INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Water Polo Rules Subcommittee approved a waiver earlier this fall to address concerns regarding mitigating the potential spread of COVID-19.
The waiver of Rule 2.2.c reads as follows: For the 2020-21 season for men’s and women’s water polo, the interval time between periods and halftime shall be increased to allow for the bench area to be sanitized to permit teams to switch bench areas (Rule 2.2.c).
The current playing rules require interval times between the first and second period and third and fourth period be three minutes and the interval time between the second and third period be five minutes. No specific time was designated to allow venues to complete sanitizing within local guidelines.
Please note that nail-checks of athletes remain a required playing rule and must be accommodated for in game protocols. While maintaining responsible physical distance to mitigate the potential spread of COVID-19 is a priority, the safety of student-athletes in the water from potential cuts does remain a focus of the playing rules.
