Locky is possibly the most misunderstood player in the whole of Australasia.  People have accused him of being rough but the amount of players that have thrown their faces into his mallet beggars belief.  There must be at least 6 of these just in Sydney. Come on people!  Isn’t about time we left him alone?  His mallets can’t take the punishment any more.  Here’s a little more about Locky.

City:  Sydney

Team:  Love Sex Violence (aka LSV)

Years played:  5 years

Super power:  The Malletinator!

Favourite heckle: Get your face outta my mallet

Bike:  Jamis Dragon, freewheel with back disc brake and 32:18 ratio

Mallet:  Ski pole with 3pmh head

Protection:  Gloves, knee pads

What do you love most about bike polo?
Yeah! A sport I can play and still drink and smoke!

By Virginia Castellan

If you missed our last player profile on Ash Manson, you can access it here.

According to Le Coq Sportif, Jack gave up his horse for a bike.  Sadly, after this interview was recorded, Jack’s bike suffered a fatal injury.. maybe he would have been better off keeping the horse.  I am very proud to say that Jack has taken up the almost forgotten Sydney tactic of mallet tossing to block the goal.  If we both keep doing this, surely they’ll have to make it legal again. Here’s a little more about Jack.

City:  Sydney, Australia

Team:  The Unapologetics

Years played:  6 months

Super power:  The Sydney Mallet Toss

Favourite heckle:  PPPEEENNNIIISSS (when someone is about to shoot)

Bike:  Gemini frame, freewheel with dual brake and 32:16 ratio

Mallet:  Ski polo with generic uncapped head with side cut outs

Protection:  None

What do you love most about bike polo?
Being able to beat the shit out of each other in a lovely environment.

By Virginia Castellan

If you missed our last player profile on Keely Kidner, you can access it here.

Australasian Bike Polo now has their very own John McEnroe.  Who will ever forget Morgan screaming “Stop blowing the fucking whistle!” at AHBPC 2012.   With Morgan moving to Sydney, our facial hair to player ratio has sky rocketed.  Here’s a little more about Morgan.

City:  Sydney Australia, Oakland USA, Berlin Germany

Team:  DOG SOCCER

Years played:  7 years

Super power:  Storing beer in my beard

Favourite heckle: Anything by Mike Shriver in Machine’s voice

Bike:  Brookland Weedwagon, freewheel with front brake only and ? gear

Mallet:  Closed sides, cheap, relatively cheap

Protection:  Gloves and sometimes shin guards

What do you love most about bike polo?
Cheaper than the bar

If you missed our last player profile on Jock Cockburn, you can access it here

By Virginia Castellan

I have played with Stephen at 3 of the 4 Australasian Championship and, apart from occasionally hitting like a girl, he is an awesome team mate to have.  Don’t let that pretty face fool you, this guy can take a hit and loves to dish it out.  Having the dubious honour of being the most clean living member of LSV, my favourite memory of Stephen is at the last day of WHBPC 2011 in Seattle where he not only consumed a massive  (60 ounce?)  flagon of beer, he managed to get it refilled 5 times at the bar and drink that as well.  I have never seen him so fucking drunk – it was such a joy to watch.  Here’s a little more about Stephen.

City:  Sydney, Australia

Team:  LSV aka Love Sex Violence

Years played:  4 years

Super power:  Mind control

Favourite heckle: “C is for Cunts” (aimed at the Canucks during Worlds)

Bike:  Scrambler, freewheel, front brake only with 35:22 ratio

Mallet:  Ski pole with one capped end and one cut-out side on the head

Protection:  Gloves, knee pads and pull out

What do you love most about bike polo?
Sex

If you missed our last player profile on Ben Emerton, you can access it here.

By Virginia Castellan

A Tale of Three Teams continued..

So it turns out that the GOALHOLE team were a bit crap at paying attention to games they weren’t actually playing in..  In a three part series, we tell you what happened at AHBPC 2012 through the eyes of The Triple Dutch Rudders, Love Sex Violence and the Gold Coast Studs.  Here’s part 2.

Love Sex Violence aka LSV by Virginia Castellan (finished in 4th place)

Tell us about your team 

Love Sex Violence is Locky Sheriff who brings the Love, Stephen Chaumont who brings the Sex and Virginia Castellan who brings the Violence.  We first played together at the 2009 Australian Nationals as Team Panther.  Apart from the 2010 Nationals, we have played together at every Australasian Championship since then and most tournaments in between including the 2011 WHBPC in Seattle.

What were your team tactics going into the tournament?

Our tactics on the first day were to conserve our strength.  We went into the tournament with Steve recovering from the flu and Locky just diagnosed with 2 hernias so we didn’t want to go all out on the first day and have nothing left for the double elimination.  Aside from this, we were going to stay super strong in defence as usual.  We also wanted to mix things up a bit, with Steve and I up front and Locky at the back, depending on who we were playing.  Unfortunately, due to Locky’s inability to stay in goal, this never really happened.

How did this work out for you? 

Our group on the first day had 3 Perth teams (Cock & Balls, Hall & Scrotes and Reject Polo Monkeys),2 Melbourne teams (TBA and Melbourne Anchor) and KBPA+ from Taiwan.  I was quite happy not to have any Sydney teams in the group but had been really hoping for a chance to smash the GC Studs back to the Gold Coast.

We got through the first day pretty much unscathed with 4 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss.  Our shitty goal difference meant that we were ranked 7^th for the double elimination which was the same position we were in last year.

Our first game on the Sunday was against Adelaide’s Happy Endings containing 2 members of last year’s runners up, That’s What She Said.  I knew Colin had been hit by a 4WD and then run over but, like a wounded tiger, you should never underestimate this guy.  We got a few quick goals before Colin smashed a ball straight at goal.  I blocked it only to have it fire up straight into my face.  No more taking it easy on him!  We decided to switch it up and put Steve in goal.  About 30 seconds later they score.  So Locky goes into goal.  They score again!  I say “Fuck this, you guys can’t be trusted” and return to goals.  We end up winning… just.

Our next game was against our arch-nemeses MPS.  Without fail, we end up playing them in every tournament.  We used to have it over them, but lately, things have been changing.  This game felt like it went so quickly!  I don’t remember a lot except I got hit in the shins and feet about 3 times by Jordan’s airborne shots.  All of a sudden time is over and we are locked at 2 all.  Golden goal time!  I rush down court with the ball and just as I take the shot, Jordan checks me off my bike.  Pretty sure I hit the ground smiling – I love playing these guys!  My shot misses and shortly after they score and we are sent into the losers bracket.

The next couple of games we get through easily.  We beat Perth’s Wait Awhile 5-1 and then Melbourne’s Samurai Polo Cats 4-2.  It never gets old knocking a Melbourne team out of the tournament and this was our second year in a row of sending Rob home (sorry Rob).

Now it was time to play the tournament favourites Melbourne Anchor who had just been beaten by TDR.  This game was so intense.  We have a long and (at times) heated rivalry with this team and this game was definitely going to be intense.  I thought the crowd support we had when 2/3 of my current team played 2/3 of their team at 2010 Brisbane Nationals couldn’t be topped.  I was wrong.  We scored first to deafening cheers.  They scored second to absolute silence.  The rest of the game is a bit of a blur.  There were arguments about contact and pretty much everything else, the heckling from the crowd was non-stop, Locky got sent off and then sent back on again (thanks Will).  Time is ticking away and we are drawn.  I am charging down court with Steve, Locky lobs a ball over my head, I reach it and flick the pass back up court through Will’s bottom bracket to Steve who sends it straight into goal.  We are ahead!  We win!!  So fucking happy!!

Then we lose our next game to another Sydney team, DOGSOCCER.  Defeated and a bit deflated, we are out in 4^th place.  On the bright side, we did win the prize for Best Team Play.  Take that Brook, Morgan and Tom!!!

Which game was your favourite to play in at the tournament?

Although knocking Melbourne Anchor out of the tournament made me happier than I can remember being at any tournament, my favourite game that I played over the weekend was the non-tournament grudge match we played against the Gold Coast Studs.

LSV like to play a bit rough and the Studs are the same way.  It was great to be able to go all out old school collision polo knowing that no-one would go crying to the ref.  At some point our goals got turned the opposite way.  Jock bike-jacked me and paid the price.  Jumping from fixed to freewheel with dual-brake left him in a tangled pile on the ground, and me trying to extract my bike from him.  I think the final score was 10 nil to us but polo was the winner.

Which game was your favourite to watch?

I think my favourite game was actually the bikeless not-polo hockey game.  So funny to watch the co-ordination levels drop.  Seeing Daniel represent for Sydney brought a big smile to my face.

I also really enjoyed the final.  Good to see the Perth boys come out on top, even though I love TDR dearly.

Rate your overall Perth experience

This was definitely my favourite Australasian Championships.  I felt so relaxed and happy from the time I got there until the time I left.  Really really proud of how my team played.  We have been together for so long and (in my mind at least) we keep getting better.  I love playing with both of them and I can’t wait to do it all again next year.

In last weeks edition of the City Report we talked with Craig Johnston from Christchurch, New Zealand. This week we talk to Brook Tait-Styles about bike polo in Sydney, Australia.

How long has polo been played in Sydney?
6 years.  It was first played in Sydney at the 2006 World Cycle Messenger Championships

How many regular players do you have?
We have around 35 to 40 active players, and usually get between 15 and 25 players at each session.

How often do you play?
Twice a week! Thursday nights and Sunday afternoons.

Tell us about your courts
Our main court is at Alexandria Park, Alexandria.  It is a 35 x 18m basketball court which is enclosed with wire fencing.  The surface is painted concrete and is really smooth.  We have “unofficial” permitted access and use by the council for our main court at Alexandria Park.  We have a great backup court on a smooth asphalt court enclosed by brick wall 3 blocks away if ever needed.  Our courts are now free for us to use including lights at Alexandria until 10pm.

 Have you had any tournaments or demos lately?  Do you have any tournaments or demos coming up?
We have recently held an informal Pick-Up tournament and BBQ on Australia Day. In February we also held the “Cirque du Sydney” tournament with over 60 players from around Australia and NZ. The first day had 20 teams (an equal first for largest in Australasia) with the first time teams from NZ has travelled over for a major tournament. The tournament was also free, supplying food and coffee for all the players and also successfully ran without referees (a first for a tournament of this scale in Australia).

Do you have a league?
We ran our first league around 2 years ago.  Recently, we had a 6 team league running over summer and we may begin planning the next one over winter. The teams were seeded and randomly drawn to spread experience and help raise the skill level for the beginners.

What have you found works the best to get new players?
Being open and friendly to all spectators with a goal to get them on the court the first time they come down. Best method to get new players has been word-of-mouth and an active and helpful Facebook and internet profile. Previous demos have worked but results are much longer in showing.

Tell us something cool about your city
Sydney is home to many deadly creatures including the Funnel Web Spider, the Red Back Spider and the Blue Ring Octopus.  Of the roughly 140 species of snake known to occur in Australia about one seventh are found in the Sydney region

Don’t forget to look for next weeks City Report featuring Timaru,  New Zealand.

Questions by Virginia Castellan

Answers by Brook Tait-Styles

Photographs by Mace Robertson and Brook Tait-Styles

Robin uses his skills as a bike messenger to smash through small gaps and piss people off on the polo court as well as on the street.  Only joking – Robin is possibly the nicest player in Sydney (which isn’t hard, since most Sydney players are arseholes).  Here’s a little more about Robin

City:  Sydney, Australia

Team:  The UnaPOLOgetics

Years played:  6 months

Super power:  Super hack

Favourite heckle: “That’s what she said”

Bike:  Schwinn Maddison frame, freewheel with dual brake and 32.17 ratio

Mallet:  Ski pole with uncapped generic closed sides head

Protection:  Should be wearing knee pads

What do you love most about bike polo?
It’s the most fun you can have on a bike.

If you missed our last player profile on Jordan Heppell, you can access it here.