I’d tell them it was simple and to sound it out: kayak polo is polo played in kayaks. The pitch is a body of water ideally 23 by 35 meters, set off by buoys or landmarks.

Kayak polo is played by two teams of five players, outfitted with helmets, in open water or a pool within a rectangular enclosure, called the pitch. The fast-paced games are split into two halves ...

Andrew Irvine first played kayak polo at Shoreline Lake a decade ago. Five minutes in, he told himself that it would be his first and last time trying out the vicious sport. “I was like, ‘This ...