Polo Rules

OK, there is a sport lamer than bike polo.

segway polo and unicycle basketball must be in there too, surely.

I bet more people play kayak polo than extreme urban hammerball...

#justsayin

BTW I still don't understand the new rules...
#backontopic

Also not sure I understood the old ones...
#balance

You're no longer allowed...

So John, how did the new rules go down in Toronto, eh?

Yeah, pretty well, when we had good refs in charge (Kruse and Zach did most of the reffing on Sunday)

Interference didn't need to be called much. When Kruse and I talked about it afterwards, there were very few situations where off-ball contact doesn't have some form of screening or 50:50 contact. The majority of people didn't even know off-ball contact had been allowed previously.

2 second ball joint wasn't an issue. Was hardly used, and no easy goals from it.

The one that didn't work so well was the 5 minutes overtime, to sudden death rule.

People generally like 5 minute overtime, but didn't like the seamless move to sudden death at all. So we had a few options there, whether to add another rejoust, but in the end the majority of the rules committee felt it should go back to the old way. So that's being changed back to pure sudden death, in 4.2, which will be out this week.

Seamless is the best option, especially if someoneSnotter is screaming "GOLDEN GOOOAAL!!! GOL-DEEN GOOOOAAAAL!!11!11!eleventy!!".

From LOBP

             There was minimal reffing the first two days and I think most  people played more or less within what they were used to, that is, the  old rules (and habits). The final day we played with some solid refs and  to the new ruleset. 

The first two days there was, what I felt, the usual habit of elbows and forearms used for checking, off ball contact (body to body, mallet to mallet), and goalie hacking. On the third day, and after some penalties were handed out, I think everyone played more mindfully of the rules. As a player I enjoyed the games where I could take the ball and be threatened with losing possession NOT by being hit off of my bike but by someones skill at out maneuvering me. I'm not sure everyone is clear about the contact thing (§10.1.1), I saw a lot of players catching themselves putting their elbows out and pulling them in again, but there are still some players who think their shoulder includes their elbow.

There wasn't a lot of turtle goalie action, in my experience, but I do think a crease of significant size would force a more open play style in defence and, if no one other than the "goalie" were allowed to be stationary, would eliminate the very silly looking situation of an attacker parked in front of a goalie hopping and slashing. Possible a bit hard for a ref as well if you have someone doing that at the same time as at least two other one-on-one actions are going on at distant parts of the court. How do you manage seeing the slashing, elbows, off ball contact, tail whipping etc, if they're all going on at the same time at different parts of the court?

I also see a problem with the habit of reaching across the steering-arm side of the ball-possessors bike, either at bar or wheel height. I was wheel hooked about 3 times in a single game (and bar hooked once), all accidental (I assume so, the people who did it are lovely pals of mine!) none were called. Not to mention the many times where my front wheel was hit by a mallet, if not actually caught, as a player tried to reach around from the front of my bike. The impact of which does effect steering, as does the impeding (as distinct from hitting) of the steering arm. I am reluctant to try to drive through an arm and mallet reaching around my bike like that. Given it forms a "c" shape around my whole front end it also gives me few options. My experience has me feel that trying to push through it results in the other player unable to withdraw their arm and mallet in time which mostly results in me being brought down. Ball turnover (if it's called) but also a slowing of the play and potential bike and/or body damage. I would also hate it if any ruleset made room for soccer-type dramatic "falls".

A final thing. The more or less absence of "intention" from the rules is good. I had two calls against me that were "unfair" in terms of "intention" but totally correct in terms of affect. I believe I was doing no wrong and certainly had no "intention" of doing so but the effect of the situation was against the rules and so therefore the ref was quite justified in calling it.

Yep, that's a fair assesment. Paul did have a bad time in one game, with the hooks he mentions, but good rules can't avoid calls getting missed. I'm glad he stayed positive despite that.

time for a 'right of way' rule as imposed in equestrian polo?

Sorry to state the obvious but a tourney under the new rules might be somewhat safer but oh god is it slow and boring. Our chances of ever becoming a proper spectator sport, enteŕtaining and of any interest to the media are slimming down. We're doing the pre-qualifications for the euros in strasbourg this weekend and mayeut is reffing, enforcing a strict no contact policy, and games are slow, constantly interrupted, with little engagement from even good players. Really not a big fan I must say. The 2 sec bj rule is also almost impossible to properly enforce. No high mallet is of course as idiotic as it's always been, as NO ONE ever got hurt by a high mallet coming down.

I'm worried.

I think the 'muricans can keep their absurd healthcare system and their retarded approach to face cages...

So is the problem the ruleset or French players' inability to play by them?

Contact is allowed though? Apart from mindless off-the-ball smashing into non-ball carrying defensive players, elbows, forearms, grabbing, pushing etc.

Must spread before rep'ing again ^

Fuck these rules, they make no sense. Shoulder contact is far more dangerous than forearm, with a lot of players running big bars there will be far more injuries In major tourneys from tangled bars/levers/hands/fingers.

There isn't enough players on court to adopt these new contact rules. Off the ball contact/screening/mallet hacking is needed in polo, it keeps the game fast as you have no option to get a move on and attack the ball. We probably won't end up with teams playing everyone in goal, but what stops defending teams chilling mid court and waiting for an attack to come to them? Fuck me that'll be boring.
My vote is to stop mallet hacking on primary goalies, second goalies/ stationary players should have it coming.

Other thing: we're seeing more and more players who, when gently brushed with a shoulder and tapping down, who raise their arms in anger and look at the ref calling for a penalty. AND IT WORKS! Fuck football.

This sounds more like over reffing.

Fuck that shit, I'm starting leagueofurbanhammerball.com...

Fur banhammer ball? In.

Yeh man, people need to quit bitching and learn to wear bruises with pride.

What's all this talk of hacking why do people car for it's removal if you can still sweep, hook mallets away. I believe hacking was removed to stop assholes breaking shit and those kents which just start smacking at you from behind hoping to hit your mallet.

screens still exist as does off the ball contact but only to break a moving screen. I like the new rules means body contact at expected times rather than when someone feels like it.

The situation in France seems like over refing and people doing that crying arms in the air shite should be ignored. I think if polo introduced a turnover for when the ref deemed distruptive of the game

I must get this out of my chest: The interference rule is the most retarded rule I've seen implemented in polo EVER.
It gives a clear advantage to the defensive team.
If you are the offensive player and you turn to block the defensive player, if you touch him/her you are done. Ball to the other team. So you must let him/her pass?? Ok, so you let them pass... straight into a beautiful triple goalie position. WHAT!!!?!?!?!?!??

you don't want to get blocked? be a fucking better player then!

It is a disaster to reff as well. How do you know who starts contact? It's not always obvious, so you must interpret intention.... I thought we established a long time ago we couldn't evaluate intention on a 3rd person.

FUCK THIS SHIT.