Hardcourt Bike Polo: Difference between revisions

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Hardcourt Bike Polo is a variation of traditional Bicycle Polo in which teams of players ride bicycles and use mallets to strike a small ball into a goal.

The Name

Though Hardcourt Bike Polo game play has more in common with hockey than traditional polo, because the players sit atop of a moving object and strike the ball with mallets, the word "polo" is used. "Hardcourt Bike Polo", "Urban Bike Polo", and simply "Bike Polo" are variations used by players and the press.

The Game

File:Bike polo charge.jpg

Bike Polo team charging the ball

Two teams of two to five players play in an enclosed rectangular area. Cones are placed at each long end of the rectangle and serve as goalposts.

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.

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 scores three to five goals. Some cities also impose a time limit which is informally invoked by spectators as play draws on.

A player who "dabs" (touches the ground with their foot) must undertake some form of remedial penalty before making contact with the ball again. This usually involves either riding in a circle or "tapping out" (riding to a designated point on the court and touching it with the mallet).

The amount of contact in a particular game may vary but is generally restricted to "mallet on mallet, bike on bike, player on player". Additionally, players are not allowed to T-bone other players' bicycles.

As an decentralized and organically growing game, the rules and styles of Hardcourt Bike Polo may vary substantially from city to city.

Equipment and Courts

Rather than use traditional polo mallets, Hardcourt Bike Polo players make handmade mallets in the spirit of the DIY ethic. Typical mallets are constructed using high density gas pipe or ABS piping for the head and a ski pole, or golf club for the shaft. However, mallets are by no means standardized; mallet heads may come in the form of PVC and aluminum cans and mallet shafts may be constructed from materials as diverse as wooden dowels, bamboo, and even crutches!

The most commonly used ball is a plastic Street Hockey ball.

Players commonly play on courts such as a tennis courts or street hockey rinks. These are often customized using boards or nets to keep the ball from rolling out of the court or getting stuck in corners.

Popularity

Modern Hardcourt Bike Polo has roots in early 2000s Seattle. Since 2004, cities across North America have thrown inter-city tournaments such as the East-, West-, and Northside Polo Invites. The largest-ever bike polo tournament was held in August 2008 in Chicago and drew 34 teams from over a dozen cities. The sport has also grown in popularity in Europe; London hosted the second London Polo Invitational in August 2008 and tournaments are planned in Zurich, Paris, and Berlin.

References

New York Times. Their Kingdom for a Bike: It’s Polo on Two Wheels. April 27th, 2007. Sports section.
Front page article on NYC bike polo. Tucker, B. 2007. The Bloody Polo Club. Our Town. Downtown, April 16th 2007 p. 10-11
Mentions the difference between hardcourt and standard cycle polo. Ellenberg, C. 2007. Athletic Guinea Pig. Bike Polo. Jane Magazine, April 2007 p. 76
Mess Magazine. Polo Portland Style. April 2007.
Video of Hardcourt Bike Polo being played with a specially constructed camera in the shaft of a mallet.[1]
Hardcourt bike polo groups on myspace.[2]
Independent Weekly Bike polo: Not for the thin-skinned. August 23, 2006.
Ottawa Sun Mallets of Mayhem Bike Polo Photo Gallery August 5, 2007.
Chicago Reader Article about Spring 2007 Midwest Champeenships. June 8, 2007.
Boston Globe Bicycle polo: Go slowly, but carry big stick Billy Baker, July 15, 2007
Globe and Mail (Canada) Polo opposites; Bike polo players ditch the breeches and get rough and tough on their two-wheeled steeds Adriana Barton, July 3, 2007

External links

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[Image:Playing urban bike polo on a hard tennis court in east vancouver.jpg|thumb|]]
+[[Image:Playing urban bike polo on a hard tennis court in east vancouver.jpg|thumb|Two players battling for control of the ball]]
-'''Hardcourt Bike Polo''' is a variation of standard [[Cycle polo]], commonly referred to as simply "bike polo", where two teams ride bicycles and use mallets to score goals with a small ball.
+'''Hardcourt Bike Polo''' is a variation of [[Cycle polo|traditional Bicycle Polo]] in which teams of players ride bicycles and use mallets to strike a small ball into a goal.
+== The Name ==
+Though Hardcourt Bike Polo game play has more in common with hockey than traditional polo, because the players sit atop of a moving object and strike the ball with mallets, the word "polo" is used.  "Hardcourt Bike Polo", "Urban Bike Polo", and simply "Bike Polo" are variations used by players and the press.
 == The Game ==
-[[Image:urban bike polo ball east vancouver.jpg|thumb|The most common ball type is a plastic [[Street hockey]] ball]]
-Better known as bike polo or hardcourt bike polo, game play has more in common with hockey but since the players sit on top of a moving object, use mallets and only one hand, the word bike polo is more descriptive. Two teams with between 2 and 5 players per team play in an enclosed rectangular area. Cones are placed at each long end of the rectangle and the ball is placed in the middle of the court. The most common ball type is a plastic [[Street hockey]] ball. Each team waits behind their own goal and following a countdown, they charge the ball. Typically there is a charger, a defender and supporting forwards. [[Image:Bike polo charge.jpg|thumb|Bike Polo team charging the ball]]
+[[Image:Bike polo charge.jpg|thumb|Bike Polo team charging the ball]]
-A goal is scored when the opposing team hits the ball into the other team's goal with the end of the head of the mallet (the circle shaped end of the tube). If the shooter uses the side of the head of the mallet the goal does not count and play continues. This is called a ''shuffle''.
+Two teams of two to five players play in an enclosed rectangular area.  Cones are placed at each long end of the rectangle and serve as goalposts.
-If a player's foot touches the ground at any time during the game they must undertake some form of remedial penalty (usually either riding in a circle or ''tapping out''). Tapping out involves riding to a designated point on the court and touching the mallet to it before returning to play.
+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.
-The game is over when one team scores three to five goals (different cities play to different rules). Some games with exceptionally good players will last to 5 points.  Some cities also impose a time limit which is informally invoked by spectators when gameplay draws on.
+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.
-== Mallets ==
-<!-- Missing image removed: [[Image:mallets east vancouver.jpg|thumb|DIY mallets]] -->Hardcourt bike polo players use handmade mallets in the spirit of the [[DIY ethic]], as opposed to traditional polo mallets.  Typical mallets are constructed using high density gas pipe (or ABS)for the head, and either a wooden dowel, [[ski pole]] or [[golf club]] for the shaft.  [[Polyvinyl chloride|PVC]] pipe is less commonly used as it can shatter on impact with the ground or the ball.
+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 scores three to five goals.  Some cities also impose a time limit which is informally invoked by spectators as play draws on.
+A player who "dabs" (touches the ground with their foot) must undertake some form of remedial penalty before making contact with the ball again.  This usually involves either riding in a circle or "tapping out" (riding to a designated point on the court and touching it with the mallet).
+The amount of contact in a particular game may vary but is generally restricted to "mallet on mallet, bike on bike, player on player".  Additionally, players are not allowed to [[Side_collision|T-bone]] other players' bicycles.
+As an decentralized and organically growing game, the rules and styles of Hardcourt Bike Polo may vary substantially from city to city.
+== Equipment and Courts ==
+[[Image:urban bike polo ball east vancouver.jpg|thumb|A well used [[Street Hockey]] ball]]
+Rather than use traditional polo mallets, Hardcourt Bike Polo players make handmade mallets in the spirit of the [[DIY ethic]].  Typical mallets are constructed using high density gas pipe or [[Acrylonitrile_butadiene_styrene|ABS]] piping for the head and a [[ski pole]], or [[golf club]] for the shaft.  However, mallets are by no means standardized; mallet heads may come in the form of [[PVC]] and aluminum cans and mallet shafts may be constructed from materials as diverse as wooden dowels, bamboo, and even crutches!
+The most commonly used ball is a plastic [[Street Hockey]] ball.
+Players commonly play on courts such as a tennis courts or street hockey rinks.  These are often customized using boards or nets to keep the ball from rolling out of the court or getting stuck in corners.
 == Popularity ==
-Hardcourt Bike Polo has roots in [[Seattle, Washington]], USA, around 2000.   Since 2004, inter-city tournaments such as the Eastside and Northside Polo Invites.  London hosted the second London Polo Invitational in August 2008, and tournaments are planned in Zurich, Paris and Berlin. The largest-ever bike polo tournament was held in August 2008 in Chicago, drawing 34 teams from over a dozen cities.
+Modern Hardcourt Bike Polo has roots in early 2000s [[Seattle, Washington|Seattle]].  Since 2004, cities across North America have thrown inter-city tournaments such as the East-, West-, and Northside Polo Invites.  The largest-ever bike polo tournament was held in August 2008 in Chicago and drew 34 teams from over a dozen cities.  The sport has also grown in popularity in Europe; London hosted the second London Polo Invitational in August 2008 and tournaments are planned in Zurich, Paris, and Berlin.
 ==References==
@@ Line 33: / Line 54: @@
 ==External links==
-* [http://www.bikepolo.ca/tournaments Tournament listing]
-* [http://www.bikepolo.ca/clubs/map Club listing]
-* [http://www.fuccit.com Arnhem Bike Polo Club]
 * [http://www.bikepolo.ca www.bikepolo.ca (Bike Polo hub site)]
 * [http://www.hardcourtbikepolo.com Hardcourt Bike Polo (blog)]
+* [http://www.legitbikepolo.com Legit Bike Polo]
-* Instructions on making DIY mallets [http://www.flickr.com/photos/tink20seven/sets/72157594573372516/ flickr set]
+* [http://www.bikepolo.ca/clubs/map Club Listing]
+* [http://www.bikepolo.ca/tournaments Tournament Listing]
+* [http://www.nycbikepolo.com NYC Bike Polo]
+* [http://www.seattlebikepolo.com Seattle Bike Polo]
+* [http://www.madbikepolo.org Madison Bike Polo]
 * [http://londonbikepolo.wordpress.com London Bike Polo]
-* [http://www.seattlebikepolo.com Seattle, WA Bike Polo]
-* [http://www.madbikepolo.org Madison, WI Bike Polo]
 * [http://www.labikepolo.org Los Angeles Bike Polo]
-* [http://www.nycbikepolo.com NYC Bike Polo]
+* [http://www.fuccit.com Arnhem Bike Polo Club]
-* [http://www.legitbikepolo.com Legit Bike Polo]
 * [http://www.bikepolo.com.au Melbourne Bike Polo]
+* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/tink20seven/sets/72157594573372516/ Instructions on making DIY mallets flickr set]
 * [http://tv.hobnox.com/#/en/CLTR-CTRL/Str33t/073a5fe594da7f0b7db3e599b6a911cd Video of The European Urban Bike Polo Tournament in Eindhoven]