1. TECHNICAL COMMITTEE
The technical committee will be composed of the ICSD Technical Director for Water Polo and members appointed by the Organising Committee:

______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________

- ICSD Technical Director - Representative from FINA - Representative from FINA - Sports Liaison Officer (Representative from Organising Committee) - Deaf Representative

2. PROTEST COMMITTEE

______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________

- ICSD Technical Director - Representative from FINA - Representative from FINA - Sports Liaison Officer (Representative from Organising Committee) - Deaf Representative

Please note: Names of the Protest Committee will be advised at the Water Polo Technical Meeting in Taipei.

3. COMPETITION VENUE
The Water Polo competitions will take place at Hsinchu County Swimming Plaza. The swimming complex is indoors with a 10-lane 50m-competition pool and a 25m training pool.

4. TRAINING VENUE
The training venue will take place at Songshan Sports Center.

5. EQUIPMENT
All equipment used during competitions will comply with the FINA Rules and Regulations.

5.1. Balls
The balls will be Mikasa (Men's size 6000).

6. EVENTS
Team tournament competition will be conducted for men only.

7. SCHEDULE

7.1. Competition Schedule
Refer to the competition schedule on the Games website.

7.2. Training Schedule
Refer to the training schedule on the Games website.

8. REGULATIONS

8.1. Rules
The Water Polo competitions will be conducted in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of the FINA (version 2005 - 2009). In case of disagreement in the interpretation of the Rules and Regulations, the English text shall prevail. Unforeseen incidents not covered by the Rules and Regulations shall be dealt with as follows:

8.1.1. Cases of a general nature will be resolved in accordance with Deaflympics Regulations.

8.1.2. Technical questions shall be resolved according to the FINA Rules and Regulations.

8.1.3. Only athletes who comply with the Deaflympics Regulations are entitled to take part in the Deaflympics Water Polo competitions.

8.2. Participants

8.2.1. Each National Association may enter one (1) men's team. Participation in the Deaflympics is limited to a maximum of sixteen (16) men's teams.

Men's Team (5): GER (Gold 2005) - HUN - IRL - ITA - USA

8.2.2. Number of Players
Each team may have a maximum of thirteen (13) players.

8.2.3. Age Eligibility
There are no age restrictions.

8.3. Entries

8.3.1. The deadline for preliminary registration for team sports is 1 March 2007.

8.3.2. The deadline for final registration for team sports is 1 August 2008 except for teams still playing in qualifying rounds. Such teams have to confirm their participation immediately after having completed the qualifying rounds.

8.3.3. The final registrations with the names of each athlete indicating event entered must be submitted to the Secretariat no later than 1 August 2009. Such submissions may be made by telefax if followed by the official registration form.

8.3.4. No changes or additional entries will be accepted after 1 August 2009.

8.4. Medical Control
Refer to General Technical Rules - Summer Deaflymics, Article 4 - CONTROL AND SANCTIONS.

9. COMPETITION RULES AND REGULATIONS

9.1. Technical Organisation
ICSD is responsible for the technical organisation of the Water Polo competitions.

9.2. Competition Plan
The tournament will consist of preliminary matches, semi-finals & finals.

9.2.1. The tournament system will be a single preliminary round with each team playing against all the other teams. The first and fourth placed teams will play each other in the semi final. The second and third placed teams will play in the other semi final. Semi final winners will play final for Gold and Silver medals and semi final losers play for Bronze medal and Fourth place Diploma.

9.2.2. Classification of Teams
The classification of the teams shall be made on points, namely: two (2) points for each game won, one (1) point for a draw, and no (0) points for each game lost. If two teams have the same number of points, classification will be decided according to FINA Rules.

9.2.3. Withdrawal/Disqualification
In case a team taking part in the Water Polo tournament declares a forfeit, or is disqualified for one or more matches, the match or matches shall be awarded to the opponent with the goal score of 5-0.

9.3. Draw
The draw for teams participating in the preliminary round of the men's tournament was held on 10 October 2008 in Taipei Arena.

9.4. Referees
Allocation of the referees to conduct the matches shall be made by the technical committee. Where possible, referees shall be in possession of an FINA international referee license valid for 2009. However, referees with national accreditation may be used. The Organizing Committee will appoint the scorers, timekeepers, etc.

9.5. Protests

9.5.1. Procedure for lodging a protest
All sport related protests will be resolved in accordance to the FINA Rules and Regulations and will be managed by the Water Polo Protest Committee. Any official protest must be submitted in writing in English on the Official Deaflympics Protest Form. The form must be given to the ICSD Technical Director with USD $50 within 30 minutes after official posted results.

The ICSD Technical Director will decide whether the protest is sporting related or eligibility related. The Water Polo Protest Committee will review all sport related protests, and the ICSD Executive Committee will review all eligibility protests. The deposit of USD $50 will be returned to the appellant only if the protest is considered valid.

9.5.2. Procedures for reviewing a protest
The Water Polo Protest Committee will meet in the Technical Directors office in Taipei at a time decided upon by the chairperson of the committee.

• The ICSD Technical Director will be the chairperson of the committee.
• The Sports Liaison Officer (SLO) will be responsible to book the meeting room and interpreters.
• The Sports Liaison Officer (SLO) will contact all committee members to inform them of the meeting time and location.
• The ICSD Technical Director will be responsible for liaising with the State Sports Association's Competition Manager.

The Sports Liaison Officer (SLO) will be responsible for informing Games Headquarters GHQ and the ICSD Technical Director will be responsible for informing ICSD Executive Committee about the protest and also the outcome of the protest.

9.6. Clothing
Each team must have two sets of caps of contrasting colors (Example: one set white and one set blue). The goalkeepers shall wear red caps. The caps must be fitted with ear protectors. Cap colors and numbers must be identified on the official entry by 1 August 2009.

• The goalkeeper shall wear cap number 1.
• The players must wear the same number as on the entry form throughout all games except for a substitute goalkeeper who must wear the goalkeepers cap.

9.7. Hearing Aids
The use of any hearing aid/amplification or external cochlear implant parts are not permitted within the restricted zone area.

9.7.1. Restricted Zone Area
The restricted zone area is in effect from the time athletes enter on the pool deck during the warm-up and competition period.

9.7.2. Violation and Penalty
When this rule is violated, the match shall immediately be stopped and the offending team shall lose by 0-5. Refer to Audiogram Regulations, Article 6: VIOLATIONS and PENALTIES.

10. TECHNICAL MEETING
The Water Polo technical meeting will be held on 4 September 2009 in Gong Cheng Complex in Taipei Municipal University of Education at 10:00. Each participating National Association may be represented by two officials, of whom at least one must be deaf and, if necessary, an interpreter.