Raising the ball: Bike polo scene picks up momentum

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/02/2016 (3555 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Alex Ovechkin may think he’s pretty hot stuff, those things he does with a stick and a puck — let’s see him try to do it one-handed, while riding a bicycle.

You know that little building that looks like an oversized tin hut, tucked away at the end of Duncan Street just off Waterfront Drive and south of the Disraeli?

Turns out it’s full of people who can stickhandle and shoot with one hand while riding a bicycle.

They’re playing bike polo, and it’s all the rage within Winnipeg’s cycling culture.

“This is our third annual winter tournament,” explained professional bicycle messenger and polo aficionado Matt Magura Sunday morning as he surveyed the floor below him from the splendour of the Duncan Sportsplex luxury box.

The luxury box would be a long community hall-type room with fold-out tables, windows looking down on the playing surface, and a bar.

A bar? Could that explain in any way why this facility is used regularly for adult floor hockey?

“We’ve been playing in the city since 2008,” said Magura. “We come here every Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m.” until noon, when floor hockey starts.

This weekend’s tournament qualified as international because someone came from Minnesota and someone from Washington, D.C. There were people from Saskatoon and Vancouver, altogether 27 teams of bike polo players.

The tournament was officially called Frozen Louis III, for Louis Riel, it goes without saying.

Magura said bicycle polo is so popular among those in the know that there was even a world championship held last weekend in New Zealand, though locally it’s laid-back and welcomes anyone regardless of age or skill level.

They’ve designed their own nets, which look like squished hockey nets, the same six feet wide as a hockey net at about half the height. Each team has three players on the floor at a time, one of whom is allowed to park the bike across the crease — the five-hole is right below the pedals.

“The games can get pretty fast,” he advised.

Helmets are a must, but players pretty much eqip themselves as they wish, some riding clunkers and some designing special bikes for upwards of two grand.

Outdoors, they play wherever they can, but the Sportsplex is pretty much the only surface available in winter.

“An old tennis court would be pretty good. This is painted concrete,” which can get slippery, said Magura.

“The bike messengers in the city started playing. We went to the championships in Toronto, and saw the game being played properly,” and adapted it here, Magura said. Who knew Toronto had anything to teach Winnipeg about sports?

“Contact is allowed, only shoulder to shoulder,” said Magura, who broke a wrist last summer.

Players can’t use their polo mallets on each other or on each other’s bikes, but can use them to slip an opponent’s mallet off the ball.

“There’s a steering arm infraction, you can’t whack someone’s steering arm,” he pointed out. “Some people have a hard enough shot to break bones.”

Bicycle shop staffer Zach Allard said that there are raisies allowed, and some players can even go shelf while pedalling through the slot in top gear.

“The sport’s kind of cool — you go to a tournament and you see things you thought weren’t possible, and next year everyone is doing it, like raising the ball,” Allard said.

Some people can do the Savardian spinarama on their two-wheelers, some do a wheelie to shake off their check.

And the sport keeps gaining popularity, Allard said: “It’s word of mouth, or the culture of the scene.”

Team names include some monikers such as Girl Bread, Propahandhi, and Angry Eyebrows. Apparently following the indie band scene helps you understand.

“We need a new batch of players” to keep the sport growing, Magura said.

“It’s 10 bucks to drop in and play — their first time is free.”

 

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca