Water polo international world league. Water polo in Russia. Water polo in the USSR

The World Water Polo League is a group competition involving national teams. There are two types of confederation: female and male.

The main goal of the union, according to the International Swimming Federation, is to increase the recognition of this sport and its popularity.

World Water Polo League

Competition goals:

1. For FINA (International Swimming Federation), which organizes competitions, holding a world water polo league is an opportunity to increase income from competitions in the discipline around the world. The fact is that tournaments can only be legitimized through the Swimming Federation, and this costs money. If this sport becomes popular in different countries, more competitions will be held around the world, which means that the Federation will have an even greater increase in income.

1. For the country, which hosts world water polo competitions, the task is to increase the sporting prestige of the country and improve the image of national players.
2. For athletes participating in the league, this is not only an opportunity for professional self-realization, but also a chance to win a significant cash prize.
3. For advertisers, buying seats at competitions and supplying balls and sports uniforms, this is a chance to promote your own brand, if not throughout the world, then at least among the target audience - athletes and fans.

Rules and prizes in an international organization

The rules are different for males and females. For example, for men's team games, the distance between the end lines should be exactly 30 meters, and the width is 20 m. For women league distance reduced up to 25 m. between the front lines and 17 m along the width of the field.

The essence of the game is for one of the teams to score as many goals as possible into the opponent’s goal, which are present in both groups. The bottom edge of the goal crossbar should be level 90 cm from the surface of the water. The depth of the pool or reservoir is within 1.70-1.9 meters. FINA (Swimming Federation) has set a minimum water temperature in the reservoir 16 °C.

Each team has exactly seven participants including the goalkeeper. It is acceptable to attract six reserve players, but not more.

Photo 1. Men's water polo competition. A player from one team tries to throw the ball into the opponent's goal.

The tournament lasts four periods. One stage in the world league continues smoothly 8 minutes, not counting game breaks. Each team has 30 seconds to possess the ball, and if during this time there is no attack, the team must pass the ball to the opponent. After each period there are 2 minutes break, and between the second and third stages the teams are given a long break 5 minutes.

Touching the ball with both hands is prohibited by the rules - the main feature of this sport. Thanks to this, the game almost never runs “sluggishly.” It is prohibited to attack an opponent who is not in possession of the ball. And also you can’t sink a shell under water. If this does happen, the athlete who committed the violation will be removed from the game for 20 seconds.

Attention! When the competition for any reason ends in a draw, the water polo judges appoint series of five-meter free throws the team that scored the fewest points or that carried out fewer attacks.

The main prize for the winning men's team is 100 thousand dollars, and for women's - 50 thousand.

Difference between men's and women's water polo leagues

Firstly, there are differences in the conditions of the game. Women's teams are provided with smaller field sizes, as well as the dimensions of the ball and the pressure inside it. For men no less 0.68 meters around the circumference, but no more 0.71 m, and for women - 0.65—0.67 m. The pressure inside the ball for men is 90-97 kPa, among women - 83-93 kPa.

Photo 2. Men's water polo ball from the manufacturer Mikasa. The equipment is FINA approved.

Secondly, for the international water polo league, different prizes are provided for men and women - for men’s teams the main prize is 100 thousand dollars, for women - 50 thousand.

As of 2018 the nearest men's water polo league will be in September 11-16 in Berlin (Germany), and the world women's tournament - September 4-9 in Surgut (Russia).

Competitions for women

Women's water polo competitions have already begun in the early years of the twentieth century, and in Western countries: Great Britain, the United States of America and the Netherlands. It was in England, where the sport originated, that women first took part in water polo competitions. It's been since then more than a hundred years, Bye FINA in 2004 did not include women's water polo in the international league.

Competitions under the auspices of the Federation are held every year in different countries. Women from national teams can participate. In the last league held in 2017 - in Shanghai, first place ranked in women's water polo USA, second - Canada, A third got it Russia.

Women's water polo in Russia is traditionally well developed, thanks to which Russian athletes regularly take part both in championships in this discipline and in leagues.

They often return home from the international confederation, having received several awards. This was not only the case in 2017, but also in 2013, 2008, 2006 and 2005

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Competitions for men

The Men's World Water Polo League is also held annually in different countries, but FINA started the competition in 2002. The Russian men's team, unlike the women's team, received the award only once, in the year the league was founded - in 2002 Men's water polo is especially strong in Serbia (they received first place in the confederation 11 times). The women's water polo team won the same number of first places.

Reference. There are no international competitions in which men's and women's teams take part simultaneously. This is because the differences in the rules between women's and men's water polo too big.

Reaching the super final

They advance to the super final based on the results of group games.

According to FINA rules, the competition begins 12 or 16 national teams who have passed the selection. Further, those teams that were able to defeat their opponents in group games qualify for the playoffs ( 1/8 world league).

And so on until the very end. The rules for advancing in the winner's bracket are very similar to the rules established in other team sports: football, basketball, and so on.

Champions League

The second name of the Champions League is the World Water Polo Championship ( FINA World Women's or Men's Water Polo Championships).

The history of the Championship has begun in 1973 from men's competitions. The first women's tournaments were held only in 1986 The competition is also organized by FINA. The Champions League is part of the World Aquatics Championships.

Raffled annually about 60 sets of medals and cups depending on the number of teams. The rules are the same as for the world water polo league, including a relaxation of the standards for the women's champions union.

Champions League prize fund by status for 2018 amounted to 720 thousand dollars for men's and women's teams.

The main difference from the International Water Polo Confederation is that only teams that have previously received a prize are admitted to the World Championships at one of the more or less reputable competitions.

In addition, the selection is serious even for strong teams.

In the World Cup, judging by the games held in previous years, more “hard contacts” are allowed than in the international league. This is not surprising - water polo itself is a pretty tough game. Often its participants receive broken noses and other injuries during the active phases of the game.

Men's Euroleague

Rules, prizes, etc. are similar to the World Championship and the International Water Polo League. In the same way it is possible to attract no more than seven players, including the goalkeeper, and keep no more than six athletes in reserve.

The main difference between the Euroleague is that it Only those teams registered in Europe can enter. Moreover, even a small presence on the European continent is enough for a team to be recognized as suitable for selection.

For example, Türkiye, which only has 3% of the territory is located in Europe, regularly takes part in qualifying and further Euroleague games.

Super League

This is the composition of the teams that won the first round of the Championship. Based on these results, not only the super league is determined, which includes 8 teams, but also the Major League, which traditionally includes 6 teams athletes.

The Super League cannot be separated into a separate type of competition, because it is only part of one big competition - the Water Polo Championship. Tournaments are taking place in one day after dividing the composition of the teams into the Major and Super Leagues. The venue is determined by FINA within the framework of the Water Polo Championship. Weaker teams start matches in the Super League according to the number of points they receive, and strong teams continue.

The difference between amateur sports

At the non-professional union there are several definitions, depending on which the competition can be interpreted differently.

According to the first definition, amateur water polo league - competitions not accredited by FINA. All international tournaments must be accredited by the International Swimming Federation. Otherwise, the organizers of non-professional competitions and FINA will not be able to offer joint advertising projects to brands, will not exchange the strongest world teams, and so on. A non-accredited (amateur) league, as a rule, has significance only within one country in which the competition is held.

Photo 3. Amateur water polo competition. Children's teams play among themselves.

Second definition indicates that an amateur league refers to tournaments between non-professional water polo clubs. The same rules apply here as in the case of lack of accreditation from FINA. To recognize a club as professional, you must submit an application to the regional branch of FINA (in Russia this is "All-Russian Swimming Federation"), after which the administration of the Federation makes a decision on recognition or non-recognition.

If the organizers want to hold a competition among non-professional clubs, this cannot be considered an international confederation and especially the championship. It belongs to the amateur league.

Game rules in such a league do not differ from the rules of the international union. The difference lies in the organizational system of the competitions themselves.

Useful video

Watch a video that explains the rules and features of water polo.

Possible organizational problems

Thus, There are many variations in water polo competitions. Some of them differ only in organizational characteristics, others in the composition of participants, and in some cases even the country of origin of the team matters.

The emergence of water polo in Russia is associated with the famous swimming school in Shuvalovo (a suburb of St. Petersburg), which did a lot for the development of domestic water sports. In 1910, at a sports festival in this dacha town, the country's first water polo match was played.

Very soon people in Moscow became interested in this game. True, due to the lack of swimming pools, Muscovites had to play in a small and shallow pool at the Sandunovsky baths. A little later, trial matches were held in Kyiv, Odessa and some other cities.

At the beginning of the 20th century. In Russia, the rules of “water polo,” as we called the game then, and the first domestic brochures about it were published in Russian. Various swimming organizations are starting to conduct water polo classes. In 1913, the first of what later became traditional water polo games took place between the teams of Moscow and St. Petersburg (more precisely, Shuvalovo); the St. Petersburg team won with a score of 3:2.

Water polo in the USSR.

This tradition was continued in Soviet times: in 1924, water polo became an integral part of match meetings between the Moscow and Leningrad teams. In addition to Moscow and Leningrad, their own water polo sections and teams appear in other cities and regions of the country. Units of military sailors (Black Sea, Baltic and Caspian fleets) hold their own competitions, which played a significant role in the development of Soviet water polo.

In 1925, the first USSR championship was held in Moscow with the participation of national teams of cities, regions and fleets (since 1937, the championship began to be played among club teams, but these competitions acquired a regular character in the post-war period). In 1928, water polo was included in the program of the All-Union Spartakiad and in the GTO complex, which contributed to the further popularization of the game.

It is interesting that already in the 1920s, women's water polo was also cultivated in the USSR, the rivalry was mainly between the teams of Moscow and Leningrad, the leaders of which were famous swimmers, national champions Evgenia Vtorova and Klavdiya Aleshina.

In 1926, Soviet water polo players performed abroad for the first time. (True, before the official recognition of water polo in 1947 by the International Committee of FINA, such meetings were irregular and were mainly limited to matches of working sports clubs).

In 1945, the first post-war national championship was held, and the following year the USSR Water Polo Cup was played for the first time. Although the water polo players trained and played in difficult conditions back then. For example, there was only one swimming pool in Moscow, however, the capital's CDSA (later CSK VMF), Dynamo and Torpedo were among the undisputed leaders of domestic water polo in the late 1940s and early 1950s. (A little later, the top three, in addition to CSK VMF and Dynamo, included the MSU student team Burevestnik.)

In 1951, the Hungarian water polo team, one of the strongest teams in the world at that time, held a series of joint training sessions and three friendly matches with our athletes in the USSR. The Soviet team won two games and drew one. These meetings clearly showed both the shortcomings we had (primarily in water polo technique) and the advantages of the distinctive domestic water polo school that had emerged by that time. One of them was the excellent swimming training of the players. Even before the war, many Soviet masters successfully combined swimming and water polo: Vasily Lebedev, Evgeny Melnikov, Alexander Vasiliev, Pyotr Golubev, Pavel Neiman, etc. In the post-war period, this was also not uncommon. For example, the legendary Leonid Meshkov, who set more than 100 national, European and world records in swimming, was the national champion in water polo as part of the Moscow Torpedo, and played for the USSR national team.

The Olympic debut of Soviet water polo players in 1952 was unsuccessful: 7th place. The lack of international experience and miscalculations in preparation for the Olympic Games had an impact. But the following year, at the sports tournament of the World Festival of Youth and Students in Bucharest, the USSR water polo team took first place. True, at her “debut” European Championship (in 1954) she again remained below the medal list, but in 1956 her first Olympic success came in the form of bronze medals. At the next Games, the Soviet team won gold twice (1972, 1980), silver (1960, 1968) and bronze (1964, 1988).

She won the World Championship twice (1975, 1982) and the European Championships 5 times (1966, 1970, 1983, 1985, 1987). In 1981 and 1983 our water polo players won the World Cup. Soviet athletes won the first European Junior Championships (1970), then twice more (in 1975 and 1978) becoming the strongest in Europe. And in 1985, the USSR team won the European Championship among youth teams.

In 1974, the Moscow State University team won the European Champions Cup for the first time in the history of domestic water polo. Three years later, the same success was achieved by the CSK Navy. Soviet clubs won the Cup Winners' Cup four times: in 1977 - MSU, in 1981 and 1983 - CSK VMF, and in 1985 - Dynamo Moscow. In addition, the army team won the Super Cup three times (1977, 1981, 1983).

The Soviet water polo school has given the world many outstanding masters. Our most titled Olympic water polo player is striker Alexey Barkalov, who won two golds and one silver at the Olympic Games (he also holds the unofficial world record among water polo players for the number of matches played for his country’s national team - 412). Another Soviet striker, Vladimir Semenov, also has three Olympic medals. Among the recognized masters of different years are Vyacheslav Kurennoy, Boris Goikhman, Vladimir Kuznetsov, Vadim Zhmudsky, Alexander Dreval, Evgeny Sharonov, Alexander Kabanov, father and sons Mshvenieradze, Vadim Gulyaev and others.

Water polo in modern Russia.

The Russian Water Polo Federation (president – ​​V.E. Somov) has been operating since 1991. It unites representatives of almost 20 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. It plays national championships among men's and women's teams of different age categories, as well as the Russian Cup, and holds other competitions.

For men, for a long time, the fight for the championship title and Cup was waged exclusively between the capital's Dynamo (now Dynamo-Olympic) and the Volgograd club Lukoil-Spartak (formerly known as simply Spartak): Muscovites to 11 USSR champion titles added 7 titles of Russian champions, and to the 5 USSR Cups - the same number of Russian Cups, Volgograd won the championship four times and the Cup 6 times. And in the 2004/05 season, the first gold in its short history was won by the water polo players of the Sturm-2002 team from Chekhov near Moscow.

A similar situation has developed in women's water polo. In 2002–2003, the Kinef-Surgutneftegaz (Kirishi) team intervened in the traditional dispute for the championship title of two long-time favorites - Moscow "Skif" and "Uralochka" (Zlatoust), eventually becoming the national champion three times in a row.

Russian clubs also have victories in prestigious European Cup competitions. Thus, Dynamo won the Cup Winners' Cup in 2000, and the Skif water polo players won the European Champions Cup in 1997 and 1999, and the LEN Cup in 2001.

In 1992, the Unified Team (men) won Olympic bronze. At the 2000 Olympic Games, the Russian men's team became a silver medalist, and in 2004 - again a bronze medalist. The women's team was third in Sydney 2000. So far, Russian water polo players have never managed to win the world championship. Men in 1994 and 2001, and women in 2003 took third place at the World Championships. In the World Cup, the men's team was also third in 1995, and won it in 2002; the women's team took second place in 1997. The men's team also excelled at the first World League competitions (2002), and the women's team became the silver medalist of the 2005 ML.

1. Goals and objectives

Popularization and further development of water polo in Russia;

Strengthening international sports ties.

2. Venue and timing

International competitions "World League" in water polo among women's teams (hereinafter - the Competition) are held in Astrakhan (Aquatic Center of the State Autonomous Institution JSC "Sports Complex "Zvezdny") from December 21 to 23, 2017, including the day of arrival - December 21, Departure day is December 23.

3. Management of organization and conduct

The general management of the organization and conduct of competitions is carried out by the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation (hereinafter - the Ministry of Sports of Russia), the All-Russian public organization "Water Polo Federation of Russia" (hereinafter - the All-Russian Federation), the Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports of the Astrakhan Region and the Astrakhan regional public organization "Water Polo Federation " (hereinafter referred to as the Regional Federation).

The powers of the Ministry of Sports of Russia, as the organizer of international competitions, are exercised by the Federal State Autonomous Institution “Department for the Organization and Conduct of Sports Events”.

The direct conduct of the Competition is entrusted to the Regional Federation and the main panel of judges appointed by the International Swimming Federation.

4. Conditions and participants

Competitions are held in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of the 2018 World Water Polo League and the official Rules of the Game of Water Polo of the International Swimming Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Competition Rules).

The composition of the Russian sports team is 20 people, incl. 15 players, 1 leader, 1 art. trainer, 1 coach, 1 sports medicine doctor, 1 massage nurse.

5. Program

6. Summing up

The results are summed up in accordance with the Competition Rules.

The final results (protocols) and reports on paper and electronic media are submitted to the Ministry of Sports of Russia within ten days after the end of the sporting event.

7. Awards

There are no awards given at these competitions.

8. Financing

The Ministry of Sports of Russia, the Federation and the Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports of the Astrakhan Region provide equity participation in the financing of the Competition as agreed.

Financing of the Competitions from the federal budget is carried out in accordance with the Procedure for Financing and the Standards for Expending Funds for Physical Education and Sports Events included in the Unified Calendar Plan for Interregional, All-Russian and International Physical Education and Sports Events.

Travel, meals and accommodation of participants are provided at the expense of the countries participating in the Competition.

9. Security

Ensuring the safety of participants and spectators is carried out in accordance with the requirements of the Safety Rules during official sports competitions, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of April 18, 2014 N 353.

Competitions are held at a sports facility that is included in the All-Russian Register of Sports Facilities in accordance with Federal Law No. 329-FZ of December 4, 2007 “On Physical Culture and Sports in the Russian Federation.”

The provision of emergency medical care is carried out in accordance with the order of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation dated March 1, 2016 N 134n “On the Procedure for organizing the provision of medical care to persons involved in physical education and sports (including during the preparation and conduct of physical education and sports events), including the procedure for medical examination of persons wishing to undergo sports training, engage in physical education and sports in organizations and (or) fulfill the test standards of the All-Russian Physical Culture and Sports Complex "Ready for Labor and Defense").

10. Insurance of participants

Participation in the Competition is carried out only if there are supporting documents on life and health insurance against accidents, which are submitted to the commission for the admission of participants.

Insurance of participants is carried out at the expense of sending organizations.

Document overview

The Regulations on the international competitions "World League" in water polo among women's teams are given.

The competition will be held in Astrakhan (Aquatic Center of the State Autonomous Institution JSC "Sports Complex "Zvezdny") from December 21 to 23, 2017.

The competition participants are sports teams from Russia and the Netherlands.

World Water Polo League Superfinal 2017 in Ruza

From June 20 to 25, the decisive games of the World Water Polo League took place in Ruza, near Moscow. The strongest for the eleventh time were the water polo players from Serbia, the reigning Olympic champions, who beat the Italians in a tough final. About one of the most prestigious competitions in the world of water polo - in the photo report below.

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01. Australia.

FINA Water Polo World League- annual commercial competition of national teams. Conducted by the International Swimming Federation (FINA) since 2002 for men and since 2004 for women. The Men's Superfinal of the World League was hosted by 10 countries: Italy (3 times), Greece, USA, Serbia, Russia (all 2 times), Germany, Montenegro, Kazakhstan, UAE and China. The 2018 tournament is scheduled to take place in the capital of Japan, Tokyo.

02. Duel between the Australians and the Japanese for 7th place.

Russia won the first edition of the World League in 2002. Since then, the Russians have not even gotten into the medals. Then Hungary won twice - the most titled team in the history of world water polo (9-time Olympic champions). After this came the dominance of the Balkan countries. The hegemony of the Serbs (in 2005-06 they still competed with the Montenegrins) was broken only by Montenegro (2009) and Croatia (2012), and the Croats won the tournament without the participation of Serbia.

03. Referee of the meeting.

The World League in 2017 consisted of two stages - the preliminary and the Superfinal. 11 European teams were divided into three groups, the winners of which qualified for the finals. The selection in the Old World began back in November 2016 and the teams played 2 meetings with each other at home and away. The remaining countries were selected through an intercontinental tournament in April, in which six teams participated: China and New Zealand were the losers. The hosts of the competition get another place. In total, there are 8 participants in the Superfinal.

04. Typical for water polo, drowning the opponent.

The current World League was missed by two leading teams in the world - Hungary and Montenegro. The Hungarians are hosting the World Cup this year and, in general, they have a strange relationship with the World League: they were its winners in 2003 and 2004, then in 2008-12 they missed five draws, after which they won two silver medals, and last year failed to qualify for the super final, losing to Greece. Montenegro, which played in all the semi-finals of the Olympic Games after gaining independence, is the winner of the 2009 World League, was third twice (2013 and 2014), then twice did not qualify for the super final and, finally, has now refused to participate.

05.

Ruza- A city with a population of 13 thousand in the Moscow region. Yes, the city has only 13 thousand inhabitants. By public transport you have to get there through the urban-type settlement of Tuchkovo, which has a railway station, where 18 thousand people live, i.e. more than in Ruza. Buses run periodically from Tuchkovo to Ruza. My journey from home to the palace took 3.5 hours. Taking into account all the villages and towns, 62 thousand people live in the Ruza district (at the beginning of this year it was transformed into the Ruza urban district). With all this, a Water Sports Palace was opened in Ruza in 2009 with three swimming pools, a diving sector (there are only about two dozen such swimming pools in all of Russia) and stands for 2,500 spectators. To keep the Palace functioning, it was even necessary to build a 2.5 MW mini-CHP. This spacious and massive complex is located on the outskirts of Ruza, for which it is obviously too big for such a population.

06. Aquatics Palace in Ruza.

How did the choice fall on Ruza? In February, Russia received the right to host the Super Final. Federation President Alexey Vlasenko said that initially they wanted to hold it in Kazan, but it turned out (what sudden information!) that the Confederations Cup football would be held in the city at the same time. Vlasenko noted that “there are enough candidates - Chelyabinsk, Volgograd, Penza.” It turns out that there were no real takers if they had to take the prestigious tournament to a tiny city.

07. Formation before the game for 5th place between Russia and Kazakhstan.

The Russian team last independently qualified for the Superfinal in 2005. After that, the Russians participated in all World League competitions, but only reached the finals thanks to home tournaments: in 2013 in Chelyabinsk, and in 2017 in Ruza. Men's water polo, which once brought Olympic medals, collapsed by the end of the 2000s. Now this species is not even among the dozen most popular. It got to the point that since 2007, Russia has not qualified for the World Championships. The Russians played only due to the status of a home tournament. Getting into the top eight at Euro 2016 still allowed Russia to qualify for the upcoming World Cup.

08. Russian team.

Russia has a rich tradition in water polo. In Soviet times, the national team almost always ended up in medals at the Olympics and World Championships. Since 1956, the USSR has won two Olympics (not only the inferior Moscow Games, but also the tournament in Munich), was second twice and third three times. The statistics at the world championships held since 1973 are appropriate: two victories (1975, 1982), one silver and one bronze. The Soviet legacy helped the Russian team win medals in all major tournaments - the Olympic Games (2000 and 2004), World Championships (1994, 2001), World League (2002), World Cup (1995, 2002) and European Championship (1997).

09. The best scorer of the national team is 20-year-old Daniil Merkulov from the Jadran club (Montenegro).

In Russian water sports (water polo), over the last couple of years there has been an attempt to unite. At the international level, all of them are dealt with by a single federation - FINA, but in Russia, as in the case of gymnastics or speed skating, they are fragmented into separate federations. This catastrophically slows down development due to the inability to pool resources, especially in terms of popularization. Therefore, the idea of ​​an Aquatics Association appeared, which has been promoted by the President of the Russian Diving Federation (since 2010). In 2015, he also became president of the Russian Synchronized Swimming Federation, and a year later headed the Russian Water Polo Federation. All that was left was to swim with the authoritative Vladimir Salnikov. And so far there are no prerequisites that the project of one powerful federation, which will develop its species, will nevertheless be implemented in the near future.

10. Russian bench.

The end of last year was marked not only by a change in the president of the federation, when Vlasenko replaced the criticized Evgenia Sharonova, but also by the dismissal of the latter’s creature from the post of head coach of the men’s team Erkina Shagaeva. The once famous water polo player led the national team since 2013 and was remembered for his disgrace at the home World Cup, when the Russians beat China only on penalties and lost to Japan, finishing in 14th place. Then, in the spirit of the worst traditions of the “strike holders,” Shagaev also categorically refused to resign.

11. The goalkeeper of Kazakhstan (in a red cap) floated away somewhere, and the Kazakhs received two almost identical goals.

Became acting head coach of the Russian national team in March 2017 Sergey Evstigneev, director of the capital's water polo school at MGFSO and world championship medalist, as a coach who does not have high achievements. Helps Evstigneev Marat Zakirov, who worked in Kazan for two years, and since 2013 has been the head coach of Dynamo Moscow, and during this time he was left without medals at the Russian Championship only once. It is worth noting that in the interval between Shagaev’s resignation and Sharonov’s appointment as the team’s coach, two months (!) the team’s former “helmsman” (2010-13) managed to visit Vladimir Karabutov with his Volgograd Spartak, winning the last eight Russian championships. That is, the leapfrog in the water polo federation still remains and it does not seem that water polo players will return to their previous heights. I have already talked about the problems in Russian water polo in. Since then, we have managed to switch from a tour system to a traveling system in the Russian Championship - so far this is the main change over the past two years.

12. On the left are coaches Marat Zakirov and Sergei Evstigneev.

In Ruza, the Russians got an easy group: Australia (11:5), Croatia (7:12) and Japan (12:5). In the 1/4 finals, the USA team was quite comparable in strength and passable (6:8) - as the Russian coach said, the players could not cope with the excitement and responsibility. After which Russia again played with Japan with an undignified score (12:12 and 6:5 on penalties) and almost in a friendly match for 5th place, where there was no serious competition, beat Kazakhstan (11:4).

13. 23-year-old agile forward Roman Shepelev from Kazan “Sintez”.

The only club that broke the Moscow hegemony of the USSR champions in water polo was Dynamo from Almaty, the previous capital of Kazakhstan. After gaining independence, the Kazakhs went to the Olympic Games three times (the last time to London) and have not missed the world championships for eight years now. However, without much success. But at the Asian Games they have no equal. The Kazakhstan national team only failed to win in 2006. In total, Kazakhstan has won the Asian Games five times, the next edition of which (according to the coach, the team is preparing for it) will take place in 2018. The team has recently been updated, veterans have left, homegrown players have appeared. It will be interesting to see them in the Tokyo 2020 cycle. By the way, the leading Kazakh water polo club, Astana, plays in the Russian Open Championship and took sixth place last season.

14. Kazakhstan bench.

The super final goes until the bitter end. Eight teams, divided into two groups, play the same number of matches - six each. First, three matches in groups, then 1/4 finals, semi-finals for 1-4 and 5-8 places and final games for a specific place. Six game days with four meetings each.

15. Kazakhstan goalkeeper Madikhan Makhmetov (“Astana”).

The commercial component of the World League lies in the prize money. To begin with, each participant makes a contribution to FINA in the amount of $25,000. The team that does not make it to the grand final receives $15,000 back. The total prize fund for the Superfinal is $345,000. The winner gets $100,000 - a significant amount for water polo. Further in descending order: 2nd place - $70,000, 3rd - $50,000, 4th - $35,000, 5th - $30,000, 6th - $25,000, 7th - $20,000, 8th - $15,000.

16.

Water polo is the shortest game in the Olympic program. Four periods of 8 minutes of net time, with two-minute breaks between quarters and five minutes between the second and third quarters. In case of a tie, the winner is determined in a series of 5-meter throws. There are seven team players in the water at the same time (six field players and one goalkeeper).

17. Mobile forward Artyom Ashaev (“Spartak-Volgograd”).

18. Captain of the Russian national team, center forward Sergei Lisunov (Spartak-Volgograd).

At the 2017 World Championships in Budapest, the water polo tournament will be held from July 16 to 29. The men got a group with Croatia, the USA and Japan. And the women, the current bronze medalists of the Olympic Games (even though they are doing well!), will have to play in a group with Australia, Greece and Kazakhstan. Should be interesting!

19. President of the Russian Water Polo Federation Alexey Vlasenko and acting head coach of the Russian men's team Sergei Evstigneev.

The most unexpected result of the Super Final was the semi-final between Italy and Croatia. The Italians were third in Rio 2016, but have not won the Olympics since 1992. The Croats are Olympic champions in London, and in Brazil they became second. The main time of the semi-final ended in a draw 6:6 and the Italians beat the original favorites with a score of 3:1 on penalties. Italy made some noise in the final, even leading 4:0 during the match. However, the Serbs were able to claw out a victory (10:9) and extend their winning streak in the World League.

20. Croatian national team, which played only for bronze.

For me, water polo is not an empty phrase and not just another sport. There is a certain charm to this look. I even have favorite players among foreigners, albeit women. At the wonderful Universiade 2013 in Kazan, I was a volunteer and all of us, Muscovites who made it to Olympus, were then considered water polo volunteers. Although I only worked in the pool for the first day, and then “closed” basketball and football. After two years of using magnets, I brought home a water polo magnet. And last season, I was able to get out to the pool at the Vodny Stadium, far from me, for the match between Dynamo and Astana.

21. USA.

22. Olympic champion Marko Jokovic, playing at home for the South club from Dubrovnik.

The Moscow region is one of the leading regions of Russia in terms of the number and quality of sports competitions held. I was able to visit the World Cup in short track speed skating, the Russian championships are held in Khimki, and many other sports. This is all great and interesting, but large international tournaments in small cities raise questions and do not bring the return that they could.

23. Judge.

24. The head coach of the US team is Serbian specialist Dejan Udovicic, who headed Serbia from 2006-12.

I can’t call myself a great water polo expert. For obvious reasons, it is very difficult to follow all types at once and do other things, but I know the general idea and trends. I go out to the mixed zone in Ruza, where athletes give comments to journalists. A fellow journalist (not a photographer) is sitting on the bench next to me and begins to ask me in surprise who is playing whom and why Croatia is not in the final, because “they won something.” I’m telling you that the Croats “won” the last Olympics (and Italy is consistently in the top), so their failure to reach the final is not a sensation, although it is a bright moment. In my opinion, this episode eloquently demonstrates both the general level of sports journalism and the current attitude towards water polo in our country. By and large, except for Match TV and the information partners of the R-Sport tournament, no one covered the Superfinal.

25.

26.

27. Luka Loncar (“South”, Dubrovnik).

28. Croatian national teams in various sports traditionally have very beautiful uniforms. Water polo robes are no exception.

29. Final between Serbia and Italy. Born in the united Yugoslav Dubrovnik, Andrija Prlainovic is from the Szolnok club, the champion of Hungary for the last three seasons.

30. Former teammates Francesco di Fulvio and Filip Filipovic, repeatedly recognized as the best water polo player in the world. Last season, Filipovic played for the Greek Olympiacos.

31.

The Serbs are led by the legendary Dejan Savic, record holder of the Serbian national team in the number of matches. From 1994 to 2008, he played 444 games and scored 405 goals. As coach of the national team in 2012, he replaced Udovicic and four years later in Rio he led the team to its first victory at the Olympic Games after the collapse of Yugoslavia, simultaneously winning the Kazan World Championship, two European Championships and already five World Leagues.

32. Dejan Savic gives instructions.

33. Valentino Gallo from Verona Sports Management.

34.

35. Serbian reserve goalkeeper Gojko Pietlovic is warming up.

All players of the Italian national team play in the home championship (as you might guess, it is called Serie A1). The base club is Pro Recco from the small town of Recco in the north of the country. Throughout its history, Pro Recco has won the Italian Championship 31 times, and has done so every season since 2005.

36.

37. Since 2008, the Italians have been led by the emotional Alessandro Campagna, as a player - world, European and Olympic champion (1992). As a coach with his team, he managed to become second and third at the last two Olympics and win the 2011 World Championship.

38.

Arriving in Ruza, I realized what a tragedy for me as a photographer happened at the World Championships in Kazan. Then for working on water polo: lighting, light, design, stands, atmosphere. The outdoor pool is in no way comparable to the indoor ones. It's hard to imagine that such opportunities for beautiful and interesting photographs will ever happen. What a pity that then I was left without accreditation! But now everything is completely different. And it’s hard to photograph water polo with a standard 70-200 lens. This requires very expensive optics with a longer focal length, and at the Super Final a couple of photographers worked with them. Well, what are they rich in? I hope my photos turned out good after all :)

39.

40. One-on-one exit.

41. The incredible ability of water polo goalkeepers to jump out of the water and stand in the way of the ball. Marco Del Lungo from Brescia.

42. The sadness of the Italian bench.

43. The joy of young Gavrilo Subotic, who scored 2 goals in the final. For him, this is one of the first serious victories in the national team.

44.

45. The top scorer of the Serbs, Dusko Pietlovic, played in the Kazan Sintez in the 2013-14 season, and then returned to the Italian Pro Recco.

The Serbian men's water polo team is now more than just a sports team. It cannot be said that during the time of united Yugoslavia, its water polo players unconditionally dominated on the world stage, although they became Olympic champions three times. After the collapse of the SFRY, a strong Croatian team appeared first, then the Montenegro team was added to it. And just like Serbia, just recently and before our eyes, this team became the world leader in men's water polo, winning all the tournaments. Last summer, the Serbs won their main victory, winning gold in Rio. Therefore, now it is especially interesting to look at Serbia’s victories and at who will stop their hegemony.

46.

For the Serbs, this is their 11th success in the World League. The Italians won silver for the third time. The Croats, who confidently beat the USA (10:4), also ended up with bronze for the third time. The top sniper of the Superfinal was Croatian Angelo Shetka with 19 goals. Russian Daniil Merkulov shared third place among the tournament scorers with 15 goals. MVP and best sniper of Rio 2016, Serbian Filip Filipovic, remained in the shadows: Dusko Pietlovic and Stefan Mitrovic scored 13 goals for Serbia.

47.

48. The award ceremony is carried out by the former president of the FVPR, and now the first vice-president, but, in fact, still the main “helmsman” Evgeniy Sharonov.

The final position of the teams in the World League 2017:
1 - Serbia
2 - Italy
3 - Croatia
4 - USA
5 - Russia
6 - Kazakhstan
7 - Australia
8 - Japan

49.

50. I think it was interesting! And I am sure that I will return to water polo. Write reviews! ;)