What is Bike Polo and how on earth is it played?!
Well for starters...Bike Polo is a real sport. It's not just something we made up overnight. (Although we wish we could make that claim...)
Wikipedia= "Cycle polo is a team sport, similar to traditional polo, except that bicycles are used instead of horses. The hardcourt game has seen a sharp spike in interest as of 2007 and new teams are sprouting up across the world. In recent years, an alternate form of the game known as "Hardcourt Bike Polo" or "Urban Bike Polo" has grown in popularity. In this variation, teams composed of three to five players compete on tennis courts, street hockey rinks, or whatever other surfaces are available.
Typically, two teams of three players play in an enclosed rectangular area (ex. parking lot, tennis courts, or roller hockey rink). Cones, and increasingly, small goals are placed at each long end of the rectangle and serve as goalposts/goals.
At the beginning of the game, the ball is placed in the middle of the court the players wait behind their own goals. Following a countdown, both teams charge the ball in what is termed the "joust".
A player may hit the ball in two ways: a "shot" or a "shuffle". A shot is made with either end of the mallet head whereas a shuffle is made with the side. In order to score a goal, a player must hit the ball into the opposing team's goal with a shot; if the player uses a shuffle, the goal does not count and play continues.
Following a goal, the scoring team returns to their own half of the court. After the scoring team returns to their half, the scored-on team may cross the half line and resume play.
The game continues until a team reaches either a limit of five goals or a predetermined length of time.
A player who "dabs", (touches a horizontal surface with their foot), must undertake some form of remedial penalty before making contact with the ball again. This usually involves "tapping out" (riding to a designated point on the court and touching it with the mallet). It is also common to have to say "foot down" or "dab" to let other players know you are out of play. You should avoid affecting play of the game at all cost after a foot down occurs.
The amount of contact in a particular game may vary but is generally restricted to "mallet to mallet", "body to body".
This is really the most DIY game you can think of. The point isn't to go out and buy top of the line gear like in other sports. The fun is really to be had in the building of the sport and the equipment used. We will cover some of the items used and needed for Bike Polo to be a success.
Bike: Really anything on 2 wheels is going to be a bonus. I can imagine using a unicycle would work, but you would sure spend a lot of time in the penalty box... ;) It doesn't matter the quality of your bike, the brand or the style. As long as it will keep you upright and get you across the court, that is all you really need.
Mallet/Club: The mallet is made of whatever you would like it be made of. Typically we have seen ski poles used as they are strong yet lightweight. Screw, glue, tape or nail a piece of pipe or similar to the end and you are set to play! As long as it stays put together, and you can hit the ball all is right in the world!
Ball: We have experimented with hockey balls, tennis, mini-soccer balls, and racquet balls. Pick something that will roll smooth and soft enough in case it gets airborne.
Thats about it! There are other items that you might find useful like disc covers, but nothing else is really essential to playing the game. We will discuss these items in depth in a future post.
Make some gear and show us on facebook all of your wondrous creations!
