Brighton Hard Court Bike Polo - Official Thread

Arty josh I'm gonna take the big bmx to cranks tomorrow for him? Anyone got his number?

0sevenfivethreethree4740sevensix

What shall we do tomorrow then? PP...or check Moulscoombe? Does anyone (Dice?) know where the lit courts out at the scoombe that Liam's mentioned are? You remember Liam...used to play polo...

do we have to book moulscoombe? or is a first come type thing?

also does and anyone have a drill i could borrow and the bits to cut big holes out of my mallet head?

I reckon meet at 1pm as usual then, when there's a few of us, bounce up to scoomb.

Nice bounce....not!

Nice bounce, lovely bounce, on me head etc.

Polo at PP from 1pm with a view to a Moulscoomb excursion!!!

I'll meet you guys at Moulscoomb - I take it we're going to the courts mentioned above near the leisure centre on Hodshrove lane/rd intersection

Reply from Garry, the PP park ranger re request to use Tarner and get the lights turned on....

"Hi Chris,

I have spoken to various people involved with Tarner Park and it looks like if you organise a poster with details of when you will have your playing times then this can be put in the notice board and you can use the court. The lights work on a timer that comes on when it gets dark then go off at a certain time (not sure when that is). The only day you would not be able to use the court is Tuesday."

And he's given me all the necessary contact details. Better response than last year anyway.

Thoughts? Who wants to do a poster? Josh?

Any news on the 'scoombe courts today? Or could nobody be bothered?

I am going to Scoomb court tomorrow evening after Cranks, so about 8ish. I'm working in London on Wednesday day so might not even make it back for polo in time. I'll write up on here what I think of Scoomb

This is awesome....I'm obviously not trying hard enough!! Not enough wounds!! :)

2011 WHBPC Highlights on Vimeo

So, got an email back from the youthie next to those courts, they say that the Leisure centre takes bookings on them. Partial success...

I'll still go up there later on and check 'em out. But think, all that way, I'm not sure how I'll manage...send out a search party if I'm not back for tea.

Which would make them the courts Rich enquired about, right? Can't remember how much the lighting cost off the top of my head but it wasn't cheap!

Called the scoombers just now. Outside court, after 6, with lights is £23.15 per hour. They will entertain block bookings so I assume there is a saving to make there if we can work something out and the courts are suitable. I suggest we book a couple of hours, see what its like and take it from there. This is obviously in addition to any other ideas people have.

Works out at £3.86 per person per hour assuming there are 6 of us. If numbers increase cost goes down.

I suggest we start collecting subs when we play and put towards funds for hiring the court.

Actually not too bad if enough of us turn up or have paid subs or whatever we're going to organise.

Tarner is free though. And it's in town. Just sayin...

My vote is on Scoomb. Willing to pay up front for the whole winter if possible.

Now then ! What's the plan for tomorrow night ? I literally have no idea where any of these places are . I'm not fussed where we play just as long as we are guaranteed court time ! I dont mind paying towards lights etc .

Also does anyone have some old SPD pedals I could buy (cheaply)/have/borrow ?

Josie/Jamie I'll ask my brother if he has one of those drill bits & bring it with me tomorrow if he does , failing that I think Chris Q may have one !

Yes, I haz drill bits. I use 25mm on my heads - biggest I've got. I'll bring it with me tomorrow. I'll probably be riding in so can't bring the drill. I'll be working in Brighton on Thursday/Friday and can bring it in then if any use?

Courts. We're waiting on Diceface's feedback re the courts at Moulescoomb. He's going out tonight to take a look. Not far from Liam's, with lights that we'll have to pay for, not sure if we'll be able to book at this late notice but you never know. It's run by the nearby leisure centre.

Tarner is probably about the same size as we play on at the mo. Not far from Cranks. It has lights. We've been talking/emailing with the council re booking. All we need to do is let them have a BHBPA (or whatever) poster with the times and days we want to play. That goes into the notice board and the court is supposedly ours for those times. Lights come on when it gets dark and are on a timer. The PP warden wasn't sure what time they go off so we'd need to contact the Tarner Park warden about this. IT IS FREE.

I'm totally easy about where we end up and am 100% happy to go with group concensus. Can we please just make a decision soon?

Tarner needs some work before it is usable though. The gap under the fence is as big as a polo ball, so cladding of one sort or another would be necessary before we can play there.

Agreed, but it is possible. The lights at Scoombe are going to cost £70ish for 3 hours between however many of us agree to pay subs. I'm happy to pay that if everyone else is.

But equate that weekly fee into boards and other bits and bobs we'd need to make Tarner our own. We know what we have to do and we've got the skills to do it pretty well I reckon. I'm happy to put in some time and money to get it sorted. We'd need to speak with the council and Friends of Tarner about any adjustments that we'd like to make to the court, but it never hurts to ask. Haven't been down there for ages...

We wouldn't be able to do too much to the Scoombe courts to make them any more polo friendly than they already are. However, they may be a better size and more suited to NS style playing.

Id much rather Tarner. I've never played at either but I prefer the diea of a free court that we could then pay alittle bit of money to buy boards to put round the courners (removable possibly?). I'd also rather gho for the free option, and selfishly I'd rather cycle to Tarner thnan Scoomb

I think Tarner would be good for lots of reasons. We were well on it last year if the lights could have been sorted. It's perfect for post-polo pints and is closer for the majority of us. It's also a Brighton classic, on a massive hill and with a view Of the pier.

I'm well up for hearing more about Scoomb, but I think that floodlit courts should be free from the council and by applying pressure and making use of them when available, we will be pushing this. It also keeps our sport in town and makes it more visible & accessible.

^+1.

Not sure if it's free tonight for a trial though. Or what times the lights are on until. I'll call the ranger in a bit to find out...

So where are we playing tonight?
I don't mean to be negative but Tarner is tiny. Tiny Tarner. Smaller than our courts at Preston Park. But, if we can get a floodlit court over winter for free and only have to put some boards up essentially, then awesome. That's all we ever wanted last year.

It also keeps our sport in town and makes it more visible & accessible.

Maybe it would be a good idea to have one or two days outside and bite the bulllet and pay for one day inside over the winter? Perhaps do Sunday indoors all day at the roller disco? And play at Tarner once or twice in the week?
Anyway i'm not going to have the interweb today so can someone drop me a text about where we're playing and when. cheers babes x

Tarner is miniscule, trust. We need a full size court as even PP is on the small side. I have no great love for any venue, I just want a guaranteed place to play in the dark/wet winter that's coming. If there's no agreement then fine, drop back to "as and when" at PP until the Spring.

We need to either organise, become a club and have dues and appointed responsibilities or forget about organised activities and just be a loose association that plays whenever it suits the individuals.