The Beginnings of Water Polo in the City of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1900–1913)

Water polo emerged in Brazil in the early decades of the twentieth century. However, due to the sport’s low symbolic capital in this country, few studies have sought to analyze the sport from a historical perspective. The beginnings of water polo in Brazil developed in the early 1900s, when water polo appeared in the printed media of Rio de Janeiro based on the cultural circulation of news about the Olympic Games and in advertisements for books on sports and on the screens of the newly built movie theatres. From 1910 onwards, the practice of the sport became more evident in the city, having been developed in the city’s clubs, in part, by players of European descent and motivated by the holding of competitions organized by their clubs, as well as by the organization of Aquatic Competitions by the Brazilian Federation of Rowing Societies.