Legit Bike Polo

Here in Boston we frequently lose track of the score of casual pickup games.  It’s not a big deal, especially since we rarely have a crowd of players waiting to get onto the court.  However, it’s quite frustrating when nobody knows the score of an important game in tournaments.

Simple solution.  Scorecards at center court by the tap-out spot or behind the goals of each team.  When a goal is scored, someone on the scoring team need only to flip the card on their way back to defense.

The ring shown is a leftover piece of ABS.  It is cut such that it can be opened and the score cards can be slipped on.  It can also be opened up and put onto the chainlink fence where we play.

This is what I imagine my online storefront may look like.  It’s a simple layout with only one product fulfilling each need/want/desire (in multiple sizes) in a couple of categories.  The pologuard/hubs/pedals would likely not be available online since I don’t want to infringe upon BensCycle.  I don’t want to compete with anyone or raise any feathers.  I do want to offer all of the polo specific products people want in one place, likely at close to wholesale prices if possible.  It’s a long way off at best.

Boston will be hosting the fourth annual ESPI tournament.  It’s going to rock.  It’s not technically an invitational… so mark the date.  May 2-3 2009

I’ve been toying around with the idea of turning Legit into an actual online storefront in addition to this piecemeal blog.  I created Legit in order to explore business with the underlying business model of running a website and selling dozens of mallets every month.  That’s not the way things have turned out. I now use Legit to help newer players make their own equipment and provide seasoned players with relevant media (tournament footage) and my general thoughts on what’s up in the poloverse.

My thoughts on the online store concept are centered around helping players to find tested and trusted equipment beyond the basic mallet/wheelcover combo.  There’s more protective equipment than ever on the courts these days (lacrosse gloves, knee/elbow pads etc), and an emerging market for specialized hardware (48 spoke hubs, pologuard).  The best resources a player has will always be the community around him/her, but, especially in new polo communities, people don’t always know what the trends are in mature polo cities.

Call me capitalist scum or a young’n trying to make a name for himself working hard doing something he loves, it seems there isn’t much difference.

I discovered a lovely sunken basketball court here in Boston.  The setup would be perfect for a 2v2 tournament, though the neighborhood is a bit high-brow and there’s a playground full of kids all day 50 yards away.

I practice here darn near every day.  You better watch out.

I’ve been trying to come up with a logo for LBP for quite some time.  This idea popped into my head a couple days ago.  Very rough right now, but you get the idea.

Madison will be hosting a New Year’s shindig.  I will be there, traveling from my hometown of Minneapolis.  Looking for team.

Polo’d Sunday at the Pit in NYC for the 4th weekend out of my last 5.  Afterwards a bunch of us met up to discuss the imminent rise of the Hardcourt Bicycle Polo Federation, largely at the hands of Montana, a player currently residing in Philly.  It’s really in its infancy right now, but we agreed on some of the basic tasks it will hopefully accomplish in 2009.

It will establish an official North American tournament and World tournament separate from the NACCC’s and CMWC respectively.  The idea is to have these events run beautifully and independently from the messenger events they have thus far been tied to.  In order to make these possible, an official rulebook will likely be created to ensure fairness in the tournament.  Note: it’s for the tournament.  That’s it.  Nobody will force cities to adhere to these rules in their weekly pickup games.  Also, sponsorship relations will likely be forged for the tournaments and may create a sponsorship network to be tapped by cities throwing their own tournies.

Montana’s original proposal has been taken down on bikepolo.ca, though here’s a bit of a follow-up thread for those looking for more info.

Boston is set to host the Fourth Annual ESPI’s (East Side Polo Invite).

Tentative date is pegged on the 2nd/3rd of MAY.  Flyerz and fanciness coming soon.

Back from a weekend of polo and bike movies in ‘ol New York.  Heading back next weekend for more.

My short “DC Polo” was shown as part of Bike Shorts 7 at the charming riverside venue Solar1 (Thanks to Ken for putting it on and getting me to make/submit something)  Looking forward to making something for the next showing in early ’09.