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.
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.
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.
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).
I Bike MCR London Polo