Water Polo Scorekeeper Guide
How to serve as the official scorekeeper/secretary and complete the OWPRA game scoresheet at the table.
1. Understand Your Role
The scorekeeper, sometimes called the secretary or scribe, creates the official written record of the game. Accuracy matters more than speed, but entries should be made as each event occurs.
The scorekeeper records
- Goals and the running White-Dark score
- Exclusion and penalty fouls
- Timeouts, cards, misconduct, and brutality
- Goals by player and period
- Each player’s first, second, and third personal foul
The rest of the table handles
- The game clock and shot clock
- Exclusion timing and re-entry flags
- Scoreboard operation and announcements
- Communication with the referees
The referee’s report controls
Record the team, cap number, and call reported by the referee - not what a coach, player, or spectator believes happened. If any part of the report is unclear, make eye contact and ask the referee to repeat it before play continues.
2. Before the Game
Arrive early enough to prepare the scoresheet and coordinate with the other table workers.
- Identify White and Dark. The scoresheet always uses White and Dark, even if the teams’ actual colors or home/visitor labels are different.
- Enter both team names at the top of their respective halves.
- Copy the official rosters. Match every player’s name to the correct cap number, including goalkeepers 1 and 1A.
- Confirm table assignments. Know who is operating the game clock, shot clock, scoreboard, and exclusion flags.
- Review signals with the referees. Ask how they want questions, third personal fouls, and corrections communicated.
- Confirm the game format. Know the number and length of periods and whether overtime or a shootout is possible.
- Keep supplies ready. Have the blank sheet, a reliable writing tool, a spare, and the official rosters within reach.
3. Know the Scoresheet Layout
The sheet has two records of the same game. The lower section is chronological; the upper section summarizes by player and period.
The running log and the player summary must agree. A goal, personal foul, or timeout entered in the progress log must also be reflected in its matching summary area.
4. Use the Same Routine for Every Call
Multiple whistles mean something important is being reported. Use this sequence until it becomes automatic.
- 1Look at the game clock. Capture the exact time remaining before the display changes.
- 2Watch the referee. Identify whether the report is for White or Dark and read the signaled cap number.
- 3Identify the event. Determine whether it is a goal, advantage goal, penalty goal, exclusion, penalty foul, timeout, card, or misconduct.
- 4Write the progress entry. Enter the time, cap number in the W or D column, the proper remarks code, and the new score only if a goal was scored.
- 5Update the summary. Add the goal tally, personal foul notation, or timeout entry in the upper section of the sheet.
How to complete a progress-of-game row
- Time: game-clock time remaining when the event occurred.
- W or D: enter the player’s cap number in the correct team column. Use C when the reported event belongs to a coach or team bench.
- Remarks: use the official abbreviation from the scoresheet legend.
- Score W-D: complete this only after a goal. Always write White’s score first and Dark’s score second.
A useful spacing habit
Place goal codes toward the left side of the Remarks cell, personal-foul codes toward the right, and other events near the center. This is optional, but it makes the log much easier to audit during quarter breaks.
5. Scoresheet Code Key
Use the code that describes the event. Do not write G in addition to GE or GP; each goal receives one goal code.
| Code | Meaning | What Else to Update |
|---|---|---|
| G | Goal scored during regular play | Add a tally to the scorer’s period box and update the running score. |
| GE | Goal scored during a player advantage | Add the scorer’s period tally and update the running score. |
| GP | Goal scored on a penalty throw | Add the scorer’s period tally and update the running score. |
| E | Exclusion foul | Enter E plus the period number in the player’s next personal-foul box. |
| P | Penalty foul | Enter P plus the period number in the player’s next personal-foul box. |
| TO | Timeout granted by the referee | Record the period and time in that team’s timeout area. |
| YC | Yellow card | Identify the player, coach, or bench exactly as the referee reports it. |
| RC | Red card | Record the reported person/team and confirm any additional notation with the referee. |
| MaM | Minor misconduct | Record exactly as directed and confirm whether another entry is also required. |
| M | Misconduct | Pause and confirm the complete report with the referee. |
| B | Brutality | Pause and follow the referee’s instructions for all required entries. |
6. Recording Goals
Every goal is recorded in three places:
- Progress of Game: time, team, cap number, goal code, and the new White-Dark score.
- Player Summary: one tally in the scorer’s row under the correct period.
- Results: the team’s goal total for that period, completed at the period break.
Use G for a regular goal, GE for a goal during an exclusion advantage, and GP for a made penalty throw. All three count as one goal in the player and team summaries.
Keep the score in White-Dark order
If Dark scores first, the score is written 0-1. If White later takes a 6-5 lead, write 6-5. Do not switch the order based on which team is Mason, home, or leading.
7. Recording Personal Fouls
Exclusion fouls and penalty fouls are personal fouls. The scoresheet provides three personal-foul boxes for each player.
- Record the event in the progress log using E or P.
- Find the player in the roster summary.
- Use the next empty personal-foul box: first foul in the first box, second in the second, and third in the third.
- Write the foul code followed by the period number. For example, E1 means an exclusion in the first period; P4 means a penalty foul in the fourth period.
Do not confuse the number with the foul count
The number after E or P identifies the period. The position of the personal-foul box identifies whether it is the player’s first, second, or third personal foul.
Third personal foul - alert the table immediately
As soon as a player receives a third personal foul, tell the referee and the flag/re-entry operator. Follow the referee’s pregame direction for displaying the red flag with the appropriate team-color flag. Never wait until the next quarter break to report a third personal.
8. Timeouts, Cards, Period Breaks, and Special Situations
Timeouts
- Record the game-clock time in the progress log.
- Place C in the appropriate W or D column and TO in Remarks unless the referee directs otherwise.
- In that team’s timeout area, record the period number and time remaining.
- Do not change the running score.
Cards and conduct events
For a yellow card, red card, minor misconduct, misconduct, or brutality, stop and get the referee’s full report. Record the correct team, the player’s cap number or C for a coach/bench event, and the reported code. Do not decide on your own whether an event also belongs in a personal-foul box.
Between periods
Draw a clear shaded or hatched separator across the next unused progress row. Continue the next period below that line. This keeps entries from different periods visually separated.
Overtime and shootouts
Use the OT1, OT2, and OT3 summary columns if overtime periods are played. For a shootout, pause and follow the referee’s instructions and the current OWPRA shootout procedure.
Corrections
Tell the referee promptly if the score, player number, or personal-foul count may be wrong. Keep every correction legible and use the correction method requested by the referee or event host. Never silently change a disputed entry.
9. Worked Examples
With 4:38 remaining in the second period, White #3 scores and the new score is White 6, Dark 5.
Then add one tally to White #3’s second-period goal box.
With 3:31 remaining in the second period, White #3 is excluded. This is that player’s second personal foul.
Write E2 in White #3’s second personal-foul box. E2 means the exclusion happened in period two; its placement in the second box shows it is the player’s second personal.
With 1:12 remaining in the second period, Dark is granted a timeout.
Also enter period 2 and 1:12 in Dark’s timeout summary area.
10. Quarter-End and End-of-Game Checks
Use every break to reconcile the chronological log against the upper summary. Fix discrepancies before the next sprint whenever possible.
At the end of every period
- Count player goal tallies and compare them with the progress log and scoreboard.
- Enter White and Dark’s goals for the period in the Results section.
- Match every E and P in the progress log to a personal-foul summary entry.
- Confirm each player’s personal-foul count, especially anyone with two.
- Compare timeout entries in the log with the timeout summary.
- Draw the period separator before the next period begins.
At the end of the game
- Add the period results vertically and confirm the final White-Dark score.
- Confirm the final score matches the scoreboard and progress log.
- Verify goals, personal fouls, cards, and timeouts are complete.
- Record the game-concluding clock time requested on the sheet.
- Have the referees review and sign the completed scoresheet.
- Give the official sheet to the host or tournament representative.
Official OWPRA Training Resources
This guide is a parent-friendly summary. OWPRA materials and the game referees remain the official authority.
- OWPRA Classroom
Full table lesson plus separate secretary and clock videos. - Desk References and Examples
Sample sheet, explained sheet, table-worker tips, and the blank form. - OWPRA Shootout Procedures
Current procedure for games decided by a shootout.
Rules, terminology, and tournament procedures can change. Follow the current OWPRA/NFHS guidance, event instructions, and referee directions whenever they differ from this summary.
