Sunday was Celia’s last afternoon of Polo before her bike got boxed up and shipped off home to Annecy, France. So we fired up the BBQ, necked the gnôle, and gave her a proper polo send off.
Celia brought her GoPro, so click play to see her win her tap-out game, Ally fall over, Lizzy score goals, Donnie save goals, and Trish cook meat.
Nous t’aimons, Celia!
As predicted by some, Aaron’s bamboo mallet shaft snapped after a few throw-in sessions. However, he and Brickman came up with what I think is a pretty genius solution and definite improvement to the design.
The shaft snapped at its base where it is screwed onto the head with a wood screw. This is probably the shaft’s weakest point, as the forces applied by the screw to pull the shaft down into the head and keep everything in place also push outwards against the inner face of the bamboo, increasing the likelihood of it splitting.
With a previously discarded length of aluminium pole slid over the end of and sitting flush against the shaft, the force from the screw now compresses the bamboo against the aluminium; preventing splitting, improving the screw’s grip, and strengthening the shaft’s weakest point.
I thought this was a brilliant bodge, and it might just keep the bamboo shaft alive for a while longer.
With so many players spending ever increasing amounts of cash on the latest polo-specific mallet materials, it’s a breath of fresh air to see something less hi-tech being utilised in the sport.
This mallet was created by one of our newest players, and served him well throughout an entire afternoon of throw in games. It’s light, simple to work with, cheap and easily replacable should it break. It will be interesting to see how it holds up over a few sessions.
On Wednesday night, James brought his GoPro down to film some Polo, as well as his new helmet mounted boom, a recent purchase via a Kickstarter project. It made for some really interesting angles and some great shots. I expect James will be getting more use out of this gadget in future films we make.
Who needs seatpost bolts anway?
A huge thank you to eveyone who came to our Bench Minor tournament on saturday. Some fantastic polo was played in the sunshine, and a few pints drank as well.
Congratulations to Edinburgh, who came out as resounding winners. Glasgow will be praticing ready to claim the title at next year’s Spring Bench!
Thanks also go out to Paul from SAMH, Scottish Association for Mental Health, who came along and even had a few games.
Here’s Euan Ryan’s film from the day so you can see what we all got up to!
On Saturday the 2nd March, Glasgow take on the combined might of Edinburgh and Manchester in the first annual Spring Bench tournament, taking place in our Partick Court, Mansfield Park.
The Bench Minor format involves teams of up to ten, with captains managing 3 players on the pitch and substituting from the bench when needed. Games last a more spectator friendly 45 minutes, and the scorelines are sure to be high!
Our cities’ pride, glory, and beers are at stake.
If you’ve never witnessed hardcourt bike polo before, this is a perfect opportunity to watch the fast-paced, tactical game of skill and agility, with players travelling from all over the country to come and play.
In between tournament games there will also be a chance for some informal throw-in games, so players and spectators willl be more than welcome to pick up a mallet and knock the ball around.
See you there.
