Balls

[Lanoch]

I assume that Mikasa balls are mostly used in canoepolo, but I would be interested if someone uses Tyr or Torros or some other mark (Yuelai) and if they are approved by ICF.

[Matty P]

A lot of us here in Victoria use Baden balls, they have deeper grip than the mikasa. I assume they're ICF approved because we use them at our competitons alot of the time. Hope this helps.

[Anton Holmes]

Although Baidens have a deeper grip, they are more slippery than the Mikasa balls. It's the fact that they are 50% cheaper that is the appealing factor.

There are a few other balls around that seem to be good, but they are not widely used in Aus.
I have infront of me the rule book and in Chapter 3 - Game Regulations, point 4 it states that (paraphrased)

The ball will be round, no less than 400 and no more than 450 grams, 68-71cm in circumference with a pressure of 90-97kPa for mens catagories and 65 - 67cm in circumference with a pressure of 83-90kPa for womens catagories.

These rules apply for all championships, apart from the world championships at which the ICF must approve the colour and brands of the balls to be used.

I believe that the sizes, weights and pressures for water polo are about the same as canoe polo. so official water polo balls should be usable for your everyday competitions.

Hope this helps you out.

[clyde]

The rules as they currently stand are pretty stupid in practical terms since most people would have an acurate way to masure any detail. The ball could be oval to the eye and still pass !
Anyway, There are many different types of ball available. Here are some things I have noted.

All ball manufacturers have various different models. Don't assume they are all the same quality !
The grippier the ball feels when wet - don't buy it - it'll probably be as much use as a wet bar of soap.

Most balls will fit into two catagories.
Smooth Grip like the Mikasa 6600/9 (Blue Lines)
Rough/deep Grip like the Baden / Epsan ranges or Mikasa 6000/9

The smooth grips balls tend to feel very good to start but deteriate very quickly. In colder weather, the smooth grip will cause more problems.

The deeper rough grip feels quite harsh on the finger tips with a lot of use (both catching and throwing). With my delicate fingers (!?!) if find they tend to rip my finger nails away from the skin which is not very comfortable and causes them to bleed, particularly on the index finger of the throwing hand.

I understand here in Britain we will be required to use the new Mikasa W6000C (Blue/Yellow) ball for our Divition 1's. These are a fair bit lighter than usual balls and really feel it, while the regular 6000 feels very big and heavy.

For a major competition I think so long as the teams are given enough warning and avaialbility to aquire the balls being used in advance (without being ripped off by the organisers) then there isn't really a problem what ball is being use.

In training however, just use a decent ball. Anything else is just a waste of time.

Clyde

[Paddel Daniel]

Hi There,

we (in hannover, germany) tried the Mikasa (yellow/blue) and the epson, but none of them is as good as the normal 6000 Mikasa. This ball keeps its grip the longest (in my opinion).

But apart from that, I am searching for some cheap balls for practicing in Budapest the next year. The practice-balls are mostly handeled bad, so the have to be cheap...
Anyone who knows a good opinion for this case?
Thanx
Dani

[SongPeng]

I got some ball from china..
call Lan Hua,
cir 69, weight 420g
a bit smaller than mikasa... but price is lot more cheaper..
cost about USD15
quality is so so, of course can't compare with mikasa..