Water polo is exhausting to play. Players are not allowed to touch the sides or the bottom of the pool during the game, which means they are treading water for the entire match. A professional game lasts 32 minutes of active play, but players might swim the equivalent of three kilometres during that time - while also passing, catching and shooting.
Croatia's love of water polo goes naturally with its geography. With 1,200 islands, hundreds of kilometres of coastline and long, hot summers, Croatians have always been at home in the water. Many Croatian children learn to swim in the sea before they start school. Water polo is simply the next step.
Croatian water polo players are admired for their technical skill - especially their ability to control and throw the ball with one hand while treading water with the rest of the body. The sport requires enormous coordination, strength and awareness of where all thirteen other players are at any moment.
Club water polo in Croatia is taken very seriously. Towns on the Dalmatian coast - Split, Dubrovnik, Šibenik - have historic clubs that have competed in European competitions for decades. In summer, outdoor sea-pools called 'bazeni' are the training grounds for the next generation.