps are worn by competitors to identify which teams they are playing for, and to offer some protection to individuals against the possibility of a burst eardrum caused by the blade of a
fin making direct contact across the ear.
Opponents in underwater hockey and underwater rugby wear either one of two colours - white or dark (i.e. blue or black) caps while the water
referee
A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...
s wear red caps. Underwater football appears to follow this precedent. Caps are also used in
Aquathlon (underwater wrestling) for identification purposes; one competitor wears either a red or blue coloured cap while the other competitor wears a white or yellow coloured cap.
Gallery
image:Fieldcap.jpg, A field player cap
image:Goaliecap.jpg, A goalkeeper cap
image:OctopushTwoPlayers28092009.JPG, Underwater hockey players wearing water polo caps
image:UW-rugby match 1.jpg, Underwater rugby players wearing water polo caps
See also
*
Scrum cap
The scrum cap is a form of headgear used by Rugby football, rugby players to protect the ears in the scrum (rugby), scrum, which can otherwise suffer injuries leading to the condition commonly known as cauliflower ears. Although originally design ...
*
Wrestling headgear
Wrestling headgear is protection that a person wears over the ears and chin during wrestling matches.
Description
The main purpose of headgear is to protect the ears of the wrestler, not really the head as the name implies. Thus, wrestling headg ...
References
Cap
A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...
Cap
A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...
Water sports equipment
Caps
Water polo culture
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