Pimp My Mallet

Well done Cardiff, winners of the 2010 Bike Blenheim Polo Tournament! Thanks to Bristol, Cardiff, Cherwell School, Cycle Oxford and everyone else from Oxford who braved the rain and made it a great tournament. Here’s a few photos from the day.

The tournament briefing

Blenheim bike polo tournament

Cherwell School

Soggy tweed (it rained a lot)

Blenheim bike polo tournament

The sun makes an appearance over Blenheim Palace

Cardiff, winners of the Bike Blenheim Polo Tournament

Bike Blenheim Bike Polo winners

More photos on Flickr.

If you’re free next Sunday (12th September) come down to Bristol for their first tournament. Oxford have two teams entered, if there’s enough interest we could even have a third! The tournament starts at 11am and should be finished by 4pm, and there’s a whole weekend of other cycling events on.

Bikeradar are currently featuring a mini documentary from saddle makers Brooks, looking at bike polo. Obviously any good news story needs an accompanying photo, and what could possibly be a better match for a classic Brooks saddle than an Oxford Toff?

We’re still looking for a 3rd person to play for Oxford in the UK Champs next month (17-18 April in Manchester), get in touch if you’re interested.

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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It’s official! The 2nd World Hardcourt Bike Polo Championships will be held from Friday 13th to Sunday 15th August 2010 in Berlin.

There’s only space for 64 teams and with more than double that number wanting to play they’ll be some sort of pre-tournament qualification, details still to be decided. The hosts are promising plenty of hospitality for everyone though… so book you tickets now.

Last year Brendan, a London polo player, made a short film that was shown at the Bicycle Film Festival all over the world. And here it is.

Geneva are organising next year’s European Hardcourt Bike Polo Championships sometime in July (probably), and being Swiss they’re ultra organised and are asking all cities planning to enter to pre-register and supply the name of an ambassador.

Fresh from the editing suite, The Cycle Oxford Festival 2009, including Oxford’s first bike polo tournament.

Register to vote!

There’s going to be an online vote from the 25-27th November to decide the host city for EHBPC 2010. It’s open to all European players, but you’ll need to register at bikepolo.ca and join the Europe group before the 21st November to be eligible.

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.