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@uolmo
Obstruction rules are hard to enforce, but it make the game better.
Playing in Bench minor what great cause a lot of people respect this rule, or few one get jailed for using it too much. The most easiest way to understand it is for me:
Don't get intentionnaly in the way between a defensor and the ball.
And like in basketball, only non-moving screen should be allowed.
Why this rule can be a great rule for polo:
1-Bikes are big elements on small courts. In other ball sports, most of the time, the player has olny his body to move, so it's way easier to pass through screens. In bike polo, we are less moving, make a U turn is maybe 4 times longer than in hockey or soccer, and it takes much more space.
So screen in polo are more expensive than in other sport, cost a lot to speed and movingabilty (<- i think this word don't exist in your language...).
Others sports enforce obstructing rules, why not us?
b-Make screening harasment when your team has the ball possession is the easiest thing to do. If we considere than in this game there is 3 things to manage:
1)drive bike
2)drive mallet (in all situation, defense, attack, technical moves)
3)have the vista of the game
Driving bike is maybe the simplest thing to do (we all began polo with the ability of driving a bike, people who don't know it, or doing it bad stop polo or never began).
Screening only requiere the 1), you see an opponent, you get on his way. No need to have any kind of the 2 other quality.
c-Screening making the permanent goalkeeping an essential way to win. When your comming back for defense your open goal and the opponent can block you the way to do it, it looks like shit... a lil' bit. So you let a permanent goalie
d- In tournament in europe, 80% of the team (maybe 95%), play with Permanent goalie, wich make the game less open than if you can pass the ball to 2 teamates. If you playing screening, you have one goal, one with the ball, and one who block opponent. It make the game less intersting in my mind.
Im only talking about screening for a team with the ball, for defending I think that things are differents.