Water Polo is a contact sport – no doubt about it! As a team sport, 7 players are continuously in motion, contributing everything they've got to beat their opponent. They focus on moving quickly with force and efficiency in order to avoid being pushed or hit, and defending themselves. You need to simultaneously have full authority of your shoulders, back, hips and knees. As a competitor and an athlete, your bonnet will protect your ears in the water, but what about collisions to the head? As we will share with you, serious head injuries do occur.
According to FitOPlay.org concussions and facial injuries are typical acute injuries among water polo players. These occur most commonly when the head is hit by an arm or the ball.
A 2019 study conducted by University of California, Irvine found out of more than 1,500 USA Water Polo members, 36 percent had suffered at least one concussion during games or practices. The average was just over two concussions per person, and concussions were more common among females than males. Head injuries can keep you not just out of the game, but out of the pool, for the season in some cases.
USA Water Polo recently partnered with CRASHCourse by TECHAids, a culmination of more than two years of research and development and thousands of hours featuring 700+ individual's powerful and personal concussion stories. Focused on the causes, symptoms and personal suggestions after their head injury and backed by renowned and respected organizations as BIAA, NCYS, Palo Alto VA, SPICE and in collaboration with the support of USOPC’s National Governing Bodies.
SwimSwam writes about a athlete goalie's tragic head injury story putting her lawsuit back into the courtroom.
Hammer Head® Swim Caps are here to change that. Our proprietary safety technology is built in and designed to make you and your teammates safer in the water, improving your confidence and helping you compete at the highest level. Many water polo players wear a swim cap under their bonnet to protect their hair from the chlorine, so why not replace it with Hammer Head and give yourself a patented protective layer designed to minimize the pain and injury when accidents happen?
Team Hammer Head has been approached by water polo players, coaches and athlete parents about modifying the current water polo bonnet to make it safer. This would be done by inserting our patented HIT Honeycomb Impact Technology into various sections of the bonnet. With proper USA Water Polo support, this could be a Hammer Head product expansion and we already have a prototype. If you would like to learn more or share your input, click to contact us.
