Polo Rules

lean, yes, grab with your hands, no.

Thinking about it, it's almost impossible to lean on our European-style goals apart from your rear wheel on the post a tiny bit... so for that reason I'd say this is a NA problem only (no hands off bars would cover Europe right now).

The netted goals we made in MCR from 10 sections of shatterproof piping that slot together, although designed with portability and safety in mind, solve most of these problems IMHO.

They hold their shape under normal duress and the goalie/goal ref can reposition them as the game is in progress. However, if a player leans or falls on the crossbar/ upright they partially collapse - the shockcord running through the piping enabling quick rebuild - as the crossbar is made of three interconnecting pieces with short overlapping sleeves.

Yes, there is the occasional 'rebuild' during clumsy or vigorous games, but it takes 10-15 seconds for a goal ref to sort out. The upshot is that these goals offer no advantage/sanctuary to a wobbling keeper... and you soon learn not to trust them to bail out on! ;-)

if i am a yard away form the fence and i get checked into it, my natural instinct is to pt my hand out to stop my face / head going into it. At a certain point / distance form the fence this is infinitely more sensible than not using your hands. In fact i dont think i could stop my brain from telling my hand not to go out. If it didnt i would probably break my neck because of the angle you would hit the fence (about 45 deg).
Really most rules should be about safety. I have heard so many times people say. "your an idiot for putting your hand on the fence, you'll break your fingers wrist etc" I dont think an open palm to push you back upright is the same thing as splaying your fingers out and slotting them through holes in the fence.

Grabbing the fence (whatever) is a silly thing to do in any respect... you've just lost control of your bike and now your hand/fingers can be easily be broken if someone checks you.
Wouldn't the action of checking someone who's already leaning on the fence be covered by "Don't be a dick"?

B, if you're going to fall (against a fence/whatever) then unless you know that your speed of fall is slow enough that you can catch yourself before you make contact with the floor/fence/whatever then putting your hand out is actually one of the worst things to do (although it's our gut instinct).

It's also bad from a polo point of view as now you have made an immovable bridge with the fence that can obstruct others (or worse), you've also lost control of your bike (consider what happens if you grab the fence and then your wheels are taken from beneath you).

You're better off checking the fence, or ducking and rolling along the floor, tuck your head in if you're awkwardly close to a fence and let the fence scrape your shoulder/back rather than make contact with your head.

Recent example: My wheel was malleted at Downs and I had an awkward fall/scrape down the fence before hitting the floor (where I was again landed on by another player). If I had grabbed the fence I could have been fine, but it's likely that I'd have dislocated a finger (or worse considering the additional player making the situation unpredictable), as it was I was treated to a bruised shoulder for a couple of days with no risk of further injury... a decent trade-off in my opinion.

If you're a yard from the fence, then lean on it (and foot down if needed), but I'd avoid using your hands at all.

Wouldn't the action of checking someone who's already leaning on the fence be covered by "Don't be a dick"?

Quite. But an apology and no broken finger is better than an apology and a broken finger. Sometimes crashes are accidental too, etc.

if i am a yard away form the fence and i get checked into it, my natural instinct is to pt my hand out to stop my face / head going into it. At a certain point / distance form the fence this is infinitely more sensible than not using your hands. In fact i dont think i could stop my brain from telling my hand not to go out. If it didnt i would probably break my neck because of the angle you would hit the fence (about 45 deg).
Really most rules should be about safety. I have heard so many times people say. "your an idiot for putting your hand on the fence, you'll break your fingers wrist etc" I dont think an open palm to push you back upright is the same thing as splaying your fingers out and slotting them through holes in the fence.

I think (I could be wrong) the proposed rule is to stop those moments in the game when someone is holding onto to the fence for an extended period, as opposed to someone breaking a potential fall. In the same way, I put my foot down when I'm going down (pushed or not), to prevent myself landing on my side - it's unintentional, but it's still a foot-down.

I'd like to see how the rule works out in actual play before condemning or applauding it - it's intended to speed up play, and I think everyone recognises that having players holding themselves off the fence when stationary and holding the ball isn't polo - as all rules have unintended consequences. The situation you outline above maybe something that needs to be looked at, though.

Putting this out there, what about adding a rule to enforce a ball turnover if the ball is stuck by the fence, and two opposing players are trying to fish it free, say three seconds then ball turnover to whoever has closest proximity to the ball. This would help remove those moments in polo where the player with the ball is stuck between the fence and his/her opponent (with associated fishing mallet over bars and hands/fingers on the fence, potentially) and encourage teams not to stick the ball against the fence to run the clock down.

It's a court problem not a player one. IMO

Like B is saying he can't help his reactions. But remove the thing to grab and the problem solves itself. This goes for goal cross bars too.

what about adding a rule to enforce a ball turnover if the ball is stuck by the fence

There will be a game delay penalty in the future for that exact situation. It's rare for a ball to be stuck to the fence for very long (certainly no longer than the amount of time needed to invoke a reset).

The game is moving on (or rather not) but the courts remain the same. Sure there's been changes where it matters but the nitty gritty details of what makes a safer/ fairer game is still being developed.

In the same way, I put my foot down when I'm going down (pushed or not), to prevent myself landing on my side - it's unintentional, but it's still a foot-down.

This. You have the choice between putting your hand out, and having to tap out, or not, and staying in the game.

Why add more rules!!!???!!! Ahhhh!?

Putting this out there, what about adding a rule to enforce a ball turnover if the ball is stuck by the fence, and two opposing players are trying to fish it free, say three seconds then ball turnover to whoever has closest proximity to the ball. This would help remove those moments in polo where the player with the ball is stuck between the fence and his/her opponent (with associated fishing mallet over bars and hands/fingers on the fence, potentially) and encourage teams not to stick the ball against the fence to run the clock down.

This is a problem, but it would be so much harder to kill the ball if the player is unable to use a hand to keep themselves up. I don't like rules that force the ref to decide when the ball is stuck, how long 3 secs is etc... too much chance for the ref to swallow the whistle.

Why add more rules!!!???!!! Ahhhh!?

Yeah! Let's go back to bike on bike, mallet on mallet, body on body first to five!

Well, in Cambridge I was able to shield the ball in the corner for a good 15 seconds, simply by putting it inside my frontwheel, and leaning against the wall, and using my mallet to block my BB. My steering hand was on the bar at all times.

It's perfectly legal, but should be banned, IMO.

Ha ok extreme statement on my part. But I mean the problem is the court. I guess we "make do" with the spaces we can find. But they're basically inadequate. (cue the you're inadequate line)

Well, but even with boards, players can put hands on top (and they do), this should be discouraged for the same reasons.

I think if there is a good reason for having solid crossbars, then that would be a very easy rule for the goal ref to enforce. Some people clearly think there are very good reasons for solid crossbars (I'm not sure what these reasons are).

Basically a solid crossbar removed the problem of goal sag (which was a problem in NA, and is still a problem at some European tournaments).

But I don't think a solid crossbar is the only way to stop goal sag (elasticated cord and super stiff uprights for example).

(I'm not sure what these reasons are).

Corners hurt less than upright sticks, how hard is it to understand?

But on the counter side, a solid bar hurts more than a net (if you fall through the middle).

I'm not saying you are wrong, I'm just curious.

I'd prefer the occasional fall onto a bar that'd probably tip forward than an upright to the chest/stomach/face. I think it was at the open that one of cosmic went flying and from the angle I was at it looked like he was going to land belly 1st on the upright, thankfully he didn't but it made me wince thinking about it.

Use old balls to cap the ends of the poles. It's still gonna hurt but it'll bruise instead of cut.

Obviously they should be capped, reckon I'd still prefer a bar or a big spongy cap at the least.

But on the counter side, a solid bar hurts more than a net (if you fall through the middle).

Not if it's a Brighton goal!