Karl

I got some sad news on the weekend, our friend and fellow polo player Karl is no longer with us. It is believed that he passed away sometime on Friday night. On behalf of the bike polo community I want to extend our deepest sympathy to Karl’s family and friends.

Personally, I first met Karl when I relocated to Brisbane a bit over a year ago. Karl organised two Alleycat races, the “4 hour rush” and “Missing Lanes” which were my first introduction to the Brisbane bicycle scene. This rag-tag community of bicycle messengers, bicycle lovers and fixed gear riders are now some of my closest friends in Brisbane. I remember nervously approaching Karl at the start of the 4 hour rush as he was taking down names and him slipping me a map on the sly because I was new to Brisbane and he didn’t want me to get lost.

My fondest memory of Karl though was an intense afternoon of polo at Musgrave Park in November 2008. It was Karl’s first try at Polo, and he put on a show for everyone by spending more time on the ground then on two wheels. It was on that afternoon that Karl invented his trademark call: “Karl’s ball”. At that stage Brisbane Polo was still about scraping together 6 people for a game. But soon after we were being overrun by mates of Karl who had heard about this crazy game.

I have put together a few photos of that one day in November. Rest in Peace Karl, you will be missed.

Tournament

As the flyer mentions, this is Shifty's last game in Brisbane. Also there is the Greek festival on the same weekend. I'll be bringing down the BBQ so bring some stuff to chuck on it. Newbs welcome!

John's Lomo

John sent me some great shots of the Tournament that he took with a Lomo. For those unfamiliar with this style of photography, these are multiple exposures on the one film which are captured moments apart. The result speaks for itself I think!

Tournament Results

It had been a while since we last 'got serious' about our Bike Polo in Brisbane and staged a proper tournament. So Shifty picked a date, Gypsy drew a flyer and the weather gods provided a sunny Brisbane winter's day for some great Polo action!

15 players turned up at noon to dip their names in the hat, and the teams were drawn at random, with a nice mixture of abilities and experience spread throughout. The teams elected names and were pitted against each other in 20 minutes matches.

Teams:
Swift and Shift - Shifty, Gypsy, Ben
Slightly Average - Antmandan, Jamie, Kenny
Sheeet - Erik, Brett, Johnson
Squatters - Simon, Mace, Karl
Racquateers - Dave, Marty, Andy

For the initial rounds it was first to 3, highest score at the buzzer, and if scores were drawn at the buzzer a penalty shootout from halfway. As it turned out the 20 minute time limit was plenty with most games going between 10-15 minutes. Although one game was finished in under 3 minutes!

After the initial rounds Squatters were 4w-0l, Swift and Shift 3w-1l, and the rest 1w-3l. Sheet had a slightly better number of goals scored/conceded so it went to a deathmatch (first to 5) between Slightly Average and Racqueteers to determine who would be cut. In a hard fought battle Slightly Average made it through 5 - 3.

The semi-final was first to 5 with extra time allocated (30 minutes) 1 vs 4, 2 vs 3, winners through to the final, losers to the battle fro 3rd. First up was Shift and Swift vs. Sheet. Swift and Shift won with a convincing 5 - 1. The next game between Squatters and Slightly Average went the same way at 5 - 1.

The minor final (from left): Jamie, Kenny, Dan, Johnson, Brett, Erik

The stage was set for the battle for 3rd, with Sheet pitted against Slightly Average. Sheeet had put up a massive defence throughout the day with a combination of Erik's power hits from halfway, Brett's awesome acceleration and Johnson blocking goals. However, having not converted goals for most of the day it was Slightly Average Jamie's time to shine. At 3-3 he made a stunning goal from half way, subsequently dismounting his bike and playing his mallet like a guitar. I dare say had a can of petrol been on hand he would have poured it over his bike and lit it on fire in true rockstar fashion! This put Slightly Average ahead at 4 - 3 and it wasn't long before the fifth goal was made.

The grand final (from left): Karl, Simon, Mace, Gypsy, Shifty, Ben

There was no doubt that the final would be hard fought, and we all lost count of how many times bikes went down. Mace had already earned his place as MVP for his standard of play throughout the rest of the day, and it was incredible to watch how he could materialise in front of the Shift and Swift players almost any time they went for a goal. Ben, Karl and Shifty played forward as well and there were some great clashes between these players during the game. Simon and Gypsy positioned themselves back at times which proved to be a good tactic when a loose ball found its way to them. All six players looked equally at home on the court and every single one played right until the last goal. However, having proved themselves throughout the day it was the Squatters that reined supreme.The final score 5 - 3.

The final (from left): Karl, Shifty, Gypsy, Ben, Mace (photo courtesy of JB)

Thanks to all for coming down, particularly the spectators who were there throughout the day, also a special mention to Paul for the eskies full of food and drink!

Final Placings:
1st Squatters
2nd Swift and Shift
3rd Slightly Average
4th Sheeet
5th Racquateers

Game rules:
No Mallet throwing (penalty - concede goal).
Let players retrieve ball from fence line if stuck (ball can be played to self to restart if required).
Goals are only scored off end of mallet.
Goals deflected off opposition count, deflections off team mates (unless end of mallet) do not count.
After scoring, attacking team must return to own goals and can then immediately play on.
After conceding, defending team can immediately play on.
If a player foots down, wheel out and touch fence on any side (don't interrupt play in doing so).
Attacking side may not dribble or pass ball through opposition goal from behind.
No mallets in wheels or other unsportsmanlike behaviour.

EDIT: Photos online thanks to Johnson and JB

Tournament this weekend!

2pm is the new 3pm

With winter fast approaching, and the days getting shorter, we are a bit upset that mother nature is stripping us of precious polo playing time! So we've decided to move Polo back an hour. New time is 2pm.

Swap meet and Polo

We've had a couple of fantastic weeks of Polo, with lots of new faces and plenty of fmailiar ones. Last week we had enough people for 4 teams of 4. An epic day of polo was had!

Yesterday was a bit more sedate, except for the (now usual) mallet breakage, and a bike frame being bent after Wally rode straight into a fence!

Next Sunday we're having a BBQ and swap meet before the game. I'll be bringing a hot plate and gas bottle and everybody is encouraged to bring something to chuck onto it! The swap meet will kick off at 2pm (Sunday 3rd May) next to the polo courts so if you've got any old parts lying around that need a good home bring them down. Who knows, maybe you can find everything you need for a complete polo pony?

Photos: Amelia Shaw

We've been very fortunate to have the services of professional photographer Amelia Shaw for our last few games. Amelia has taken some simply stunning shots of the Brisbane crew in action (on and off the court). I've put a few here to give you a taste but to be honest you have to click through to see them all!

Polo now every week!

Given the fact that we all just love to have a cold beer on a Sunday afternoon, while talking some shit and hitting the courts. We've decided to up the ante and play some Polo every week! So scratch the dates I put up previously, because the rules are simple now: we'll be at the courts every week from now on a Sunday arvo at 3pm.

Plus we need the practice if we're ever going to take on our interstate Polo Brethren!

Upcoming matches

Dates of upcoming matches all start at 3pm at Musgrave Park:

1st March
15th March
29th March
12th April
26th April

Come on down!

Hiatus

Sorry everbody for the recent lack of communications...

We haven't stopped playing, I've just been too preoccupied to post about it!

So to bring us up to speed about what has been happening in the Brisbane Polo world:

• Christmas visitors: Some of the lovely folk from Melbourne Bike Polo came to Brisbane and played a few games with the crew here. Although Brisbane scored more goals, bike polo was the winner on the day!
• Mallet building: Lots of the boys have been busy building there own mallets which is making it easier to have some bigger games (4 on 4... madness!)
• Gear Brisbane Tourney: With the opening of Gear Brisbane a small tournament was held with some lovely prizes thanks to Eric.

VIC v QLD

Gear Brisbane Tournament