Fellow bike-stick-ball playerz,
Stompaz are pleased to announce that we will host a tourney Saturday, August 15th.
Bring your tiny ponies, donkeys, your favorite walking stick, and your A-game!
Costumes are of course, mandatory.
We're looking at a very similar format to what we saw in Lyons and Ft Collins.
Suggestions are welcome, so let us know what we all need to do to keep the progression of the game on course.
Depending on the turnout, we'll likely run two brackets, one for first-time teams, and one for veteran teams.
Ladies teams are strongly encouraged! Durango Mallethead Rainbow Machete Skate Crew will be in attendance, so we've got to find Rhonda some teammates!
Games start at 10am.
Cost is Zero Dollars per team. To be extorted from SscoobaSteve however you can do it.
There are great camping options available and host housing can be arranged.
We're looking at very nearly the same basic rules as we used in Lyons and FC:
General Rules and Guidelines:
We'll play 4 on 4. If you touch the grass, you must pedal one revolution forward, or get out of the way. As usual, we'll play the gentleman's game, where bike on bike contact is discouraged. We use little red cones for goals, but if the FC BiciHockey Goals are traveling, we would very happily avail ourselves!
Teams have the option of playing a goalie. The ball is a size 1 soccerball. The field will allow for two to three games at once.
The Foot Down or "Footsie" rule
The spirit of this rule is essentially: If a player touches his or her foot down on the field they are out of the play and must make a full pedal rotation before he or she can contact the ball again. In order to keep play moving, if a player touches his or her foot down or falls in the immediate area where the ball is being contested, he or she must make an effort to clear that area and not "stall" the flow of play. In the case of teams who play with goalies: if a goalie touches his or her foot down, he or she also must honor this rule by making a full pedal rotation.
Scoring
A goal is a goal, except when it's kicked or freehanded in. In order to eliminate controversies such as scoring on your own goal, ricochets, heading a ball or any other number of ways of scoring, a goal is counted when the ball crosses the goal line in any manner, except through kicking or catching and throwing or punched/batted in with a free hand.
Goals can be stopped in any way.
Goals will not count if the scoring player runs into the goal or netting. This discourages high speed crashes in front of the goal and encourages shots from (borrowing terms from hockey and basketball) the "key" or "crease" area.
Safety
In the spirit of sportsmanship and safety every effort must be made by all players to play for the ball and not against your opponent. Contact and spills are a given part of our sport but if we play without malice, then everyone benefits and injuries and ill feelings can be avoided.
"T-boning" or allowing yourself to be t-boned, body checking, grabbing, hooking bodies or bikes with mallets, punching, elbows, kicking, headbutting, biting (you get the idea) is discouraged.
Be aware of your stick and other players around you. A mallet in the head sucks.
The Gray areas
It is not to say all physical contact should be discouraged, after all Bike Polo is a sport that showcases dexterity, speed and skill in a team environment.
Stick on stick play and hooking sticks is allowed as long as it's playing for the ball.
Pre-register by calling:
SscoobaSteevZ
970-309-2023
