Water basketball

Water basketball is a water sport, which mixes the rules of basketball and water polo, played in a swimming pool. Teams of five players each must shoot at the goal with a ball within a certain time after gaining possession.

In Tasmania, Water Basketball first started in September 2003 with a demonstration game between two teams made up of Hobart Chargers, Hobart Hurricanes, Tassie Devils football team and the Tassie Tigers cricket team. The sport has been further developed by The Hobart Aquatic Centre to allow for a more recreational and mixed approach to the game. It involves two teams of 6 players (of which at least 3 are female) on field (with a maximum of 4 additional substitutes), who pass the ball down the pool to their goal end, which is a hoop similar to basketball.

In 2005, the Italian Federation of Basketball recognized it as a form of basketball.

In the Netherlands, people have been playing water basketball (known there as waterbasketbal) since the 1970s. In the Netherlands it was played by people with a handicap. Besides regular tournaments, they also organize a national championship where the best teams compete for the official Dutch Waterbasketbal championship title.