I'm going to start some subthreads with my own opinions to hopefully help this conversation which is probably big enough for separate threads.
First Polo-Specific Court in North America (if not the world - I think)
September 11, 2010
Just a little update... (original post below)
First of all, thank you to everyone for submitting your two cents. It helped us create a wish list, that was almost fully addressed (hey, we can't expect to have our cake and eat it too, yet!).
Park renovation is well under way at Grandview. I am attempting to attend to its progress through photos (new one above, more here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/72427965@N00/sets/72157624585833349/).
The renovated park design is here (see construction plan in the bottom right corner):
http://vancouver.ca/parks/info/planning/grandviewpark/index.htm
The court dimensions are 120' x 75'. 0.5m pit (apologies for multiple measurement systems) with a 1.0 m tightly knit chain link fence in a dark colour so you can see through it more easily. The chain link will smoothly transition to 2.0 m behind the nets. You will notice the corners are banked, but we are working on a solution for bike polo so that the ball will not get sucked in (this is technically a "multi-use court", but has been built to our specifications, thanks to many of you who weighed in on this original discussion). The surface looks to be asphalt, similar to what was originally at Grandview, but can be resurfaced when more money becomes available. Hey, dream big and hope that most of it will come true.
Can't wait to have a ribbon cutting ceremony and invite you all over to East Van for some pick up at the new court! Should be open in March 2011.
Cheers,
Pitbull (aka Lisa Moffatt)
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Original Post:
Okay polo people,
Some of you may know that here in East Van, we are verging on the opportunity to design the first ever (to my knowledge) polo-specific court. There are no guarantees, but our home court at Grandview Park is slated for an upgrade this summer and the landscape architect wants to know what we want in a home court.
We love to host polo players from all over the world (and have successfully convinced some to move here because of year 'round hot polo action!), so I am interested in learning specifics about your dream court.
I want to know:
preferred dimensions
banked corners or no banked corners
angled corners or no angled corners
board height
surface material
seating arrangements
fence height
whatever else you've got in mind
Send it all! (Preferable before January 13th.)
Thanks for the assistance! We look forward to showing it off!
Cheers,
L'il Miss Used
DIMENSIONS
Anyone know the dimensions of the court in Boston ESPI or Philly WHBPC (no not the one with haybales)? I liked those a lot, i think they're about 40x25m
I did a rough measurement on Google Earth for the court at Grandview (45m x 20m = ~150' x 65'). Its three half tennis courts. Our night court is approximately 30m x 20 m (= ~100' x 65').
If you can locate the courts you are talking about on Google Earth, you should be able to measure them.
(thanks for the sub-topics Kev!)
We play on three half tennis court and it seems perfect length but could be wider. Maybe 80' would be great.
We play on 150'x65'and love it. This is the size, approximatly, of a basketball court and if we go with that dimension there are a lot of indoor event centers setup for it with seating for thousands.
P/M Hardcourt
Regulation high school and college basketball courts are 94' long by 50' wide
All our courts are listed here http://www.bikepolo.com.au/where/ with google map links and dimensions for the courts we play on most.
The North Carlton/Princess Hill court seems to be the best size we play on.
Note we have setup boards at the fishmarlets and plan to fit 2 courts into the 35 x 38 metre space.
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bikepolo.com.au
urbanbicyclist.org
Ottawa is 120' x 80' with 10' behind the goals. 100' from goal line to goal line. 12" boards with 45 degree corners. Ev Tremblay Park is a designated polo court already.
Both of our side-by-side courts are nearly square, 100 ft. x 90 ft. They are the size of two standard tennis courts if they were placed next to each other along the long side.
I think this size is ideal for bike polo, as opposed to the large area of a standard roller hockey court. In hockey or roller hockey, you're dealing with more players on the court, so having that room for passing and maneuvering is good... but for bike polo, there are only six players, and a smaller size court helps keep the speed down for safety and also helps discourage long breakaways, and makes for a more interesting and active game.
{}------- lexington -------{}
We first played in a warehouse which was about 80x45, I thought it was perfect. We moved to two half tennis courts, also perfect. We moved to a roller hockey court about 170x80, perfect. Now were on three tennis courts about 150 x 65, perfect too. My point is that you can get use to anything and see it as perfect. Your idea of restricting speed and discouraging breakaways by playing in a small square is... well, I'm glad you see it as perfect. Enjoy the court you have!
True to that. Anywhere you can play is better than none, and most places are easy to adapt to. That's what makes polo such an interesting sport... the variety is part of the charm.
Seriously though, when we divided our one HUGE playing area into two, equally sized, smaller areas our skill level improved immensely and quickly. It encouraged more and better ball handling skills and also encouraged plays and passing. The biggest difference was in the decreased amount of crashes and serious injuries because we weren't flying down a huge court at top speed. I know many folks prefer the large court, but I'll always side on the "smaller is better" camp.
{}------- lexington -------{}
Small court vs. big court is almost a different game. The strategies are different the feel of the game is completely different. If we were having something especially built for us I'd want something very comfortable to play on. Not too big like 180 by 90 but not too small either. I wouldn't want a square. I'd want something that didn't limit play or keep speeds down. Speed leads to more injuries sure but that's the way this game is going. Our bikes are quick and agile so it's natural that speed is going to play a role. Small courts are relaxed and fun to play on so I understand where you're coming from. I'd probably have a great time playing on your court so I'm putting it on my list of places to visit.
I think the collEge park, MD rink is pretty ideal at about 140 x 75.
CORNERS
hockey style, radius of 4.2m
Definitely agree with this one. I like rounded corners a lot, we have low boards that curve around at our court and it's really quite nice.
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Hurrah for Anarchy! This is the happiest day of my life!
"So Bike polo is the other woman?"
i have a huge dislike of rounded corners, which suck the ball into the boards and make it less playable.
having a long (12 feet or more) 45 degree corner in the corner keeps the ball in play off of the wall and doesn't force players to dig the ball off the wall every time it enters the corner at angles of less than 45 degrees.
having angled corners kicks the ball out when it enters the corners instead of sucking it in like rounded boards do, giving the game better flow and increased playability, leading to more and better plays. digging the ball off the wall slows the game down, rounded boards keep the ball on the wall more often.
more kenball played by more people in more places more often
Holy F, is there anything rounder than this circular post?
although I x2 angled boards, I like catching the bounce out.
Maybe 3' corners at 45º would be more playable and keep more balls from getting stuck on the walls.
3 feet seems a bit short, creating more of a 'corner' for the ball to get mired in.
loved the philly world's court corners, something like a three-section angled corner. best one-piece corners i played in all year were the long ones at the portland forest court.
more kenball played by more people in more places more often
our angled corners are 8 ft. long.
{}------- lexington -------{}
I saw that the banks off the 3-sectioned corners in philly often sent the ball right back to the "point" or "key" of the goal. That is not a good place for the ball when the defense is using the boards to clear the ball form the zone.
X2
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bikepolo.com.au
urbanbicyclist.org
BOARDS
High and sturdy!
The semi-modular ones they had on that hockey court we played on in Como for the midwests was great, wasn't going to bust away under the pressure of someone smashing into it, and was high enough that no one would go flying over it after a solid check.
Victoria had some awesome boards on the Lacross box in December - who built those? Nick, anyone, do you know?
for the boards in december we used full 4x8s of plywood. the height was good, i think like four or five shots went over in the whole tournament. if you guys are writing a wish list though, ask for the full out hockey boards, or their outdoor equivalent. might as well make it pro-like:
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victoria bike polo
Real dasher boards are available through this company. They also have the snap together kind for portability.
http://backyardrinks.com/ check it look under accessories, rink boards.
The really nice thing about the boards in Vic was that they were reinforced with 4"x4"s (or whatever) at the base so that the ball really bounced off them nicely. And the corners were angled so that you could play the shots like Donald in MathMagicland (anybody with me on that one?). Our hockey rink at Cherry St. has nice rounded, hockey-esque boards, but the ball gets sucked into them and it deadens the play.
As for the other stuff (and considering that I cut my teeth at the Pit [The Greatest Place to Play Polo in the World]), big sturdy walls you can both push people into and bounce off if you are pushed are the best. Also, Don Juan's. Can the landscape architects integrate a New York style bodega into the plans?
Yeahhhh, Donald in Mathmagicland!! That duck was savage on the billiards table...
Jesse
Collar City Bike Polo
Troy, NY
Hey Lisa, THe only issue whith having boards is the weather.. THe lacross box in Victoria had a small gap between the floor and the boards so that the boards don't get wet.. This gap was big enough so that the ball would go in sometimes and it would be hard to bring it out.. The hight of the boards would have to be small enough to hold the ball in. Water drainage will be an issue if the boards are flush with the ground.
Also it won't grind your skin off. Pretty cushion-y stuff in general. You aren't afraid to get up against it.
i love como's boards as well. built very sturdy, yet doesnt feel as hard as a regular wall if youre checked into it.
hockey style. The boards in boston were a brand new experience for me and being banged into a smooth surface instead of a cheese grater fence is really nice. Better flow of game.
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Hurrah for Anarchy! This is the happiest day of my life!
"So Bike polo is the other woman?"
the boards around the hockey court in pensacola are awesome. they're about 3.5 feet tall and made of a plastic that gives a little when you run into it. they give you brush burns if you're checked into it, but nothing serious. they remind me of something you would see at a construction site acting as a temporary wall. there are two doors on either side of the court and holes in the top of the walls where you can put mallets, beers, water bottles, etc. by far the best boards that i've ever played inside of.
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carve. smash. eat shit.
these are the COMO boards i think they are the best boards ive played on before
http://www.athleticainc.com/products_GamePlex.asp
www.mkebikepolo.com
That link doesn't work. I'd appreciate if you could track it down for me!
this one's working:
http://www.sportsystemscorp.com/product.php?cat=product25&act=p7menu2
sweet video showing everything it can do, including 4ft full height swinging sections (no lifting bikes over when time matters), benches, boxes....
the boards glow when backlit too...
I love that, for certain applications, they are using 2" ABS tubing to hold this thing together!
I also like the 4' swing option and wondering if we could do that in corners, or if they have an 8' connector that we could use in the same way to avoid rounded corners.
So how did it work out for you in Como? Looks like that's what's in your profile photo. Is it a permanent installation?
The music was amazing!
This is a great link, thanks Vince.
These boards are great. They've held up very well for us and I've heard pretty positive things about their use in MWBPCVII.
They are semi-permanent, however, as they are based around a set of steel fence poles set in concrete. The boards are then placed on top of that in an overlapping pattern. Poles = permanent, boards = not entirely.
Actually, iirc, there were four sets of doors all arranged on one side of the court the night before the tournament. Madison showed up and rearranged the boards (apparently without much issue), moving one of the doors to the opposite side for getting in/out easier.
So that could be good or bad. Maybe wrap chain around the perimeter of the boards to keep them together.
SUCK TOWN POLO
My concerns about this are twofold:
1. We are looking for a permanent structure outdoors. These boards seem quite easy to assemble and disassemble. There are a lot of people in the park who love to fuck with things and I don't see long before these panels are damaged or start to go missing.
2. The boards are "impact resistant". That is for human bodies but I would think they (the boards) would have a negative impact (pun intended) on ball playability. I'm concerned that balls will die with an attempted bounce off the boards. I like the dynamic to the game bank passes afford and, if we are hoping for our ideal court, I would prefer something that is totally enclosed AND that allows me to play the ball off the walls.
MMMMMBOP
I have a friend who designs and builds hokey rings. I will talk to him and get back to you.
1. Ya those boards in Como would not survive an urban summer. Those of us who showed up at 5am to the tourney in como were able to rearrange the configuration of the boards, putting the hinged doors on the opposite side of the court where it made more sense.
2. You're right these things were not the best for bounces. they were OK at their base, but if the banked pass was raised the bounce was unpredicatable.
SURFACE MATERIAL
Concrete?
Pavement?
Other?
I love the look of skid marks on polished concrete after a weekend of hardcourt.
P/M Hardcourt
Blue tennis court type material. Blue for greater contrast visibility with a red ball. The tennis court asphalt surface is more forgiving in falls & for tires.
Be careful of large areas of paint (the crease in front of the goal or a filled in mid-court circle) they tend to be slick when wet.
This is the company that paves tennis courts.
Though, blue, green or red or whatever means that skid marks really stand out.
Actually... check out this on their page. lets you colour a court. Sure we only use 1 colour. but grandview will also remain as a tennis court dual/multi purpose yes?
http://www.plexipave.com/tennis/colorizer.html
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bikepolo.com.au
urbanbicyclist.org
Damon, its unclear whether or not the tennis court will remain. From speaking with David, it might not. Sounds as though that whole area of the park might be reduced. i.e. we might even lose the ability to run two games at once. We'll do what we can to maintain the option.
I think that if we are shooting for the sky and asking for what we really want, the option of running two games is paramount and we should fight for that. more polo played by more people...whatever.
MMMMMBOP
Am I the only one that actually enjoys the look of a well marked polo court?
Blue would be baller, and also help separate the ball from the court visually a lot better. Gets tough to see on warmer surfaces.
Dont get me wrong, I get that polo players like the look of it. But I can understand how and why others might see it as 'damage' and who knows when the parks ranger/official is going to change jobs and all of a sudden, you're getting hassled because there's marks all over the court. Just like old guys a long long time ago, things we setup will get misinterpreted by others in the future. just sayin.
I do like the idea of a contrasting colour for the ball.
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bikepolo.com.au
urbanbicyclist.org
Pavement, Something like a tennis court but smoother. Takes some time to get used to skidding since you go a little farther, but in theory you wouldn;t wear out tires and mallets as fast.
Am I crazy on that last part?
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Hurrah for Anarchy! This is the happiest day of my life!
"So Bike polo is the other woman?"
Concrete, it is smoother than asphalt so the ball can roll and can still have enough grit to keep you from sliding all over.
BOOM!
Asphalt is better in resistance to cold & hot weather temperature changes. Concrete tends to crack &/or spall in cold & damp weather. Also a large concrete pad would require control joints (like you see in a sidewalk) about every 16ft or so depending on the climate.
sorry that picture is so dame huge.
Thats pretty old concrete that has taken quite a beating from heavy vehicles. I think you'll find that the surface on multi daeck parking garages is in pretty good condition (http://www.flickr.com/photos/urbanbicyclist/2631130180) due to the low speeds and lack of heavy vehicles.
Bitumen is more prone to heat distortion and warping, the surface can also deteriorate in different ways to concrete and become quite abrasive (as grandview is - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Urban_bike_polo_ball_east_vancouver.jpg) I'm not a traffic engineer, but I think you'll find that most good sporting surfaces are on concrete, not bitumen. though I agree, a nice freah bitumen surface is pretty nice! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/urbanbicyclist/4126567712/)
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bikepolo.com.au
urbanbicyclist.org
BLACKTOP
Like old school elementary basketball courts.
SEATING
Concrete or stone blocks that can double as benches/flat surfaces/tables and or seats... you see alot of this kind of urban design in newer urban designey kinda projects. http://emilywoodason.blogspot.com/2007/03/cathedral-gardens-building-des...
Maybe an amphitheatre styled set of steps.
The possibility to view the court from all sides. The possibility to view it from different angles, even from above.
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bikepolo.com.au
urbanbicyclist.org
^This. Don't dick around with cheap metal bleachers that'll rust in a few years. Make it out of stone if money permits.
it never rains in vancouver so this isn't much of an issue...
more kenball played by more people in more places more often
x2 this only because where is the last set of steel bleachers you've seen erected? If anything we'll end up with that crazy milk-crate plastic that gets mad slippery in the rain (see Old Faithful) or some sort of quasi-retro futuristic glass/aluminum/stone hybrid that the city seems to love so much since the Olympic Boom.
Of course, for only a million dollar upgrade for the entire park... well I'd still plan on packing lawn chairs to the park.
Jackal's got you covered there.
Actually Lisa, is there a way we can insinuate that we would LOVE a pit? Local granite! Or for less money, some sort of double-stacked interlocking concrete getup we could mortar smooth.
Oh, dreams.
FENCE
broke my hand in a fence at worlds (hay bails), but noticed that dasher boards are over handlebar height. fence above that for all the monkey spectators & photographers. maybe no fence at mid court for the fans to hop over and rush the winners of the 2011 world champions.
Use the tried and true "Lexington fence buster" - mtb bar-end extension mounted to your steering side. Saved my hand too many times to count, and if you find one that points inward enough, it will keep your handlebar from catching in the chainlink as well.
It's about the only practical use I've found for those stupid things.
{}------- lexington -------{}
Perhaps a fence surrounding the outer perimeter of the court and not on top of the boards. So that the bleachers and the court are inside??
HEIGHT
Four feet of solid boards and some chain link. Well above handlebar height and not really easy to smash your face into. Lets light in so it doesn't feel too much like an indoor area. Maybe higher behing the goals for the boards but probably not needed.
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Hurrah for Anarchy! This is the happiest day of my life!
"So Bike polo is the other woman?"
OTHER
Tap/drinking fountain at the court, not the other side of the park :)
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bikepolo.com.au
urbanbicyclist.org
Since it's your homecourt make sure they put VANCOUVER, and hopefully on the other side, POLO; on the walls/boards.
that's all I have to really suggest.
and doesn't philadelphia already have a polo specific court?
this was meant to be put under OTHER...
--Denver,CO--
name:Max Davidoff:
bike:1997 leader 52cm, 34-18 Fixed, chopped bandlebars, emergency brake.
Tourneys: Denver, Austin 09, CoMo 09
It should read EAST VAN at one end and BIKE POLO at the other.
Awesome suggestion Denverfetish!
Well that's personal preference I guess, the city might enjoy it. the architect might enjoy this idea probably because it is a nice aftertouch to the actual planning.
--From Denver--
name:Max Davidoff:
bike:1997 leader 52cm, 34-18 Fixed, chopped bandlebars, emergency brake.
Tourneys: Denver, Austin 09, CoMo 09
maybe this is a really dumb question but, how are you going to take the water out if it rains? just curious, we have drains over here where the ball gets stuck in or a big pond after heavy rain in another court.
maybe this is a really dumb question but, how are you going to take the water out if it rains? just curious, we have drains over here where the ball gets stuck in or a big pond after heavy rain in another court.
we built our boards so that the bottom edge is 1/2 in. off the ground. This allows water to run off the court.
{}------- lexington -------{}
I'm happy for you guys up there in East Van! It's always good when polo players can get on the side of the city and work the angles to make things happen.
Lexington was granted permission back in April of 2008 to appropriate a neglected 4-court tennis facility in an underused city park, and ever since we have been building it to suit the needs of polo, bit by bit, raising money and doing the work ourselves as we go. We now have one really nice court, and are in the process of building an identical court right next to it.
Cleveland also claims that they're the first, but I'm pretty sure we have them beat because I remember Fatty asking me for advice on how to approach the city about a place to play.
Check out the photos: http://www.flickr.com/groups/lexbikepolo/
{}------- lexington -------{}
That's really nice. You guys are lucky to have a city that supports that. It looks freakin' awesome.
/jealous
I should add that I'm a fan of angled corners, rather than rounded. Reason being, when you shoot along the wall, it makes it easier for the ball to pop back out towards the court, rather than hug the edge of the wall... makes it easier to judge where the ball is going to be when you're trying to catch a rebound, or bank it around another player.
{}------- lexington -------{}
Not sure if the neighbous will go for lights (you can see the houses in the background of the photo), but, we'll ask for the sky and see how close the clouds come to the ground! I've been interested in different lighting techniques - lower level lighting so we can see the ball, but low enough not to flood into people's houses...
We'll keep you posted!
There are many practices that that limit light pollution & light trespass of overhead lamps that I've dealt with as an architect. These practices require a little initial planing, but overall may save operating cost in the long term. Communication of these practices in community meetings may ease the worries of the neighboring families.
Here are a few examples:
-Limiting pole heights of light fixtures to 16 ft above the court.
-The use of cut-off light fixtures that confine the light to the intended target area (the court) & reduce glare to the surrounding homes. The cost is the same as non-cutoff light fixtures.
-Restricting illuminance levels to what is necessary with the use of a photometric layout: predicting light levels of proposed overhead lamps & adjusting fixtures for an optimal layout.
http://www.starastronomy.org/light-pollution/lets-all-reduce-light-pollu...
i think in our particular case here in east van we have more of a "people-in-the-park-after-dark-screaming-with-neighbours-across-the-street" issue as far as keeping on the lights goes. vancouver is a remarkably quiet city and the parks board wouldn't even consider focused lighting in this residential neighbourhood.
i would love to see a photometric layout for perfect court lighting though, something that was high enough off the ground to keep the lighting glare out of the players' eyes, something low enough to be unobtrusive and potentially portable. how much wattage would be required, how many lamps, placement, etc for say two of the popular sizes of court.
somehow polo just isn't polo if it isn't playing in the dark under the lights.
more kenball played by more people in more places more often
Some kind of natural noise barrier. or something that places the spectators facing into the park and away from the houses?
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bikepolo.com.au
urbanbicyclist.org
for the victoria tournament we all scrounged the wood, henry built them with anthony and nicks help, but henry i think designed them. we just lucked out that we had all those 4x8's that we could use. the higher, behind the goal, the better
definately a surface you gcan grip in the rain. our painted surface court is impossible to play if it's wet.
"ok Mr. Schwinn fucking Armstrong!"
What's your painted surface consist of? We will avoid it at all costs!
definately a surface you gcan grip in the rain. our painted surface court is impossible to play if it's wet.
"ok Mr. Schwinn fucking Armstrong!"
Depends on what you use. Asphalt or blacktop is impossible to play on when it's wet (just ask Dayton players), but a surface that is treated right with the proper coating is perfectly suitable for playing when it's wet. What you want to look for is something called "sports surface paint". Made by many different manufacturers. We got about $2K worth of the stuff donated by a local YMCA, because it was old, and they no longer wanted to store it. It's what they paint tennis courts and outdoor b-ball courts with. It has just the right amount to grit mixed in with the paint.
{}------- lexington -------{}
I like the rounded corners for sure. The boards, I think, can only be one of two heights. Either below the handlebars or above the shoulder. If they are below the handlebars you can take a pretty solid bump to the thighs no problem. Hockey style boards sit between elbow and shoulder height. When you give that top edge a bump on your arm while wearing a t-shirt it gives you a pretty good burn.
:Edmonton/East Van Bike Polo:
measurements in meters and centimeters please. XXIst century here...
Yorgo
LONDON: http://bricklanebikepolo.wordpress.com/
PARIS: http://panambikepolo.blogspot.com/
Sorry, I thought those in the 21st century would have learned how to convert by now.
Ottawa's court 36.5 meters x 24.4 meters.
What size tube do you buy for your 700c wheels in Paris?
>measurements in meters and centimeters please. XXIst century here...
X2
Though it's an 18th Century system... ;)
(FYI, look out for the axis of evil... "The International System of Units is the official system of measurement for all nations except for Burma, Liberia, and the United States.")
so should i call a 29er a 73.66er instead?
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carve. smash. eat shit.
Wow .. good luck .. its a great location and I enjoyed playing that court much more then the "night court" you have ..would the city really spend the $$ to install hockey boards?.. I think that would be the best stuff to use .. since it rains so much there polished concrete would be retarded to use .. way too slippy .. smooth asphalt or that tennis court surface would prolly be best .. even though it eats tires up pretty quick .. the size of the courts you had for the East Van Crown was pretty nice.. anything around that size would be nice as long as it isn't too narrow .. rounded corners would be best I think .. well really I have gotten used to our big hockey rink here in Calgary so that is what I would try and get em to build .. minus the polished concrete surface .. and its big enough that if you wanted to split it into 2 courts you could ..I like the idea of low lights as to not piss off your neighbors but who knows how that would work out until its tried out .. could they be integrated into the boards?... any light is better then no light so maybe the fancy architect could figure out that problem ..as for seating nothing fancy would be needed .. some bleachers would do .. if they were covered that would be better but might attract the homeless ..
..again .. good luck ...
...BallAholics...Multiple Scoregasms...Thundercock...
One thing to consider about surface material is longevity. if you put down a playing surface that is painted how long will it last before needing to be repainted? if you need to clean it because there is alga growth what tools might tear up the surface? also what cleaning methods are safe for the surrounding environment? It seems to me that most sport surface for out door areas works well and the grit used in the paint is silica, or basically cast off glass and sand that is ground into a fine powder. if you ever need to use a pressure washer to de alga your court, you may want to be careful not to get to carried away otherwise it's easy to lift paint form the underlying surface. when clean these outdoor courts ride well and aren't to slippery in the wet, but on a hot day in the summer they can eat through tires very quickly.
Skid & Destroy
Axles of Evil
brick walls about 5' high.
oh god that would be a pit of death
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victoria bike polo
Consult BUENOOOOO SI Arqitecturas y Ingenieros LLC for details.
i *love* the walls at the pit. in honour of them i run several low-angle wall smash/scrapes on our tennis wall night court between games, it's the closest i come to feeling like a machine.
more kenball played by more people in more places more often
bricks really do provide great angled rebounds. and luckily most of time when i've lost control/thrown a chain/been checked from behind by Menace has been going towards the PIIIIITTT's south side, so i'm was able to dive into the chain link.
bricks just elevate the game. i'm telling you. bank shot clears galore, count it!
that's fucking awesome that they want your input on the redesign.
LOTS OF LIGHTS!!! 24 hour polo marathons!
BOOM!
I have not read through any of the above posts so this may have been said but consider this. How much more fun is playing serious games as the sun is going down on sunday with spectators surrounding the court free of obstruction. If you are not sure than ask the photographers. high fences right behind the backs of the goals are fine but not even necessary. Learn to live with the ball going out of play more often (and the occasional spilled adult beverage mid game) in order to promote a more raucous atmosphere. Chest high boards is all we need. More fun to watch, more fun to play in, and better for the photographers.
x10, there's nothing like full views of the court, with boards that serve as drink holders.
more kenball played by more people in more places more often
Agreed. Good perspective.
{}------- lexington -------{}
view of the court was the first thing that came into my mind no fence at all chest high boards made out of plastic.
http://www.mkebikepolo.com/wordpress/
I like the dimensions of the east van crown set-up this year, so that would put it around 120'x65' +/-.
42 - 48" high, no chain link fence though - ruins the view,
for east van's climate polypropylene panels with an aluminum support structure would last longer than wood. definitely full support along the bottom rail for solid ball action.
prefer chamfered corners for rebounds as well, rounded courners do seem to suck the ball into them.
and drink holders subtley designed into the top rail.
Lisa, do you need a drawing for submitting to the city? or have you got that covered?
"build it and they will come"
....... __o
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I'll let you know about drawing requirements at the end of the month if need be, but I'm an urban planner who works for an architecture firm, so I might be able to cover that one off easily. Thanks for the offer, I'll keep it in mind.
who is your landscape architect? city bloke or private consultant?
We have an elected Parks Board in Vancouver, which I understand is a rareity. The landscape architect works for the Parks Board (essentially the city). However, I believe that he is only doing preliminary concepts and that the project will go out to RFP, so in the end it will be a private consultant.
So looks like we won't get a polo-only court, but that our dimensions and specific needs will be met (fingers crossed still). The landscape architect even included a small storage box for our cones, broom, and other things we don't want to lug back and forth each time we play.
You can see two of the three concepts here:
http://vancouver.ca/Parks/info/planning/grandviewpark/index.htm
Not sure why the third one isn't showing up... I've got an email into him.
it's too bad those existing trees are on the NW corner of your court. the wind there generally comes from the NW which is going to ensure your court's thoroughly covered with leaves every week in autumn..
edit: it's worth noting the change in orientation will not favour the sun in one team's eyes come evening though
This is great. We'll use this to show our parks system we aren't the only city in need of a multi-use court.
That's nice, the third design looks a little rushed, but would be neat to actually still have some tennis court next to the multi-use court, could be used at some point for polo too...
man, the landscape architect in me wishes I had this kind of job right now....
Yeah, I think the third design was in response to the realization that there might be conflicts between uses. However, there are 6 tennis courts within less than a 10 minute walk of Grandview park. We usually direct people to one of the other three nearby locations. Besides, the surface at Grandview is inferior for snobby tennis players. We usually come across parents with young children dusting off the rackets for a 15 minute session of running around the court and not much volleying.
Besides, the surface at Grandview is inferior for snobby tennis players.
the surface is inferior for snobby polo players as well! really, the grandview surface pretty much blows for bike polo and any improvement will be a drastic step in the right direction.
but the worst part about all of this is that we will lose not just our home court but the entire park for a period of more than six months. the decision to move the washrooms to the other side of the park to 'improve sightlines' is the most bizarre waste of money i've ever heard of.
the key now is to keep the basketball posts off the court and on the sidelines where they belong.
"improve sightlines," you know exactly what that means. Where's that picture of all the aletownies hanging in the dead space portside of the bathrooms when you need it?
Remember Victoria Park? Good lord, that took 9 months (the nice 9 months) to "finish."
Still. Nice full-court press on this one eastvan. Looks like it'll be a home worth keeping.
After some email discussions, I was invited to have a meeting with our City Parks and Recreation commissioner to discuss a similar situation. We are possibly jumping on with planned cement skatepark, but hopefully we can just repurpose a large parking lot that sits unued downtown if it doesn't fit the model already.
He seems very understanding of the need for a place for us too play as we're not allowed in any courts the city over, and are currently playing in a school parking lot. He sees it, surprisingly, as the city obligation to provide a place for us to play.
Hopefuly with everything you guys have done here it will go a litle more smoothly for us.
monday is our meeting with our parks director. hopefully things go well.
Just wanted to flag that I've updated the top of this page with a recent photo and links to more photos and the construction design drawing for the park.
Our courts are 120' x 54.5' each..seems perfect. we might be getting some stadium seats from the city soon..dunno if the'll be tiered or not..What we are desperate for though is lighting. I guess those walls are gonna be rebarred concrete? Itd be cool to transition the lanscape on the outside so that you could look down like at the PIT.
I know a lot of people dislike curved corners because of their tendency to suck the ball in. We have them in Toronto and we don't get too much of that, i think it's partly cause we have really nice boards and a perfectly level surface. On a lot of courts the weight of the boards can cause a little depression near to the boards.
But also, on one side of our court there's a slight disparity between where the zamboni gates hang and the rest of the boards, which is just enough to pop the ball out on a 20 degree angle from its trajectory when it's running parallel to the boards. i think this could be really easily recreated, a tiny shim at ball height at either end of the curve.
x2! i love the shim idea. the rink in como has a few slightly misaligned sections of boards that do the same thing, and they mostly play predictably and improve the flow (if you know where to expect it).
I can't be sure, as I can't get close enough to access the court directly, but if you look at this photo,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72427965@N00/4981928164/
I've added a note to indicate that there might be angled corners as opposed to curved corners. If they are actually curved, the landscape architect and I will work out a solution where there is a magnet attached to the concrete and we can secure a wooden angled corner, which we can store in our own storage box, along with our nets, on site!
I do believe they are brinigng electricity underground to the court so that we can develop a lighitng solution in the future. It was not in the budget, which had to be cut back, and there are some concerns with light pollution, which I think I can address thorugh my interior design contacts. So there may be lights in the future!!
Apparently the sides are poured, I'll update the photos tomorrow!
No angled corners, but we do have a solution. I need to connect with the landscape architect again...
here is the latest, i'm praying for good weather in the next couple days so they can pour the slab.
just looking at the court from the street gives me a huge poloboner.
Courtside from Geoffrey James on Vimeo.
I suspect the slab will get poured in the Spring when they are finishing everything up. There has been no work done on the court in a week.
why would they bother rolling the whole thing down if they weren't going to pour the slab right away?
perhaps they are waiting for the rain to stop?
the mysteries of public works projects continues, thank-you lehman brothers!
Why 120'? 120' is great but why didn't you go with a longer court? Was it because of space or cost restrictions or do you just prefer that size?
Not sure why I never responded to this (or maybe I did and its hiding somewhere).
I did a lot of asking around, posting on this forum, talking to whomever I ran into anywhere and got down to a general consensus of 120' for length. That's how it happened.
Just a quick update on this. Our local free entertainment weekly, the Georgia Straight has written an article about our new court:
http://www.straight.com/article-370053/vancouver/east-van-bikepolo-court...
And the media is biting, CBC's Early Edition Morning Show has called for an interview!
Thanks to everyone for contributing to this conversation, we look forward to welcoming the world to opening day!
“My point is, they came out to every single consultation meeting,” Maingot told the Straight by phone. “They introduced themselves to me.…I think they are sort of an alternative group, and it is an excellent example of what happens when a group can actually consult with the city. And they actually got their court.”
Nicely done!
Here is an edited link to the radio interview that aired on January 28th:
http://www.bikepolo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Lisa-Bike-Polo-Int...
Thanks Dingo for the edit!
go to http://www.cbc.ca/earlyedition/
middle bottom of page past shows online... check friday
the interview starts at 2:02:11 -2:07:10 ( 2 hours mark)
great interview Lisa.
Just heard the interview! Thanks for the link Cara. I don't think the show is archived past one week, so listen up everyone while you can!
**UPDATE**
Late April opening of EVBP's Grandview Park Polo Court:
http://vancouver.ca/parkfinder_wa/index.cfm?fuseaction=FAC.ParkDetails&p...
Specific date to follow. This party is going to be off the hook!!
*****"SOFT" OPENING DATE: MAY 14TH*****
A quick update here, we will have a soft opening of the new polo court on May 14th. Look for a larger, invitation opening sometime shortly thereafter.
Thanks to everyone who helped us out by providing feedback. This is really happening!! So excited!
Pitbull
So happy for you!
SF is slowly plodding along in your footsteps. In this town, pruning a bush in the park requires a committee to do a focus group for a presentation to an oversight panel. However, we're showing at meetings and they like our story. The big hope is a tennis court conversion. Maybe 2013.
Ottawa may be heading down this path....the process has started and with over 1.4 million in the wards budget to spend on 3 parks in the neighborhood..will be looking for info/support/thoughts if momentum on the process picks up.
One week left!!!!
Its for reals this time!!
MEDIA ADVISORY:
May 11, 2011 | No. 05
First sport court built to bike polo specs to open
The media are invited to join the Vancouver Park Board and community to the opening this weekend of the first sport court built to bike polo specifications. A bike polo demonstration will also take place.
When: Saturday, May 14, 2011, at 11 am
Where: Grandview Park, 1657 Charles St. @ Commercial Drive
Who: Vancouver Park Board Commissioner Sarah Blyth and Van East Bike Polo spokesperson Lisa Moffatt
The .89 hectare (2.2 acre) Grandview Park, the site of the sport court, is receiving $2 million in upgrades including playground, water spray park, benches, picnic tables, field house and cenotaph plaza. The park is still under construction, but the Park Board has committed to the community to providing a phased opening for the park as its various components are completed. The cenotaph plaza along Commercial Drive will open in June and the playground and field house in July. A grand opening for the entire park will be held this summer.
- 30 -
For more information contact Daria Wojnarski Communications Coordinator, at (t) 604-257-8440 or (c) 604-561-6925.
We were talking about this last night at pickup and we were all wondering who the first six players to use the court are going to be.
I'm coming
http://www.theprovince.com/sports/World+first+court+bike+polo+opens+east...
"the relatively unknown sport of bike polo"
“This sport is struggling for recognition"
“There are cities around the world where bike polo is banned”
“I have a broken finger right now from bike polo,”
Find where these cities where polo is banned and host a tournament there.
"stupid, waste of money!!!"
"why do i think mayor mcheese has something to do with this waste of money"
"I think I'm gonna cry!"
"So, how long before TSN starts inflicting this junk on us?"
Also, the Vancouver Sun:
http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/ball+bike+polo+court+East+Vancouver/4...
edit: OK - The Province article isn't really so bad. But I think Kev's summary makes a good point. Journalists will repeat things that raise eyebrows. Ah well.
--
The Vancouver Sun's article kicks journalistic ass over The Province. I'll share the Sun article with non-polo friends and family. They give a positive vibe and more information and don't (seems to me) instigate judgement from folks who don't know polo ... The Province chose those quotes and printed them. Feels to me like they're not neutral. Most likely just looking for controversy to help boost their advertising sales.
When people get all upset about public money spent on an active (meaning citicens actually play it) sport they don't understand, have a look at this from a former player from San Francisco. Likely similar in other cities where the tennis boom of long ago monopolized public park funds and space for that sport.
132 free, public tennis courts throughout the city (there are many private courts, as well) is a lot of space dedicated to one specific sport-- since other sports or activities are explicitly barred from using the space, this is an exclusionary policy for nearly 1 MILLION square feet of public space (tennis courts are 120 x 60 including side space)
Congrats, and hats off to Lisa and EVBP.
Expect more visitors!
Devin
And photos on the media advisory from the Parks Board, who themselves admit it's a purpose-built bike polo court, but have a multi-use sport court banner on the fence...
Hey everyone,
Super stoked that I'll be back in Van in September to check this court out, Finally!
On that note, I wrote this submission last night to the City. (Another player submitted it because I also work for the city)
Check it out and if you want to copy any of it, feel free. I think it makes the case well.
http://www.bikepolo.com.au/2011/07/kensington-bike-polo-court-in-2030/
D
Bleachers at half court for sure. Smaller bleachers behind goals for goal judges.
One vote for something smaller than roller hockey courts. If you set a precedent with the design it would be better if the size is economical.