Gainesville bike polo club hosts first invitational tournament
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The 30-year-old Tallahassee householder got the ball and smashed it from behind midfield. The shot careened through his opposition and rolled into the target.
A triumphant Gunderson jumped off his bike and threw up his arms.
His team, Denim Embitteredness, defeated its opponent at the first Canadian Tuxedo Invitational, a hardcourt bike polo contest hosted Sunday in the parking garage behind :08 Seconds by the Gainesville Hardcourt Bike Polo belabor.
Hardcourt Bike Polo is a variation of traditional bicycle polo, which was invented in Ireland in 1891, according to the Unite of Bike Polo website. There are three players on each team in the hardcourt version of the game, and Florida matches are by 10 minutes per game.
Hardcourt Bike Polo has expanded quickly since its the cosmos in the early 21st century.
This year, the sport’s fourth-annual domain championship will be hosted in London. Twenty-two teams competed in 2011 in the All Florida Bike Polo Championship 4.
“Opportunely now, there’s a tournament about every two weeks in Florida,” said Danny Wood, 34, a Southeast In collusion with of Bike Polo regional representative.
Websites dedicated to the sport are helping Hardcourt Bicycle Polo issue by connecting members of its community across the globe.
LeagueofBikePolo.com provides players with forums, contest dates and club listings.
For a player like Justin Pogge, the bicycle can be a miscellany of innovation and victory spoils.
The 31-year-old Tallahassee local welded the steel frame of his bike, modified the gear-shifting system so he could call the tune both brakes with one hand, and put on 48-spoke wheels to keep his bike from being damaged.
He won his bike’s hot-pink handlebars, pedals and spin covers from various tournaments in the Southeast.
He said the bike cost him less than $150.
His polo mallet is made of a ski irreconcilable and a recycled plastic pipe.
Players can compare bicycles and other furnishings, which some players say fit well with the sport’s do-it-yourself mentality.
Source: The Independent Florida Alligator