New to polo, start here: a guide for beginners

Come along again this evening (there'll be people playing at the west court, look for the (monday) welo thread) and you can try a few other people's bikes out... it's all about personal taste.

I'm sure everyone will be happy to talk about how to build a bike and what you need to get...

You wont regret it!!

hey there, relatively new to riding fixed - but up for learning fast.. whether it be polo or anything else. Living in Hackney Wick and looking for someone to ride with. when's the next games on?

Monday, west
Tuesday, Team night, downham road (n1)
Wednesday, South
Thursday, downham or west
Friday, day of rest
Saturday, downham or sometimes south
Sunday, downham (dependent on quantities of alcohol consumed the previous day)

cheers, i'll make sure to check em out.

Anyone here pratice polo around the South Herts area? I'm a country bumpkin, is playing just a city thing at the moment?

I dont know what to say, the only places we know at the moment are cities, what you never know.
you could star around your are is there is university close by, or if you have a group of friends
if you came a weekend to London, swing by and have a look and a chat

@ rik.. i have unearthed more redundant bike parts, bars, stem, couple of saddles, 105 chainset 52/42, 105 rear mech, tyres even a old tri bar from the old days when i was super-fit 'c)

willing to donate all to the bike polo scene as my way of supporting you guys.. one day i will get to a match, promise..

best always
almac

Hi, is it allowed to use the holes of the mallet to "lead" and dribble the ball?

(as shown at 0.43 in this clip)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLr4ZXESVDE

it's called "ball-joint" it's allowed, but you can't score off it, you have to release the ball and shoot.

oh.. thats great, looks like a pretty effective way to keep the ball, is it used alot?

From what I've seen, it seems to get used a lot when your starting out, but the really good players basically almost never seem to do it.

As far as I can tell, if the ball is being shuffled along, the only way to get control of the ball is to get your mallet to the ball, if someone's ball jointing you just need to hit the players mallet and they loose control of the ball.

Yea, it's not so effective for keeping the ball but it's very effective for getting the ball up court, getting the ball off the wall and out of corners, passing the ball... pretty much anything apart from keeping the ball and scoring.

Ball-jointing is not polo.

Why do you do it then?

Quick question on mallet production. Is it legal to stick a small bar-end or something similar on your mallet, or is it a little bit lethal? I thought a small bar end on the top of the mallet like this would give a nicer lean in goal.

I guess there might be some advantage to a longer bar end at the end of the grip for short shots/control. Just an idle though. So what's the consensus from LDN Polo?

Technically there's nothing saying that you can't but you have one major issue, Ski poles when cut down are 18mm at the fat end. The thinest external diameter bars are 22.2 You may have compatability problems.

Also. If you're spending that long tri-podding in goal then something is wrong.

Quick question on mallet production. Is it legal to stick a small bar-end or something similar on your mallet, or is it a little bit lethal? I thought a small bar end on the top of the mallet like this would give a nicer lean in goal.

I guess there might be some advantage to a longer bar end at the end of the grip for short shots/control. Just an idle though. So what's the consensus from LDN Polo?

Definitely not polo. I don't mallet hack much, but if I ever saw such a thing....

Ball joints are lame. Learn how to dribble.

Overmodified mallets are also lame.

That single left dangling earring Buffalo Bill rocked in the '80s: lame.

Also. If you're spending that long tri-podding in goal then something is wrong.

I have beautiful soft posh boy hands and I get left in goal because I'm shite. It adds up to fucking sore hands/palms some times. Cue jokes.

The size isn't a massive issue, the mallets I've been making at home arn't ski-poles, and even if they were, shim-shimminy shim-shimminy shim-shim shurooo.

Also. If you're spending that long tri-podding in goal then something is wrong.

tell that to geneva?

So if you're new to this new to polo thread, 5 pages on and there's still not much of a clue, granted I skimmed, a lot.
Is there a new new to polo thread that has up to date info for noobs?

The very first post of this thread tells you everything you need to know, locations through to equipment.

The very first post of this thread tells you everything you need to know, locations through to equipment.

Ta.
I was under the impression that the Peckham one doesn't happen any more?
I also don't know when if at all the next noobs session is.

If you have a bike (mallet would be good but not essential) just turn up to any polo, yeah it will be hard at first but you'll learn quickly.

Generally the skill level (and numbers) are a bit lower at West polo so head over there if you want lots of games. We now play on the North side of Hurlingham Park
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=hurlingham+park+london&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=21.180361,56.513672&ie=UTF8&ll=51.469729,-0.202475&spn=0.0162,0.055189&z=14