Tuesday, May 17, 2011

AHBPC11

As you may know, Perth have recently returned from Adelaide after competing in the Australasian National Hardcourt Bike Polo Championships (AHBPC11). It is the third time Perth have represented, and this year we came in record numbers with 12 people attending, represented by 5 teams as follows:

"Godzilla Symphony" - Nick M, Yohei, Nick D (aka God)



"Shit City Bike Polo Club" - Scotty, Mattie and Wall


"Not Prawi Enough" - Tom, Brad, Shane


"Rejected Monkeys" - Kristy, Scott (Melb), Derren


And I was invited to play with an interstate team, Storm Boys - Lewis (Syd), Damon (Melb), Me


Saturday hosted a round robin tournament which would determine the seeding for Sunday's double elimination. Day 1 saw some tough battles, Not Prawi Enough were put into a rough draw and faced some of the best teams in the state, however they never went down without a fight and played out most of their games to the end only losing by one or two goals.


Tom takes a shot

Godzilla Symphony were on the same lines and had some really close games, along with Rejected Monkeys who played out some close games with Kristy pulling out some amazing saves. On the other side of the court were Shit City, who rised to the occasion and managed to come on top of the Perth teams ranking 10th after day one, where we saw Scotty pull of some huge shots, with Wall and Mattie bringing the rukus and holding some good defence. An excellent result after day one.


Rejected Monkeys talking team tactics.

The rankings after day one were as follows:
1 Storm Boys
2 Majestic Pink Shafts
3 Neil La Robolution
4 Thats What She Said
5 Triple Dutch Rudder
6 Jizz Monkey
7 L.S.V
8 Los Polo Hermanos
9 Three Malleteers
10 Shit City
11 Lonely Mallets Club Team
12 Godzilla Symphony
13 Not Prawi Enough
14 Phuq Styx
15 Rejected Monkeys
16 Rising Sun
17 Beer Break
18 Offcuts


Scotty winds up for a big shot.

After a long day of play we hung out for a few beers at the Old Exchange, but by 10pm most of us were too buggered to keep on going and headed back to our hotels to catch up on some sleep. Day 2 was the day that counted, due to the double elimination format, there was always a second chance to come back and it was do or die.

Early on it wasn't looking too good, with most of the Perth teams getting knocked out the 1st bracket early in the day, but we weren't going down without a fight. In a tough game between Godzilla Symphony and Triple Dutch Rudders (ranked 5th) it looked like TDR had the upper hand (no pun intended), but in a moment of magic, Yohei managed to pull 3 goals in quick succession to win the game! A huge upset and a game Yohei will never forget, I overheard Nick D after the game saying "Well, we ain't letting Yohei sit in goals next time!"


Brad threading that needle in a 2v1 clutch situation against TDR.


Yohei killin' it on Day 2, check out those vains!

I didnt get a chance to follow all the games as I had to play with the Storm Boys but word on the court told me that Rejected Monkeys started coming together as a team and in a close zero-zero game against Shit City, the derby came down to a golden goal situation, Rejected Monkeys won and knocked out by their fellow state team. Not Prawi Enough also managed to knock out the 5th ranked Triple Dutch Rudders in an upset game, progressing furthur on in the tournament.

Pulling out win after win, Not Prawi Enough were eventually knocked out in a close game against MPS. One of the phrases commonly heard on that day was "The scoreboard didn't reflect the game", most the games were very close and could have gone either way. At the end of the day, the final rankings were as follows:

1 Storm Boys

2 That’s What She Said

3 L.S.V

4 Neil La Robolution

5 Los Polo Hermanos
6 Majestic Pink Shafts

7 Not Prawi Enough
8 Phuq Styx

9 Rejected Monkeys
10 Three Malleteers
11 Jizz Monkey
12 Godzilla Symphony

13 Shit City Polo Club
14 Lonely Mallets Club Band
15 Triple Dutch Rudder
16 Beer Break

17 Offcuts
18 Rising Sun

A fantastic result from everyone!

It was an absolutely awesome weekend, this year we have 5 new members from Perth represent for the first time, it was amazing to watch everyone play and improve as the tournament progressed. I'm sitting here more than a week after nationals and I've already seen an increase in skill level, but more importantly, I feel as if attending Nationals has brought the local Polo community closer together. Attending Nationals has allowed us to meet so many amazing people from across the country and this has created some strong ties and new friendships. I look forward to meeting and playing with everyone in the near future. A special thanks to Adelaide for hosting this years nationals, it was a truly memorable event.

All pics in this post have been taken by Studio Crossbow, check out his flickr for more photos.




Kristy getting in amongst the action.


Great shot of Nick M


Brad, Nick M, Tom, Scotty spectating on the sidelines.


Action shot of Derren

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Nats announced

7th and 8th of May in the city of churches

Monday, February 28, 2011

tueday Polo now at 7

Due to excessive ECU students parking where they shouldn't a 7pm start should help.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Tuesday Polo

Seems like tuesday polo is now a regular fixture, plenty of people rocking up and with the aid of some awesome lights we can play all night long.. 6pm MLHS carpark.

Just came back from the Sydney Bench Minor sore and bruised, it was a crazy weekend of ups and downs and an important stepping stone to the future of how polo is played and reff'd in Aus. Will explain in furthur detail this tuesday :)

cya on the court.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Friday, January 7, 2011

To Live & Ride In L.A. Perth film premier


Sunday 16.1.11 will be a huge bike day in Perth.

Bike Jam has secured the Perth premier for the the new film from the Trafik crew - To Live & Ride In L.A. The screening starts @ 8pm @ The Bakery, 233 James st Northbridge. Before the screening there is going to be hours of fun. @ this stage Bike Jam is looking at organizing a ride/cruise thru the streets, trick comps and possibly a polo demonstration.

This is a massive coup for the Perth bike community, so come on down and check it out. For those who need more incentive, Its free and there are rad giveaways.

Check out the trailer.

If you don't come to this, you don't deserve to ride a bike in Perth.

Sunday Polo + Midweek madness

Well 2011 has arrived and its Polo season.

This Sunday we'll be playing at our usual location of Mount Lawley Highschool Carpark. Theres a link on the sidebar with a map, if you've never played there before. 3pm start. It's going to be a scorcher so bring lots of water and sunscreen.

We'll also be re-introducing our midweek sessions, these are typically a little shorter than Sunday's play, so its non-stop pickup action. Again, we'll be playing at MLHS carpark but we're open to suggestions for new court locations. Theres a new basketball court on the south perth foreshore, we definitely have to squeeze a game in there sometime!

Around the country there are a few tournaments going on. I recently went to a pick-up tournament in Adelaide which was great fun, and I'd highly encourage everyone to keep an open mind about interstate tournaments, if you have the time and a little extra cash, its a great way to enhance your polo experience.

You don't have to travel specifically for polo. Almost every state in Australia has a local bike polo club. If you just so happen to be interstate, take a mallet with you and get in contact with the host city. Its always interesting to see how other cities play compared to us, you'll be surprised at how similar everything is, but a change of location and different players is a great mix-up from your regular sunday session so its a great learning experience.

In the next month there is the Australian Bench Minor Tournament hosted in Sydney on the 4/5th of feb, and also the Australia Day Tourney, hosted in Melburn. I'll try my best to announce upcoming tournaments on this site so everyone can keep updated.

If theres one tournament to go to this year its the Australian Hardcourt Bike Polo Championships (which will be in Adelaide this year), the mecca of tournaments in Australia. Last year we had a 3 teams from Perth represent, and hopefully we can match that again this year... currently no date has been announced by Adelaide but rumours suggest mid-May so keep your diaries open and watch this space.



Well, if there was any space to watch it would be Bikepolo.com.au I think 2011 will bring more tournaments than ever, hopefully Perth can host some interstate guests in the future. League of Bike Polo is also a great resource, and a great way to keep up with the world of polo, if you haven't registered, do so. Theres a great forum on there with some interesting and entertaining topics.

cya sunday!

ps. for those in Melburn. Will's bike (pictured) has been stolen... keep an eye out for it.