The first reaction which this statement is likely to illicit is: one first of sheer confusion, quickly followed by one of utter terror. The former because of unqualified amazement to the fact the Point Loma High School does, in fact, have a water polo team. The latter reaction because of grave concern as to the safety of the horses.
We do actually have water polo players residing unnoticed among the dry walls of the school. And even more unnoticed is their nice Speedo tans,(for rather apparent reasons, mainly because of the "No-Speedo" dress code [est. 1984] for San Diego City Schools.) There are a grand total of three of us in Seminar, Jon Foster, Jenny Shipley, and myself. However, we play for Clairmont.
Now that the initial shock has set in, one may be pondering the rules of the sport. Despite conventional wisdom, it does not require any horses, volleyball-esque nets, or even a swimming suit (well, to be honest, typically it is good to start the game with two Speedos, while it has been known to not have either on at the conclusion.) It is similar to soccer in it's game play, only with six per side, and a goalie. (Note: Water polo goalie is synonymous with the phrase: "the guy with the broken nose.") The game commences with a frantic race to the ball which was dropped by the guy in white, which I commonly confuse with my psychiatrist; but is actually the referee. Unlike many sports where fans commonly heckle the referees with lines like "Are you BLIND!?", it has not bee uncommon for many water polo refs to be legally blind (in which case they use a keen sense of smell to call fouls.) Once one team gains control of the ball, a half-court offense is set up, and a position like a center in basketball is created (aptly called the "hole", because, like in bad prison movies, a great deal of abuse is taken there.)
The remaining five players circle around the person setting hole, and make an attempt to get the ball to the hole, or shoot, or just plain try not to drown at the hands of a mostly naked opponent; while the defense, logically, is likewise trying not to drown (or even not have the other team score, but water polo players tend to have an overdeveloped sense of self-preservation, so attempting not to drown is usually a little higher on the list of priorities than defense.)
One may now begin to wonder how a person officiating over a game would be able to see what is happening under the water. Well, simply, they can't. But ask any coherent water polo player, the stuff occurring under the water can, without a doubt, be felt. (Little known fact: many WWF moves like the leg rap and the pile driver originated in water polo, and were brought to wrestling in 1973 by Horace Walters aka: "Crazy Horace ".)
The sport originated in England in the 1870's, but never really caught on because of the inherent problems in getting the cap on over their large wigs. It then moved to the United States, where the problem of the wigs was replaced by the an equally menacing problem of where they were going to find 14 people for a game (this was soon alleviated when it was realized that the country consisted of over 50 million people.) Between 1920 and 1946 the US departed from the international rules of water polo for a brief, but relaxing, vacation in Bermuda. When the new, and rougher, rules were deemed far to damaging to the ball, in 1946 the rules, along with half of the players virtually disappeared (only to resurface on the Baltimore Colts.) From that point on, United States water polo has grown in popularity to the large extent that it is today (standing room only crowds at many games.)
Next time you see a yellow water polo ball with "H2O Polo" written on it, say a prayer and remember all the innocent Speedos which have fallen for a cause.