Well folks, this is the culmination of another year of traveling, seeing old friends and new, and breaking bikes, bones, mallets, etc. After a grueling season of regional and national qualifiers, the best of the best in hardcourt polo will meet in Seattle to compete for this years World Champion Title. Tons of Jousts on the court, so keep an eye out.

Get ‘em.

If you are new to Bike Polo or have been playing while simutaniously living under a rock, here is the the link to the World Hardcourt Bike Polo Championship for more details.
Track it here on PODIUM
Watch it here on USTREAM

This is Quinn’s prize for Best Up and Comer from Ladies Army 3 in ATX. An awesome bike for and awesome player!!

Once again, Congrats. Quinn, you kick ass!

Here are the final results with some Joust riders in the top ten:

Congrats to Joey Halvorsen from SF for winning a Joust for Best Up and Coming Player

1st – The Guardians (Julian/Seabass/Dustin Seattle)
2nd – Clobber Politics (Joe/Ben/Robbie CHI/OTT) (Ben on Joust)
3rd – Crazy Canucks (Rory/Chris/Alex VAN)
4th – The Outsiders (Martin/Evan/Joker VAN/SEA/LA)

5th – Garçons Castor (Kremin/Brian/Pierre MKE/MAD)
5th – DTGP (Kevin/Ngaihon/Hugo TO/Paris)

7th – My Face (Eric/Chris/Erica ATL/Athens)
7th – The Oddballs (Leon/Drew/Mike SEA)

9th – Wardens (Jake/Zach/Matt MKE) (Zach on Joust)
9th – Smang Gang (Mike/Cody/Forest SEA)
9th – Top Centaurs (Henry/Luke/Ken VIC/VAN)
9th – Portland United (Arlyn/Eric/Jason PDX)

13th – Blistering Barnacles (Lewis/Greg/Clement SYD/Paris/GE)
13th – Bad Fingers (Ruckus/Long/Jeremiah SF)
13th – Purple Starfish (Ian/Alexis/Jonny MAD/OT/RVA) (Ian on Joust)
13th – The Hunky Dories (Shane/Nick/Plaxton TO)

17th – Team Priapism (Jason/Eric/Joey/ SF)
17th – The Full Kenichi’s (Timothy/Tom/Pete PDX)
17th – Never Nudes (Cole, Brook, Gemma Van)
17th – Horse With No Name (Nick/Allan/Kiersten VIC/OT/SEA)
17th – L’Explosif (Rowdy/Andre/Messman SEA)
17th – Cowpunchers (Justin/Mike/Dan CAL)
17th – Poontang Clan (Tiffany/Jill/Will LEX/PITT)
17th – Mitten Polo (Adam/Piet/Jon Ann Arbor) (Jon on Joust)

Gongrats to all that particitpated!!

This is going on right now!!

Watch the results with our friends at Hardcourt Podium

GO BIKE POLO!

Recently, Chicago held the 2nd annual Bench Minor II tournament downtown. It was one of the most impressive displays of polo in the United States and drew a large circulating spectator crowd. Teams were comprised of drafted players from all over the United States, Canada and the rest of the world who came to play on large 9 person teams with on the fly subbing and a larger than typical court. A lot of Joust riders came and represented and we couldn’t be more proud of ‘em. We are stoked on the Joust riders that were drafted, including a couple that were General Managers and one on the winning team, Puffin.
We want to give props to:

Maija Eliashevsky (GM for Purple) (TO)
Birdie Watts (GM for Burgundy) (MKE)
Ben Schultz (CHI)
Nick Kruse (COMOBOS)
Greg Valentine (CHI)
Matt Lane (CHI)
David Wells (SEA)
Ian Dunwiddie (RVA)
Jon Atwell (AA)
Pierre Delamare (MAD)
Zach Rueter (MKE)

Bruce Carver, a Bloomington local, came out to shoot this ridiculous event. He gave me a batch of shots that you might not get to see in any of the other bike polo photo blogs.

For more of Bruce’s awesome Bike Polo photos, check out his photopage.

Mr. Do dropped a new team feature from the Ladies Army 3 team Baby Birds with Krista and Jinxy from LA, and Quinn from Ann Arbor. Quinn, for those of you who don’t know, won the “Up and Coming Bad-Ass” Award for all of her practicing before and during the tournament. It showed in her performance and earned herself a Joust.

Baby Birds from Mr.Do on Vimeo.

Go Quinn!!

Last weekend, Chandel and the Philly crew through down one of the most memorable tourneys to date. Not only did include the fast pace Bike Polo action we love, but also provided and interesting backdrop for the tournament; Rizzo Rink under the I-95 bridge in South Philly. This tournament was a blast and definitely set a new precedent for Philly when it comes to planning and executing polo events; we at Fleet Velo couldn’t have been happier to have sponsored this event. Y’all killed it and I hope you throw a tourney soon. Here is just a glimpse into ESPI VI brought to you by Fun Zach Films, enjoy.

ESPI VI 2011 Philadelphia from Fun Zach Films on Vimeo.

Results
1st: Beaver Boyz II Men – 24
2nd: Guinea Pigeons – 18 (Ian-Joust)
3rd: Silent Majority – 26
4th: Coco Kiwi – 18 (Nick-Joust WIde)

MVPs
Ladies’s: Maija Eliashevsky – Toronto Raptures – Joust Wide
Men’s: Nick Kruse -Coco Kiwi – Joust Wide
– Nick won the the FV MVP prize Joust after playing his first tournament on his new Joust Wide, kind of ironic eh?

This is going to be an amazing event. Stop by on your way to Taste of Chicago, or ignore the “Taste” and spend the weekend watching some ridiculous Bike Polo just North of Millenium park. For more details, check out Chicago Bike Polo’s website

Chicago legend and Machine Politics team member Ben Schultz recently won a Joust as an MVP prize at the Mid West Open in Lexington, KY. As a seasoned Polo player himself, he opted to go a little extra and taylor his bike for his needs. After years of long rides rental cars, Ben wanted to go the coupler route for easier flight, train, and bus transportion. He wanted to customize the geometry just slightly by making the top tube just a little bit longer for his own personal fit. Ben had his Joust finished in grey with black decals. He seems stoked on it and already has a couple good scratches on it. He is eager to put more on it as well as give us an update soon.