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

Very soon 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 Sandunov Baths. A little later, trial matches were held in Kiev, Odessa and some other cities.

At the beginning of the 20th century. In Russia, the rules of "water polo", as this game was then called in our country, 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 the then traditional "water polo" games took place between the teams of Moscow and St. Petersburg (more precisely, Shuvalovo), with a score of 3: 2 won by the St. Petersburg team.

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 national teams. In addition to Moscow and Leningrad, their own water polo sections and teams appear in other cities and regions of the country. Naval units (of the 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, championship among club teams began to be played, but these competitions became regular in the post-war period). In 1928, water polo was included in the All-Union Olympics program and in the TRP complex, which contributed to the further popularization of the game.

Interestingly, 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 Klavdia 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 workers' sports clubs).

In 1945, the country's first post-war championship was held, and the following year the USSR Cup in water polo was played for the first time. Although the water polo players trained and played in difficult conditions. For example, there was only one swimming pool in Moscow, however, the capital's CDSA (later - CSK Navy), Dynamo and Torpedo were among the undisputed leaders of domestic water polo in late 1940 - early 1950. (A little later, the top three, in addition to CSK Navy and Dynamo, included the student team of Moscow State University "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 in the USSR and three friendly matches with our athletes. In two games, the Soviet team won, one was drawn. These meetings clearly showed both the shortcomings we had (primarily in water polo equipment) and the advantages of the original national school of water polo that had developed 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, Yevgeny Melnikov, Alexander Vasiliev, Pyotr Golubev, Pavel Neiman, and others. 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 country's champion in water polo as part of the Moscow Torpedo, played for the USSR national team.

The Olympic debut of Soviet water polo players in 1952 was unsuccessful: 7th place. Affected by the lack of international experience and miscalculations in the preparation for the Olympic Games. But the next year, at the sports tournament of the World Festival of Youth and Students in Bucharest, the USSR water polo team won first place. True, at her "debut" European Championship (in 1954), she again remained outside the prize-winners' line, but in 1956 her first Olympic success came in the form of bronze medals. At the next Games, the Soviet team won gold (1972, 1980), silver (1960, 1968) and bronze (1964, 1988) twice.

Twice she excelled at the World Championships (1975, 1982) and 5 times at the European Championships (1966, 1970, 1983, 1985, 1987). In 1981 and 1983 our water polo players won the World Cup. Soviet athletes won the first European Championship among juniors (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 Russian water polo. Three years later, the TsSK Navy achieved the same success. The Soviet clubs won four times in the Cup Winners' Cup: in 1977 - Moscow State University, in 1981 and 1983 - CSK Navy, and in 1985 - Moscow Dynamo. In addition, the army team won the Super Cup three times (1977, 1981, 1983).

The Soviet school of water polo has given the world many outstanding masters. Our most titled Olympic water polo player is striker Alexei Barkalov, who won two golds and one silver at the Olympic Games (he also holds an unofficial world record among water polo players for the number of matches played for the national team of his country - 412). Three Olympic awards and another Soviet striker - Vladimir Semyonov. Among the recognized masters of different years, Vyacheslav Kurennoy, Boris Goikhman, Vladimir Kuznetsov, Vadim Zhmudsky, Alexander Dreval, Yevgeny Sharonov, Alexander Kabanov, father and sons Mshvenieradze, Vadim Gulyaev, etc.

Water polo in modern Russia.

The Water Polo Federation of Russia (President - V.E. Somov) has been operating since 1991. It unites representatives of almost 20 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. 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 struggle for the champion title and the Cup was fought exclusively between the capital Dynamo (now Dynamo-Olimpiyskiy) and the Volgograd club Lukoil-Spartak (formerly known as simply Spartak): Muscovites for 11 titles of USSR champions added 7 titles of champions of Russia, and to 5 Cups of the USSR - the same number of Russian Cups, the Volgograd team won the championship four times and the Cup 6 times. And in the 2004/05 season, the first “gold” in their short history was won by the water polo players of the “Sturm-2002” team from Chekhov near Moscow.

The situation is similar in women's water polo. The Kinef-Surgutneftegaz (Kirishi) team intervened in the traditional dispute for the champion title of two long-standing favorites - Moscow's Skif and Uralochka (Zlatoust) - in 2002-2003, becoming the country's champion three times in a row.

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

In 1992, the United Team (men) won the Olympic "bronze". At the 2000 Olympic Games, the Russian men's team won the silver medal, and in 2004 - again the bronze. The women's team was third in Sydney 2000. So far, the Russian water polo players have never managed to win the world championship either. 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 in 1997 took second place. The men's team also excelled at the first competitions of the World League (2002), and the women's team became the silver medalist of the ML-2005.

1. Goals and objectives

Popularization and further development of water polo in Russia;

Strengthening international sports ties.

2. Place and timing

International competitions "World League" in water polo among women's teams (hereinafter - Competitions) are held in Astrakhan (Water Center GAU JSC "Sports Complex" Zvezdny ") from December 21 to 23, 2017, including the day of arrival - December 21, departure day - December 23.

3. Management of the 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 "Federation of Water Polo of Russia" (hereinafter - the All-Russian Federation), the Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports of the Astrakhan Region and the Astrakhan regional public organization "Federation of Water Polo "(hereinafter - 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 "Management for the Organization and Holding 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 Water Polo Rules of the International Swimming Federation (hereinafter - the Competition Rules).

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

5. Program

21 December	arrival, accreditation and placement of teams, training
December 22	training, technical meeting, game
December 23rd	departure of teams

6. Summing up

Summing up is carried out in accordance with the Competition Rules.

Final results (protocols) and reports in paper and electronic form are submitted to the Ministry of Sports of Russia within ten days after the end of the sporting event.

7. Rewarding

There will be no awards at this competition.

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 Competition at the expense of the federal budget is carried out in accordance with the Financing Procedure and the Norms for the Expenditure of Funds for Physical Culture Events and Sports Events included in the Unified Schedule of Interregional, All-Russian and International Physical Culture Events and Sports Events.

Travel, meals and accommodation of the participants is carried out at the expense of the countries participating in the Competition.

9. Security assurance

Ensuring the safety of participants and spectators is carried out in accordance with the requirements of the Safety Rules for 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, which 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 01, 2016 N 134n "On the Procedure for organizing the provision of medical care to persons engaged in physical culture and sports (including in the preparation and conduct of physical culture events and sports events), including the procedure for medical examination of persons wishing to undergo sports training, engage in physical culture and sports in organizations and (or) fulfill the test standards (tests) 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 in the presence of 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 international competitions "World League" in water polo among women teams are given.

Competitions will be held in Astrakhan (Water Center of GAU JSC "Sports Complex" Zvezdny ") from 21 to 23 December 2017.

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

The World Water Polo League is a group competition in which national teams take part. 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 objectives:

1. For FINA (International Swimming Federation) organizing competitions, hosting a world water polo league - an opportunity to increase income from discipline competitions around the world. The fact is that tournaments can only be legitimized through the Swimming Federation, and this costs money. If this kind of sport gains popularity in different countries, there will be more competitions around the world, which means that the Federation will have an even greater increase in income.

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

Rules and prizes in an international organization

The rules for males and females differ. For example, for games of men's teams, the distance between the endlines must be exactly 30 meters and the width is 20 m... At the wives. league distance shortened up to 25 m... between the facial lines and 17 m by 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 must be located exactly in 90 cm from the surface of the water. The depth of the pool or pond is within 1.70-1.9 meters... FINA (Swimming Federation) set a minimum water temperature in the reservoir 16 ° C.

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

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

The tournament lasts four periods... One stage in the world league continues exactly 8 minutes, not counting the game pauses. 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 in 5 minutes.

It is prohibited by the rules to touch the ball with both hands - the main feature of this sport. Thanks to this, the game almost never goes "sluggish". It is forbidden to attack an opponent who is not in possession of the ball. And also you can not drown a projectile under water. If this does happen, the offending athlete is removed from the game for 20 seconds.

Attention! When the competition for any reason ends in a draw, the water polo judges will appoint five-meter free throw streak the team that scored the least points or that made the fewest attacks.

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

The difference between men's and women's water polo leagues

First, there are differences in the conditions of the game. Women's teams are provided with a smaller field, as well as the size of the ball and the pressure inside it. Men have at least 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 manufacturer Mikasa. The shell is FINA approved.

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

As of 2018 year 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

The women's water polo competition has 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 this sport was born, that women first took part in water polo competitions. Passed since then over a hundred years, while 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 passed in 2017 - in Shanghai, first place in women's water polo took USA, second - Canada, a third got Of 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. It was not only this way in 2017, but also in 2013, 2008, 2006 and 2005

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Competitions for men

The Men's World Waterpolo League is also held annually in different countries, but FINA began with in 2002... The Russian men's team, unlike the women's, 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 same number of first places were won by the women's water polo team.

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

Advance to the super final

They advance to the superfinal based on the results of group games.

Competition starts according to FINA rules 12 or 16 national teams selected. Further, those teams that were able to defeat rivals in group games go to the playoffs ( 1/8 World League).

And so on until the very end. The rules for promotion in the winners' bracket are very similar to the rules set 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.

Drawn 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 the relaxation of the standards for the women's union of champions.

Champions League prize pool as of 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 allowed to enter the world championship. in one of the more or less reputable competition.

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

In the World Cup, judging by the games that have passed in previous years, more "hard contacts" allowed than in the international league. This is not surprising - water polo itself is a pretty tough game. Often, its participants receive nose fractures 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. Likewise, it is allowed 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 only teams registered in Europe can enter... Moreover, even a small presence on the European continent is enough for the team to be recognized as suitable for selection.

For example, Turkey with only 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. These results determine not only the Super League, which includes 8 teams, but also the Major League, which traditionally include 6 teams athletes.

The Super League cannot be singled out as a separate type of competition, since it is only part of one big competition - the Water Polo Championship... Tournaments are held in one day after the division of the teams into the Higher and Super League. The venue is determined by FINA as part of the Water Polo Championship. The weaker teams start matches in the Super League according to the number of points received, and the strong teams continue.

The amateur sports distinction

Have a non-professional union there are several definitions, depending on which you can interpret the competition in different ways.

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, they will not exchange the world's most powerful teams, and so on. The non-accredited (amateur) league is usually only relevant within the same country in which the competition is held.

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

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

If the organizers wish to hold a competition among non-professional clubs, this is cannot be considered an international confederation and even more so 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 competition itself.

Useful video

Watch a video about 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 terms of organization, others - in the composition of the participants, and in some cases even the country of origin of the team matters.

Superfinal of the World Water Polo League 2017 in Ruza

From 20 to 25 June, the decisive games of the World Water Polo League were held in Ruza near Moscow. The water polo players from Serbia, the current Olympic champions, who beat the Italians in a stubborn final, became the strongest for the eleventh time. 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. Held 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 each), Germany, Montenegro, Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates and China. The 2018 tournament is to be held in the Japanese capital Tokyo.

02. The fight between the Australians and the Japanese for 7th place.

Russia won the first World League draw in 2002. Since then, the Russians have not even won medals. Then Hungary won twice - the most titled team in the history of world water polo (9 times Olympic champions). After that, the domination of the Balkan countries came. The hegemony of the Serbs (in 2005-06 they still played together with the Montenegrins) was violated 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 final. The selection in the Old World began in November 2016 and the teams played 2 meetings with each other at home and away. The rest of the countries were selected through the April intercontinental tournament, in which six teams participated: China and New Zealand were the losers. The hosts of the competition get one more place. In total, there are 8 participants in the Superfinal.

04. Typical water polo heating of the opponent.

The current World League draw was missed by the two leading national teams of 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 are 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, after gaining independence, played in all semifinals of the Olympic Games, is the winner of the 2009 World League, twice was third (2013 and 2014), then twice was not selected for the superfinal and, finally, has now refused to participate.

05.

Ruza- 13 thousandth city in the Moscow region. Yes, there are only 13 thousand inhabitants in the city. By public transport one has to get there through the urban-type settlement Tuchkovo, which has a railway station, where 18 thousand people live, i.e. more than in Ruza. Buses periodically run from Tuchkovo to Ruza. My journey from home to the palace took 3.5 hours. Taking into account all the villages and settlements, 62 thousand people live in the Ruza district (at the beginning of this year it was transformed into the Ruza urban district). At the same time, in 2009, the Water Sports Palace was opened in Ruza with three swimming pools, a jumping sector (there are only about two dozen such pools in the whole of Russia) and stands for 2,500 spectators. For the life of the Palace, 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 large with such a population.

06. Palace of water sports in Ruza.

How did you choose Ruza? In February, Russia won the right to host the Superfinal. Federation President Alexei Vlasenko said that initially they wanted to hold it in Kazan, but it turned out (this is such a sudden information!) That the city will host a football Confederations Cup at the same time. Vlasenko noted that “there are enough candidates - Chelyabinsk, Volgograd, Penza”. It turns out that there were no real applicants if they had to take a prestigious tournament to a tiny city.

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

The last time the Russian national team was independently selected for the Superfinal was in 2005. After that, the Russians took part in all the draws of the World League, but they ended up in the finals only thanks to home tournaments: in 2013 - in Chelyabinsk, and in 2017 - in Ruza. Men's water polo, which once brought Olympic medals, was destroyed by the end of the 2000s. Now this species is not included in the dozen of the most popular. It got to the point that since 2007 Russia did not get to the world championships. the Russians played only because of their home tournament status. Getting into the top eight at Euro 2016 still allowed Russia to be at the upcoming world championship.

08. Russian national team.

Russia has a rich tradition in water polo. In Soviet times, the national team almost always ended up in the medals of the Olympics and world championships. Since 1956, the USSR won two Olympics (not only the defective Moscow Games, but also the tournament in Munich), was twice second and three times third. The statistics for the world championships held since 1973, corresponding: 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), the World Championships (1994, 2001), the World League (2002), the World Cup (1995, 2002) and the European Championship (1997).

09. Top scorer of the national team 20-year-old Daniil Merkulov from the club "Yadran" (Montenegro).

In Russian water sports (, water polo,) there has been an attempt to unite for the last couple of years. At the international level, all of them are handled by the only federation - FINA, and in Russia, as in the case of gymnastics or skating, they are fragmented into separate federations. This catastrophically hinders development due to the impossibility of pooling resources, especially in terms of popularization. Therefore, the idea of ​​the Association of Water Sports was born, which has been promoted by the President of the Russian Federation of Diving (since 2010). In 2015, he also became President of the Russian Synchronized Swimming Federation, and a year later he headed the Russian Water Polo Federation. The only thing left is to sail with the authoritative Vladimir Salnikov. And so far there are no prerequisites that the project of one powerful federation, which will be engaged in the development of its species, is still being implemented in the near future.

10. Bench of Russians.

The end of last year was marked not only by the change of the president of the federation, when Vlasenko replaced the criticized Evgenia Sharonova, but also by the dismissal of the creature of the latter 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 is remembered as a shame at the home world championship, when the Russians beat China only on penalties and lost to Japan, finishing 14th. 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) swam somewhere, and the Kazakhs got two almost identical goals.

The acting head coach of the Russian national team in March 2017 became Sergey Evstigneev, director of the Moscow 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 only once was left without medals in the Russian championship. It is worth noting that in the interval between Shagaev's resignation and Sharonov's appointment as coach of the national team, its former “helmsman” managed to visit for two months (!) (2010-13) Vladimir Karabutov with his Volgograd "Spartak" won the last eight Russian championships. That is, the leapfrog in the water polo federation still remains and it does not seem that the water polo players will return to their former peaks. I already talked about the problems in Russian water polo in. Since then, it has been possible to switch from a touring 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, coaches Marat Zakirov and Sergey Evstigneev.

In Ruza, the Russians got the easy group: Australia (11: 5), Croatia (7:12) and Japan (12: 5). In the quarter-finals there was a quite comparable in strength and passable US team (6: 8) - as the Russian mentor said, the players could not cope with the excitement and responsibility. After that, 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 struggle, beat Kazakhstan (11: 4).

13. 23-year-old mobile striker Roman Shepelev from Kazan "Sintez".

The only club that broke the Moscow hegemony of the USSR champions in water polo was Dynamo from Alma-Ata, the previous capital of Kazakhstan. After gaining independence, the Kazakhs went to the Olympic Games three times (the last time was in London) and have not missed the World Championships for eight years. However - without much success. But at the Asian Games they have no equal. The national team of Kazakhstan only in 2006 failed to win them. In total, Kazakhstan has won the Asian Games five times, the next draw of which (according to the coach, the team is preparing for it) will be held in 2018. The team has recently been updated, veterans have left, and 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 open championship of Russia and took the sixth place last season.

14. Bench for Kazakhstan.

The Superfinal goes on to the bitter end. Eight teams, divided into two groups, play the same number of matches - six each. First, there are three group fights, then the quarter-finals, the semi-finals for places 1-4 and 5-8, and the final games for a specific place. Six game days with four meetings each.

15. Goalkeeper of Kazakhstan Madikhan Makhmetov (Astana).

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

16.

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

17. The mobile striker Artyom Ashaev ("Spartak-Volgograd").

18. The 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 16 to 29 July. The men got the group with Croatia, USA and Japan. And women, acting bronze medalists of the Olympic Games (although 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 Alexei Vlasenko and acting of the head coach of the Russian men's national team Sergey Evstigneev.

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

20. National team of Croatia, which played only for the "bronze".

For me, water polo is not an empty phrase and not just another sport. There is a certain charm in this look. I even have favorite foreign players, though women. At the wonderful 2013 Universiade in Kazan, I was a volunteer and all of us - Muscovites who came to Olympus, were then considered water polo volunteers. Although I worked in the pool only the first day, and then “closed” basketball and football. Two years later, with the magnets, I brought home a water polo magnet. And last season I was able to get out into a pool far from me at the Water Stadium for a duel between Dynamo and Astana.

21. USA.

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

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

23. Judge.

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

I cannot call myself a great connoisseur of water polo. For obvious reasons, it is very difficult to follow all the species at once and do other things, but I know the general idea and trends. I go out in Ruza to the mixed zone, where athletes give comments to journalists. A journalist colleague (not a photographer) sits next to me on a bench and starts wondering who is playing with whom and why Croatia is not in the final, because “they won something”. I say that the Croats "won", but the last Olympics (and Italy is consistently in the top), so their absence from 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. The national teams of Croatia in different sports traditionally have a very beautiful form. Bathrobes of water polo players are no exception.

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

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

31.

Leading the Serbs is the legendary Dejan Savic, the record holder of the Serbian national team in terms of the number of matches. In 1994-2008, he played 444 games and scored 405 goals. As the mentor of the national team in 2012, he replaced Udovicic and four years later in Rio led the team to its first victory in 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 Sport Management of Verona.

34.

35. Goiko Pietlovic, the reserve goalkeeper of the Serbs, is warming up.

All the 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" won the Italian championship 31 times, and since 2005 it has been doing it every season.

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 national team, he managed to become second and third in the last two Olympics and win the 2011 World Cup.

38.

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

39.

40. One-to-one exit.

41. The incredible ability of water polo goalkeepers to jump out of the water and stand up as a wall in the path of the ball. Marco Del Lungo from Brescia.

42. The sadness of the Italian bench.

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

44.

45. Serbian top scorer Dusko Pietlovic played for Sintez Kazan in the 2013-14 season and then returned to Italy's 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 the united Yugoslavia, its water polo players unconditionally dominated the world arena, although they became Olympic champions three times. After the collapse of the SFRY, a strong national team of Croatia first appeared, then the team of Montenegro was added to it. And only like Serbia, quite recently and before our very eyes, this team became the world leader in men's water polo, winning all tournaments. Last summer, the Serbs scored their major victory with the Rio gold. Therefore, now it is especially interesting to look at Serbia's victories and who will end their hegemony.

46.

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

47.

48. The awarding ceremony is carried out by the former president of the FVPR, and now the first vice-president, but, in fact, still the main "helmsman" Yevgeny 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! ;)