Pimp My Mallet

We played. It rained. We got wet. Heres a few photos taken by a German superstar.

It looks like Europe will be the centre of next year’s bike polo excitement. Over at bikepolo.ca they seem to have decided the world championships will be in Europe. So far only Geneva and Berlin seem to have serious bids in mind, though Geneva now seem to be bidding for the European championships instead with plans for a covered court (but what if it’s sunny?)… which would leave Berlin who hosted this years European Cycle Messenger Championships to put on the 2010 World Championships.

Any if you want to represent Oxford, you’d better get down to our next practice tomorrow (Wednesday) evening, 20.15 Currys car park, Botley Road. Unless it’s still raining.

Plans are afoot for a new UK wide championship next year… maybe one big tournament like the EHBPC or the London BFF but somewhere else to give the Londoners a change of scenery. Curry’s car park, despite it’s charms, isn’t quite up to the standards of a national tournament. Anyone got suggestions for somewhere nice in Oxford?

A nice set of photos from John Spooner on Flickr. And a few more from road.cc’s pretty extensive coverage of Bike Blenheim Palace.

Don’t forget we’re now playing at 20.15 Wednesday evenings in Curry’s car park, Botley Road.

It’s winter and we need more people! We’ll mostly be playing Wednesdays only, 20.15 in the Curry’s car park off Botley Road: http://tinyurl.com/botleypolo. If you’re definitely coming contact us and we’ll let you know if we decide not to play due to rain or for some other reason.

The team briefing

Months of worrying by Dan and co finally paid off with an excellent day of polo! All the teams made it, the sun was out for most of the tournament, and the combinations of grass and hardcourt rules with a slightly bumpy pitch seemed to even out the teams.

The Toffs v Cambridge

Cambridge put on an amazing show win the tournament, just beating the Oakendon Pedallars (grass specialists). London were third, followed by the two Oxford teams (in our defence two people pulled out at the last minute with the flu… and we had to save our energy for running the tournament… can anyone think of other excuses???).

Public session. A real (horse) polo player joins in.

The public sessions were really popular, and we had at least one real (horse) polo player joining in, as well as a few traditional bike polo players and quite a few post-race Brompton riders.

London v Cambridge

Kids practice session. Reminder for next year: check they can ride one handed before allowing them on the court!

Group Photo

More photos here.

And a quick blast from the past- a photo from last year’s tournament. Is it just me or does everyone look disturbingly young in that photo (as in, more than a year younger).

The polo court at Bike Blenheim Palace is ready for action! See you all tomorrow.

Just 3 days to go until the Town Meets Country Bike Polo Tournament, in the grounds of Blenheim Palace. Urban polo teams from Oxford, Cambridge and London and a traditional grass polo team from Oakendon will be battling it out whilst the Brompton World Championships fly by.

They’ll be public sessions at 11.30, 13.30 and 15.30, all equipment supplied. More polo details here.

A few photos from Sunday’s BFF polo tournament. If you’ve got any of The Toffs or the other Oxford teams add them to our Flickr group.

More photos on Flickr here, here and here.

Just back from an awesome day at the London Bicycle Film Festival polo tournament, and an amazing performance by The Toffs:

1. BAD polo (London)
2. Netto (Manchester)
3. The Toffs (Oxford)

More details and photos on the way.