Birmingham Bike Polo Chat & BS Thread

Playing and losing two games should be worth less than playing and winning one game IMO.

I understand this would make a more realistic league, but it would be better suited to the better players rather than beginners.

It'd be nice to have a 'games played' count so that we can see how many wins per game played if you know what I mean. Boy, I love me some stats!

Yeah we should keep the stat whether we use it or not..

I really like the idea... but not sure it will work in practice. There are a lot of people who play intermittently, most of those being new people, and i doubt they'd be more likely to come if they won points. They play cos it's a bit of fun, so it would only really benefit regulars. Maybe i'm over thinking it but adding a continuous competitive element may actually make birmingham polo less fun and approachable to new people.

If we want competitive play we should maybe have 'squads' of 4/5 with regular fixtures throughout the winter. This way you can field a team of three (hopefully) no matter what.

If we want to encourage participation i think it would be better to set 1 or 2 mini ABC tournaments and build up the skill level of new(er) players with the the goal being improved play ready for the tournament. I think this is a natural progression. Birminingham<Regional<UKChamps<Euros<Worlds. This is my favoured approach.

I'm happy to chuck in a prize or two. Could you pop dave on the list too.

knew i'd forget someone... Dave added

I think the only reason newbies may be put off would be if we were all assigned teams (like we suggested last winter) and there was pressure for people to play or they risk disappointing their team.

I think the benefit of the individual league is that it removes any pressure on new players whilst allowing more experienced players to indulge in competition.

I could have already been recording results and scoring people, we wouldn't have noticed as it doesn't affect the day to day of throw ins.

One day tournaments are great, but there is no reason why we can't do both.

I could have already been recording results and scoring people, we wouldn't have noticed as it doesn't affect the day to day of throw ins.

+1.

It'd just be something nerdy for the regulars to be concerned with, if they want to.

One-dayers are great, particularly when other scenes are involved. In Brum we're too small and too fragmented so you'd just have eight people like every week.

If it's just a tally or record then it's not really competitive. Which is sort of what i was getting at; what is our goal with the league and what are the positives and negatives. New people often sit out of games because they don't want to slow 'regulars' or feel embarrassed about their skill level .

Say if i was on a team with kat and olivia is the onus then on me to score more goals to increase my/our points? To do that I'd have to exclude them form a lot of plays. If i chose to have encourage play and passing we'd prob loose. Catch 22.

Maybe it should just be a player stats page. So you can see how many you've scored, assisted, saved, games played. We could even have a sticker book.

But we'd reward

Best Goal
Most Improved
Best Goalie
Best Save
Best Crash
Best Heckle
Good Courage.

There's no points added for goals scored, they just need to take part to get points.
the onus would be on you to make your team win, and the best way for you to do that would be to involve kat and olivia or you'd get marked out of the game surely. A prize makes it competitive, we cangive more prizes for the catagories you've asked for as well.

I understand (and partly agree with) Hyper's reservations, but to be honest if you're thrown in with two beginners we'll just re-shuffle to make a more even game, and try harder to win the more naturally competitive games made up of regulars. Or if you're on a team with two newbs you're so likely to lose you may as well just help them out and rack up the attendance points, whilst waiting for the next shuffle when you're in a team you can win with...*

I don't think we need to be so phobic of competition, it's not inherently bad. If doing this discourages newbs more than the current atmosphere, we can just stop. Zero-cost experiment kind of thing...

*Don't want to be offensive to newbs, but it's too waffly to beat about the bush. I like having newcomers around and want people to get involved, but there needs to be space for both newcomers and experienced players.

I was thinking of dishing out prizes at the end of the season - cross between 'best newcomer' prize that we did earlier this year and london league finale day. So new/infrequent players can be involved without having to play as much.

I think Birmingham polo should be about fun and getting more people to play. This is what will make it better for the scene in the long run. We still have can and do have competitive 'fast' games all the time. We could alternatively set a beginners day.

With several regional tournaments springing up I think this is a better place for 'regulars' to hone their skills in a competitive manner.

Have we given up on the idea of a bench minor then? I'd be up for one followed by the pub one Sunday.

Last week (i think) Chris mentioned a court he'd seen from the railway at 5 ways, he said it was under the ring road, can anyone be anymore specific about where it is and i'll make enquiries as to who owns it?

Anyone, Bueller, anyone?

Here's a zoomed in satellite map of the court. It's under the stretch of railway that you can see. To get to it the easiest way is to go down onto the canal at the Bishopsgate Street/Bath Row entrance and then head south. You go under one bridge and then hop over a black fence on your right before you go under the next one. The court is on your right. Fin reckons it's motion sensor lights.

Cheers Chris

Hi Guys

for those interested I have finally managed to get myself a lathe and a milling machine. So I Have finally managed to spin of a few polo caps pictured below.

Let me know what you think please. I will of course need a few people to try them out so volunteers please :) lol

Also now that I have the equipment I can now make small custom components. So guys let me know if you need anything made up.

Asim

oh and for you weight weenies I have managed to get a cap down to 15g whilst still having reinforcement where needed. hopefully they should play well.

Ace! How are they going to attach? Grub screws? If so, are you going to drill pilot holes in the cap?

Noice one mate! What's the material. I'll try one in my 3pmh.

Neil, what size are your regular shoes and what size are your specialised mtb shoes? Do you size up or size down?

both are 44. do you want to try my specialized shoes on? i can wear them to tool club.

Hi Guys

for those interested I have finally managed to get myself a lathe and a milling machine. So I Have finally managed to spin of a few polo caps pictured below.

Also now that I have the equipment I can now make small custom components. So guys let me know if you need anything made up.

Asim

looks good asim! i'll try one!

Have we given up on the idea of a bench minor then? I'd be up for one followed by the pub one Sunday.

Hyper nixed it, nobody else seemed interested.

My idea was to do it over weeks/months. One day would be good, but needs probably 10 people minimum to make sense.

Material is hdpe for know. On the next batch i could use uhmwe if people want it. I will be using grub screws at 120mm degree intervals so they can be rotated. I will most likely be piloting holes but this may prove impractical long term. As such i will most likely provide whole mallet head ready made. I was thinking of putting a thread on the head and cap and screwing them together. But that will only be for a prototype and small batch. Not something for the long term. Haven't got the patience :-)

Finn Neil Matt etc can you tell the internal diameter of your mallet heads so i can spin a few up. Also can people request how thin light they want there cap. Obviously thinner less durable and lighter. Thicker heavier more durable.

Quote:

  Originally Posted by **Malletesta** [![](http://www.lfgss.com/images/londonfgss/buttons_lite/viewpost.gif)](http://www.lfgss.com/thread57126-51.html#post3180500) 

Have we given up on the idea of a bench minor then? I'd be up for one followed by the pub one Sunday.

Hyper nixed it, nobody else seemed interested.

My idea was to do it over weeks/months. One day would be good, but needs probably 10 people minimum to make sense.

I like the idea of a one day tournament because I think that people would plan to come to it and we'd get a high turn out. Maybe just a Sunday in late November/early December?

Maybe just a Sunday in late November/early December?

Sunday 25th November? Bench minor tournament. Decide teams on the day. 10am start

1 hour game, 30 minute halves with 15 minute break half way through. Every player must play 15 minutes. All subs to be times keepers/hecklers. Lucas to bring a ton of food.

I will be using grub screws at 120 degree intervals so they can be rotated.

It may be advantageous to put a grub at point 0 (at the top) then one at 100 degrees and the other at 260 degrees. This will mean that a Grub screw and hole are not at the "base" of the mallet (base being the part that connects with the ground. This will prevent premature wear.

I will most likely be piloting holes but this may prove impractical long term. As such i will most likely provide whole mallet head ready made. I was thinking of putting a thread on the head and cap and screwing them together.

Yeah and I reckon threading the existing mallet heads will only weaken them.
I reckon selling complete heads is better, you can charge more then as well. If you want a hand putting them together I'm sure some of us could pop along after polo one Sunday and help?

Finn Neil Matt etc can you tell the internal diameter of your mallet heads so i can spin a few up. Also can people request how thin light they want there cap. Obviously thinner less durable and lighter. Thicker heavier more durable.

I wouldn't worry about personalised sizes/weights. It will only make it trickier for you. Do a few variants to begin with and then get people to feedback on them, then choose a size/weight that people seem to like.

For me, can I have one built into a head as all the open heads I have are pretty warped..

Sunday 25th November? Bench minor tournament. Decide teams on the day. 10am start

2 hour game, 60 minute halves with 10 minute break half way through. Every player must play 15 minutes. All subs to be times keepers/hecklers. Lucas to bring a ton of food.

I'd prefer this. if you get knackered - sub out.

It may be advantageous to put a grub at point 0 (at the top) then one at 100 degrees and the other at 260 degrees. This will mean that a Grub screw and hole are not at the "base" of the mallet (base being the part that connects with the ground. This will prevent premature wear.

agree. on my mallets 135 degrees wears the most.

Yeah and I reckon threading the existing mallet heads will only weaken them.

this sounds ace, but i agree it may weaken them. heat fitting would be better.

I wouldn't worry about personalised sizes/weights. It will only make it trickier for you. Do a few variants to begin with and then get people to feedback on them, then choose a size/weight that people seem to like.

This.

For me, can I have one built into a head as all the open heads I have are pretty warped..

Me too.