A warm-up for the Euros… the first ever UK Bike Polo Championships will take place in Manchester on Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th April 2010. Registration has now closed with 36 teams, one team from Oxford assuming we find enough uninjured people who haven’t left the country.
Updated with flyer from Adam Russ
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Fresh from the editing suite, The Cycle Oxford Festival 2009, including Oxford’s first bike polo tournament.
![Oxford urban bike polo](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_G2KwzjwgbgE/SvtVBxIaG8I/AAAAAAAAAh8/i-N2IXX8fE0/s320/currys.JPG" "Bilderpost II")
We played. It rained. We got wet. Heres a few photos taken by a German superstar.
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
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.
Bike Blenheim Palace returns on Sunday 4th October, with bike polo taking centre stage!
Five bike polo teams from Oxford, London, Cambridge, and Oakendon will be battling it out in the Town Meets Country Tournament taking place in the historical grounds of Blenheim Palace, culminating in the first ever Oxford v Cambridge varsity match.
There’ll be public try-out sessions between the games, so come along a have a go. We’ll have mallets and bikes to borrow, and it’s all on grass.
Once you’ve had your fill of polo, take time out to watch the Brompton World Championships. Last year Alistair Kay won, beating the former Tour of Spain winner Roberto Heras (he wasn’t impressed). And after all that excitement, relax with a leisurely ride around the tranquil grounds of the palace.
Match schedule:
If you’re unsure of how to get here there’s a joint ride organised by Sustrans, CTC and Isis Cyclists leaving from outside the Oxford Campus shop on Broad Street, at 09:30. Save money by buying your entry tickets in advance.
The long dark evenings mean we’ve moved Wednesday practices to 20.15, at the flood-lit Curry’s car park:
We’re still playing Sunday’s at the Marston hard court, but not for the next two weeks:
I Bike MCR London Polo