Bench Tournament Sunday, Come and Slay!

Its about time we ran our first tournament.

Bench Tournament, Easter Sunday. Be there 2pm sharp.

A "bench" is polo played in a similar manner to other goalsports. Gameplay is virtually the same except games are timed and have no goal limit.
Teams will be selected on the day and remain the same for the whole tournament.
Teams will have somewhere between 5 and 8 members (may revise this depending on who turns up).
3 members from each side start the game with the rest of the team on the bench.
You can sub on and off at anytime as long as there are a maximum three members on the court.

New rule: If a player scores a goal then they must sub off. (this rule designed to stop one player dominating on a court with multiple skill levels).

Games will be two 15 -20minute halves.
Each team will play each other team once.
Teams will be ranked on goals scored/conceded.
The two top teams will playoff in a final match for the Holy Grail of Bikepolo and a slab of piss.

There may be other prizes too

Pick-up matches afterwards if there is enough light/personal energy

See you on Sunday, nice and early, rain, hail or shine.

I, for one, welcome our new single wheeled overlords.

Despite the rain we had a decent turn out for polo this Sunday, enough so that we could have two games running side by side. At one point we also had more unicyclists than bicyclists which made for some interesting matches. It was also great to see some international friends come out and give polo a try.

It seems that most of us are going to be around for Easter, so we'll be playing as usual. We're trying to organise something a bit special for the day, so grab a set of wheels (or just one) and come along!

Father Christmas came to my house last night and delivered a stack of cones. Not the funky-skunky type mind but useful for polo nonetheless. I wonder who it was who was up so late and delivered so quietly right outside my bedroom window...

And who is Scrimmer?

Totally Wild

The family show, Totally Wild were at the Nationals last November and recorded a segment. It has just been aired on TV but was recorded and posted on youtube thanks to the fanatical Melbourne crew.
(Theres a great shot of me landing on my arse, as usual, at about 27 seconds)

Anatomy of a Hardcourt Polo Bike

Just because we're taking a break from playing polo, doesn't mean we have to stop thinking about it. Here is some inspiration for mods to perform to your steel steed to turn it into a true hardcourt polo pony.

Beware of the Bogan Invasion

The irony is not lost on me that my computer is probably plugged into one of their products. But it is through their sponsorship of a car race that it has become difficult to play our usual sunday games.

Today was canceled when only 3 of us turned up, We had no edging because the road was closed making it impossible to deliver. And many of our most regular players were enjoying this long weekend in possibly drier weather conditions than we are currently experiencing.
Not surprising that it wasn't worth the effort to get down there to play. My apologies for not calling it off earlier.


Next Sunday, 14th March, is definitely canceled unless you have a Clipsal 500 ticket and can convince the gate security to admit a bicycle.( I dont and wont) You will probably playing on your own.
My recommendations to avoid a bogan experience and bad music to is get out of town as far as you can pedal. Heck, get on a plane/train/bus and play some Melbourne polo or something.

We will resume normal polo operations from the 21st of March. Have a good break.

Berlin Survey

Have you filled it out? Just a reminder that the World Championship participation survey deadline is tomorrow [Friday 5th March]. Mine is in. If you think there is a chance of going, get on it!

[Image was the most interesting to pop up on google after entering 'Berlin Bike Polo']

Worlds!

The 2010 Worlds are fast approaching and it's time to start thinking seriously about going! I know I'm going to head over whether I play or just go hoarse cheering.

Damon from bikepolo.com.au just sent the following information through:

Hi everyone,

Please circulate this to your bike polo crew.

There is only room for 64 teams at World Hardcourt Bike Polo Championships in Berlin August 13-15 this year.

But before deciding who is eligible, Stefan asked Kev to create a survey to get a better sense of the interest. And because it's still a way's off, a lot of people don't know their teams yet. This survey can either be filled out by a team member, representing a team, or by a player who does not know what team they're on.

Deadline is Friday March 5th.

http://leagueofbikepolo.com/whbpc2010/survey

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In other news, Brisbane is preparing to host the Australian Nationals (hopefully not the same weekend) More info is on the way... soon!