European Bike Polo Championships 2010 - Geneva - July (Dates TBC)

just read something on the ldn forum about names/teams needing to be confirmed by may 1st, so depending on the outcome of seeding you may need to have a good idea if you can afford the time/money by then.

a quick check on travel supermarket shows flights from luton with bikes are around £90, return. i'm going to want to book my ticket asap.

so can hyper and andy (who also have first dibs) make a decision asap so dan lj and ben know if their services are going to be needed?

I've told work I may be away around that time and I've got the money so count me in if fin/andy/dan lj are out.

nice one ben - we'll hopefully get stuff sorted soon.

I'm gonna count myself out for this tournament, its highly unlikely that i'll have the funds this summer. Just thought i'd let you's know now so that people can organise whos going.

thanks for the heads up andy -

preliminary team:

1. fin
   
2. me
   
3. dan (lj)
   
   

if fin decides he can't afford it, ben has said he's booked holiday and saved money...

#Great,Can you tell me what size of t-shirts do you want?

Can't wait.

Bye
Clément from Genevevelopolo.#

I'm in!
What's with the Tshirts?

memento shirts?

i'm a large.

attn: fin, dan, ben

i'm hoping to confirm travel arrangements in the next couple of weeks, but of course i'm keen to confirm we have a team before i commit to travelling to switzerland...

who's ready? i know fin was looking unlikely, but ben said he has the money.

dan?

i'm strongly erring to flying easyjet from luton (seems cheapest and quickest solution) - the only problem is getting to luton. if possible, i'll get a mate and my old man's work van which can fit 3 bikes in boxes easily.

the only other complication with this plan is getting boxes at the geneva end - i'm sure there will be a fair few people looking for them.

thoughts? suggestions? fin - are you ready to confirm either way?

Boxes? Your worried about Boxes? I'm more concerned about ash clouds, injuries, strikes, global warming, The sate of the economy, our crazy gouvernment, luton and whether my bike will stay in one peice for July.

But I am ready and willing to book when everyone else is. I beleive I also have access to 2 bike bags which may eleviate some of the box concerns.

I have 60euro knocking about.

Available at whatever the going rate is.

Dan, theres a request for team names/travel details/colours etc. on the LDN forum page, guessing as our leader...

http://www.lfgss.com/thread32722-5.html

did that a few weeks ago.

looks like the organisers are instituting some new rules for the euros - may be a good idea to familiarise ourselves: http://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1ejwGbXBOKGXq8r_KT7-Y9GvFN14--QI3EeBMTcD1Ry4

things i've noted:

helmets are compulsory,
only captain can talk to the ref (i'm named as captain, happy to swap if ben/dan want it),
after a no-goal (shuffle) the defending team gets the ball and the other team goes back to their own half,
blocking the goal while foot-down may get a 30 second penalty,
'excessive' hacking can be penalised,
throwing mallets not allowed at any time,
we can request time-outs after conceding goals, or because of technical problems as long as we're in posession,
'striking' mallets can be penalised in various ways,

i think we need to calm down our hacking (sometimes see dan doing this in competetive games, i'm guilty too, ben not so much) and replace it with 'hooking'.

all in all i think they're good rules, intened to address the shortcomings of 'tap-out' punishments. knowing, (and using) timeouts could have helped us in the past, so let's bare those in mind.

Do you mean me? its just bad eyesight, your just sore that you broke your own mallet.

"High-shots - Trying to shoot a ball that is above handlebar height will be penalized as a “cheap shot”. You can try to stop the ball from a lob pass putting your mallet vertically into the air, to block it’s path, but trying to shoot it with a swing above the bars is not allowed, this will result in a penatly." end of the volley!

But damn thats a long read, I'm sure we used to be able to write the rule on a post-it-note? But all read and understood.

I notice that they have revised the ball-jointing rule which was posted before the NAHBPC where ball jointing is only allowed in a player own half.

Are we to late to get TShirts printed for Geneva?

Just some thoughts?

2 Attachments

I thought we were playing in string vests

i particularly like the second design - if you could get them done, i'd be happy to pay.

if not, i also like the idea of wifebeaters and will reluctantly agree to string vests or whatever abomination ben thinks is best if dan also agrees to that.

now i understand why polo is played in teams of three....

it wasn't me who suggested it, if I remember correctly, dan lj first put the idea forward.

Sometimes my sarcasum is lost on people and they get carried away with the idea. I must learn to control it to prevent things getting out of control...

Although Geneva looks like it will be hot, i doubt many of the other tournements Black Stabbath play in will be and therefore am thinking normal t-shirts might be a little more appropriate. We get enough heckles as it is...

OK, it looks like I have managed to get the printing done for free! I need to tidy it up but we'll go for the Purple Ozzy one if everyone is in agreement.

But I need to sort out the fabric and therefore need sizes and numbers? Are we good with 6 - 2no. large 4no. med or do people prefer Xtra large?

nice one!

i'm large - other people concerned (fin, ben, you, andy) i'd guess at medium?

Nice work dan!
I'll chip in for a couple of mediums. You may want to print a few overs just in case you swap shirts with another team?