{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,4]],"date-time":"2025-12-04T10:02:50Z","timestamp":1764842570838,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,2,23]],"date-time":"2022-02-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1645574400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Water polo is a team sport that has been suffering rule changes aiming for a more attractive game. Our goal was to unveil whether different offensive playing styles or methods were adopted by elite national teams from Eastern Europe and from other world countries after the new rules framework was applied at the 2019 FINA World Championship. Additionally, we questioned whether those rules induced a more dynamic game. A total of 648 offensive sequences from games contested by the top-six ranked national squads were analysed. Descriptive statistics, parametric and nonparametric tests were computed, and the effect size was used. The eastern Europeans were the tallest (t (76) = \u22124.081; p &lt; 0.001, d = 0.42) and the Hungarians were higher than Italians (p = 0.005, dz = \u22120.41). Offensive time length differed between teams (H (5) = 30.50, p &lt; 0.001) with Serbia being the fastest (Mdn = 22 s). In successful attacks without extra time, Italy was quicker than Spain (17.5 vs. 25.0 s; p = 0.031, dz = \u22120.36) scoring 30% of their total goals under 20 s, while Australia up to 24% and Croatia, Hungary and Spain \u2264 16.0%. When power-play occurred, the teams\u2019 pass action was different (H (5) = 15.99, p &lt; 0.007), with Italy performing more passes than counterparts, especially Serbia (Mdn = 13 vs. 9, respectively; p= 0.003, dz = 0.20) and with the exception of Hungary. Through fast play sequences, Italy, Serbia and Australia scored up to 33% of their goals, while Spain, Croatia, and Hungary scored \u2264 15%. The power-play contributed to \u226550% of teams\u2019 goals, except for Spain and Australia (48 and 45%, respectively). Playing styles commonly attributed to Eastern vs. non-Eastern Europeans and other worldwide national teams such as Australia were not confirmed. However, offensive trends were perceived and described for the first time, and some base guidelines were suggested to distinguish the static or positional vs. a more dynamic playing model. Rule changes did not seem to induce the expected effects on game dynamics.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph19052568","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,2,23]],"date-time":"2022-02-23T09:34:38Z","timestamp":1645608878000},"page":"2568","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":12,"title":["Water Polo Offensive Methods after the 2018 FINA Rules Update"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"19","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8124-3087","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sofia","family":"Canossa","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport, Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5811-0443","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ricardo J.","family":"Fernandes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport, Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"Porto Biomechanics Laboratory, Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Lu\u00edsa","family":"Estriga","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport, Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4527-3865","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"J. Arturo","family":"Abraldes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Group MS&SPORT, Faculty of Sports Sciences, University of Murcia, 30720 Murcia, Spain"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1546-8573","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Corrado","family":"Lupo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Neuro Muscular Function Research Group, Department of Medical Sciences, School of Exercise and Sport Sciences, University of Turin, 10143 Turin, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0812-449X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"J\u00falio M.","family":"Garganta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport, Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,2,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"39","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-030-52340-4_5","article-title":"A Tale of Two Continents: Why Do Eastern European Males and American Females Excel at Water Polo?","volume":"Volume 17","author":"Harris","year":"2020","journal-title":"The Economics of Aquatic Sports. 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