history
Hardcourt Bikepolo has its roots in the Seattle (NA) Bikecourier scene and exists since 1999. The club Bikepolo Vienna was found in 2011 and has been active since. From 2014 on all european Clubs are organized as “European Hardcourt Bikepolo Association – EHBA”. There are regularly held European- and Worlds Championships. Austrian Championships have been organized 10x in the past years.
bikepolo
Bikepolo is a teamsport, mostly played 3 vs 3, on a hardcourt surface with walls around (in Austria Hockey courts are ideal). The aim is to shoot the ball into the opponents goal, with a so called mallet. There are no fixed positions within the team, it’s possible to rotate (1)ball offensive (2)ball defense (3)goal defense. It requires complex skills in bike control & balance, ball control, positioning and teamplay to play a successful game.. but no worries, its always fun to play, no matter what your skills level is !
equipment
Polobike // The bike is singlespeed, usually has one front discbrake, a very low ratio and the geometry is characterized by a narrow wheelbase so the bike allows you to take tight turns. Nowadays there a many producers (mostly bikepolo players themselves) who build Poloframes (f.e. enforcer bikes (USA), La Luce (CH), Max Power Cycles (GER) and many more)
Mallet // The mallet’s main components are the shaft and the head. There a quiet a lot producers for Polomallets in europe (f.e. Milk Bikepolo (CH), Perro del Mallet (ES), Roger (F), stubborn (GER), Voltige and many more)
ball // Poloballs are empty plastic balls and differ in which temperature is played
protective gear // helmet (facecage recommended!), gloves, knee- & ellbowpads
Some companies offer a variety of mallet components (like grips), Polobike components and other accessories like balls and protective gear.
values
Bikepolo is a mixed gender teamsport that puts high value into creating an inclusive space for people with all genders, ethnicities, bodytypes & ages.
Bikepolo is not only a teamsport, but understands itself as community and focus on teamplay & newcomer support !
The club Bikepolo Vienna is internationally known for its gender diverse strong leaded FLINTA*(female/lesbian/intersex/non-binary/trans/agender) community.
downloads
EHBA official ruleset (pdf)
FLYER beginnerspolo (pdf)