Biribol is the name of a sport, which resembles an aquatic variation of Volleyball

Volleyball

Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

. It has originated in Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, in the city of Birigüi

Birigüi

Birigüi is a city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The city is located on the northwest of the state and has 108,728 inhabitants and 530.9 km² of area...

, in the 60's by Prof. Dario Miguel Pedro. It showed up as a group game and as an alternative to the practice and the learning of swimming. It's the newest sports modality in Brazil and the only group sport genuinely Brazilian, born and instituted inside the country.

Field

Its practice is inside a pool which size is 8m length, 4m width and 1.30m depth (the depth must be this for the entire pool) with a net in the middle of the pool with 2.62m high for the male and with 2.40m high for the female practice.
The game space is constituted by 7m high measured from the surface of the water. There is also an attack area, delimited by a line which cross the pool by 1.25m from where the net is in each side. There are lines that delimit the service area, by the end of the pool, 1m from its length limit and other 0.8m from its width limit.

Game ball

The ball is specially crafted ball similar to that of water polo

Water polo

Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...

 but with a smaller diameter. The ball weights approximately 100 grams more than the volleyball one and employs a "super grip" surface technology. The official game is played with four players on each side, but there's also the doubles modality, with two players on each side. Biribol is a highly recommended sport for working all muscle groups with practically no injury risks due to its no contact, low impact on joints nature. Biribol is also suited for all ages and genders, and is recommended for people with minor chronic injuries that feel discomfort or pain while playing other sports.

Game play

Matches are decided in best-of-three or best-of-five sets of 21 points, when the matches go up to the last set this set is disputed up to the 20th point instead, and a team needs at least two points of advantage in any circumstance to win a set. So if a 21-points set is drawn at 20x20, the match is extended to 22 points, and so on.
The ball can be touched with any part of the player's body, with open or closed hands. The pool's inside borders are neutral, meaning the ball is normally in play after touching them, points are scored when the ball hits the water in the opponent's side or the opponent team commits a fault. As in volleyball, each team can contact the ball no more than three times before the ball crosses the net, while consecutive contacts must be made by different players - except for contacts while blocking, which aren't counted. Players also can't touch the net or they commit a fault and a point is awarded to the opponent team. Unique to the sport is how there's no penetration under and over the net - it's even allowed to block a set being executed in the opponent's side -, the possibility of blocking serves and how there's no lifting (carrying) faults during spikes.

With its fast moving, highly accurate ball and 'closed quarters' action, Biribol is also an extremely competitive sport. There's currently a Brazilian National League with teams from São Paulo

São Paulo (state)

São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...

, Minas Gerais

Minas Gerais

Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...

, Mato Grosso do Sul

Mato Grosso do Sul

Mato Grosso do Sul is one of the states of Brazil.Neighboring Brazilian states are Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná. It also borders the countries of Paraguay and Bolivia to the west. The economy of the state is largely based on agriculture and cattle-raising...

, Goias

Goiás

Goiás is a state of Brazil, located in the central part of the country. The name Goiás comes from the name of an indigenous community...

 and Paraná

Paraná (state)

Paraná is one of the states of Brazil, located in the South of the country, bordered on the north by São Paulo state, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Santa Catarina state and the Misiones Province of Argentina, and on the west by Mato Grosso do Sul and the republic of Paraguay,...

. There are many stages held in different cities of the country, and the Brazilian champion is known in the end of the year, after computing all points of the season. The sport has been reckoned officially in the state of São Paulo

São Paulo

São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...

, and grows rapidly in the country.