BOUNCE!!
EVBP
B O P
Using a mallet as a weapon...
Hitting/bludgeoning another player with a mallet.
Grounds for banishment? How do you feel about these people. Should they be allowed to play in tournements? Who's decision should this be?
thoughts please...
I think the worse thing described here is the rest of the players not saying anything. People need to speak up and let the other person know they are out of bounds.
what city were you in? i concur that the crowd has to be there to defend players from unsafe play. it sounds like that is the "culture" of the city you were playing in and that is unfortunate. don't go back. let them beat the shit out of each other and learn. when they come to another city for a tourney they will get called out and there will be a learning curve. unfortunately that's the way it's always going to be...
B.O.P. 4-EVA
assault, call the cops. this isnt a bike polo question this is a legal question. if s/he can win in court then s/he can win on the court
didn't a mallet assault happen in ftl? jared?
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carve. smash. eat shit.
Yes, twice, and this is why i have brought this to an open forum to make sure i am making the right decisions for my polo crew and tournement to handle this correctly.
The first time it happened, i was on the receiving end of a bludgeoning because during play i bike was being thrashed repeatedly by his mallet and t-bone tactics were used and any other kind of dirty play had been used by this kid for a long time. He had been called out and given warnings. So, during play he smacked my bike really hard with the mallet, rode around me and then hit me, i immediately jumped off my bike to confront him and i was bombarded with feirce wings to the face, which connected, and also to my back once i had assumed a plane crash position. After he was done, i psuhed him away from me and banished him from the polo courts. he has attempted to play again once but everyone agreed they would not play with this person.
The second time was during a fun tourny i threw and a player got mad becuase of agressive play, and hit another player in the head with the mallet so hard it broke his helmet. The "fight" was immediately broken up and that particular game was canceled and the tourney went on to the semi-finals. The offending player who hit the other play was not a regular bike polo play, did not understand the rules, and was upset they were getting beat and because agressive play was being put on him, i beleive i remember a bit of like, cutting off the lane so he would tap, and some mallet hacking...nothing grounds for using a mallet this way.
So, sorry about hte long story, i jsut wanted to be clear about why i made this thread. I want to be sure that my decision is right to not allow these two people to play the tourny I and my bike polo crew/city FTL will be throwing in december.
bike polo love.
74 Miles per hour bitches.
that sucks that no one came to your aid. if that happened here and it was one of the regulars, we would have jumped in and grabbed both people right away. if it was an unknown, it still would have been broken up, but the offender would probably be swung on (fists, not mallets) by at least one of us. people being violent with mallets would definitely be banned, though. fights have almost happened in the past, but the situations have always been diffused before any real violence broke out. the people instigating the fight usually chill out or stop coming out. if someone can't be an adult and control their emotion, they shouldn't be allowed to play.
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carve. smash. eat shit.
This kind of thing happened Melbourne players went to Sydney. (well, not direct hitting, but just overly agressive/bush league play). They called "sydney rules" later at the messenger champs in Perth it was called "courier rules" (throwing mallets, mallet on bike, mallet on body contact etc) We whinged about it, but what really worked was just playing much better and faster than them. We returned a few months later and their whole ethos had totally changed, they were in it for the polo and (and the crew) not _just_ the drinking etc.
We're all mates now and we all play much better polo too. Nationals coming up in November, will be great to have all the polo players from around the country together for the first time!
Not sure what the dynamics are for you in Nth America but here we dont gt road trip visitors with all our cities being so far apart. (Melbourne 12 hours drive from Sydney) Perth to Melbourne is like LA to NYC.
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bikepolo.com.au
urbanbicyclist.org
what really worked was just playing much better and faster than them. We returned a few months later and their whole ethos had totally changed
Glorious Victory!!!
player A, in milwaukee, threw his mallet into the front wheel of player B deliberately, player b wrecked really hard and immediately and instinctively got up and took a swing at player A with his mallet ( a couple swings actually) and broke player A's hand... they both left after a good amount of commotion and yelling. then about an hour later the cops showed up looking for player B
-hero squad * milwaukee, wi-
drop the gloves!!!!!!!!!
it's too easy (and way out of line) to hit someone with a mallet.
you gotta drop the gloves. unless you're in a tournament, where i'll throw you out. but pickup, totally suitable.
Menace (RIP) would have wanted it that way.
Then this can happen.
slapdick bike polo - washington dc
I been watching a lot of hockey fights recently but I don't see what's happening here. it looks like before the douchebag eats it, the white jersey guy is tapping out to get his buddy into the fight instead of him. is that legal in hockey?
unless you get picked back up off your feet before the refs can get to yall.
"I think the worse thing described here is the rest of the players not saying anything. People need to speak up and let the other person know they are out of bounds."
I concur on this point Sveden, it is incumbent upon all players to make sure we keep our standards of respect and safety high. There is no way that kind of behavior would be allowed here. If someone feels like they are being played too aggressively they should be willing to discuss it, not up the ante. That's bush league. If any player gets violent like you describe at a tournament that I'm organizing they will be kicked off the court immediately and out of the tournament. I don't think there is any place for fighting in polo. This isn't the NHL, thank god. Play polo.
Wow I can't believe someone would go that far as to hit another player or anyone for that matter with a mallet. dang! That shit is straight uncalled for.
No one saying anything is just as bad as the smack its self in my opinion. I see trying to win the match and all that but polo is still a game and fighting over a game is kinda pussy shit!
Just incase these people come to the LBC! Hitting a person with anything=you getting owned in a sever manner:) keep that shit in mind!
We just started playing polo and have taken a bad ass kicking by 818 which was really frustrating because we are newbz. But that shit is not even close to being in our minds. At the end of the day we still want to have friends and beers also to be welcome every place:)
So with that said I think the proper thing to do in this case or any other case like this is to kick that person off the court and ban from all tournaments ASAP!
Its the only way to send a strong message.
Yo Beez!
The truth is hitting someone with mallet is wrong. There are also cases where someone hits you because they are frustrated after you just took possession of the ball. Shit happens. They say it was an accident but you know it wasn’t(rrrrr). That is a grey line that can be doubt with on a case by case issue.
Hope you come out to Friday Night Lights Tonight!
the fight broke up before any FTL players had a chance to cross the hockey rink...none of the players on the court were the type that "react" in those situations. they were all dumbstruck that violence was occurring. I jumped the wall and did confront the kid and took his mallet away from him. I made sure the banishment stuck but when I came back from a tournament he had started playing again...I attempted to reinstate the banishment but our club defended his right to play and made me look like some kind of bully that was just picking on one of the players. sucked so hard to have him playing again but he was never allowed to be on the court again when "thepolofuries" was out there. I think it should be everyone's responsibility to protect their polo community.
I am so down for "gloves off" polo...I think people would be less tempted to play dirty if they knew they could possibly take one on the chin for bush league stuff. does this make me a bad person, hahaha? I feel like peopIe know there's no real penalty for cheating or playing dirty or overly aggressive. I've had teammates be accused of cheating during tournaments and that pisses me off more than opposing team members. I will not play on a team with a cheater/rule bender. I despise cheaters so much...play harder, not dirtier.
FTL BIKE POLO...
because tolerating fighting has done such a great job of keeping people from playing dirty in hockey...
BOOOM! that one had to sting a bit.
74 Miles per hour bitches.
I would say a majority of polo players have never played a contact sport...so threat of physical violence would probably be a greater deterrent than in say hockey. half the reason people play hockey is for the fights, right? I don't think we should even compare bike polo and hockey...and I don't play hockey. this is a moot point...no gloves off for us anyway.
FTL BIKE POLO...
I would say a majority of polo players have never played a contact sport...so threat of physical violence would probably be a greater deterrent than in say hockey. half the reason people play hockey is for the fights, right? I don't think we should even compare bike polo and hockey...and I don't play hockey. this is a moot point...no gloves off for us anyway.
FTL BIKE POLO...
Hey Jason
I can agree that lack of contact sport experience is a hindrance, but hockey experience is a big advantage. For the most part they don't let you fight when you grow up on it. The hockey comparison is huge. Just watch a couple of hockey games. I've notice that the majority of all physical altercations happen in the warmer climates with people of moderate skills and aggressive riding. Something in the water?
You can be physical and play right. Some guys cross over that line, too much and too often. They need to be corrected or asked to not come back.
Play to play better. not to go out there and score the most goals. They come along with playing better.
Man/Woman up and admit when you commit that foul. You know when you pulled some bull shit.
And if you are just out to cause harm to others, eventually someone is going to punch you in the fucking gizzard and you will breathing out of a tube for 6 months.
Play nice. Play well
Ben
BRINGING THE RUCKUS
stylistically there is definitely overlap...and hockey players have such a headstart with ball control its ridiculous. i meant that bike polo players shouldn't be comparing our physical play with that of hockey players...completely different.
i love clean physical play...love it. i think some players have a hard time understanding the difference...especially if they have no previous contact sports experience.
if only everybody felt that way.
courtesy taps are amazing...fosters a feeling of sportsmanship in everyone.
you played some physical defense on my ass in seattle...clean but effective.
FTL BIKE POLO...
"it might help in bike polo because there's a fundamental difference between the two sports: bike polo is full of pussies, hockey isn't."
wtf?
You don't need threats of violence to keep people from playing dirty, you need to learn you to talk to the people you are playing with to establish acceptable codes of conduct.
"courtesy taps are amazing...fosters a feeling of sportsmanship in everyone."
I totally agree. X2Billion. In a sport were there are heaps of grey areas in the rules and ill-defined codes of etiquette, this kind of acknowledgment of personal transgressions is really really important and goes a long way to build and foster respect.
when the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a nail.
I agree with you Jason. we here in Denver, as im sure many cities do, look at polo as a "Gentlemans Sport" self-regulated and self-governed. this is abundantly clear to people who play on a weekly basis. the occasional "oh bike polo looks so cool, im gonna come out every week to play people", who come out once, seem to catch on pretty quick when they see the respect that is shown on the court.
hahaha thats a crazy pic Mad sam... sick
i guess i'm biased. i've played sports all my life that have no contact. therefore, i see the hitting as cheap, something people without skill do to make up for their inability to get the ball. i realize that there is some contact allowed in bike polo, but i still have a lot more respect for someone who can use speed or agility or good hand eye coordination to beat me.
as for fighting, i wouldn't play with anyone who threatened me with violence. yes, i have a pussy.
isn't this sport supposed to be fun?
if someone hit me in the face, i'd probably go get my knife and stab them or atleast wave it around a bunch
stab them through the butt cheek
for the record i wasn't advocating violence...i play ridiculously clean and am not an overly physical player. i even warn people when they are about to take themselves out around me and compliment people when they play well against me. i think when someone blatantly and repeatedly disregards the "don't be a dick" rule its unlikely that they will care about their peers' opinions/reprimands when they don't even care about their peers' safety.
edecambra...right there with you...can't wait until ALL FLORIDA! show up early for pickup...
FTL BIKE POLO...
i love how this fighting thread has completely broken down the nationalistic stereotypes pounded into me about the violent backward militarist empire to the south. thank-you.
you sound like a fucking square
"The problem is that right now there really aren't any real practical, codified, enforceable consequences for shit heads who hit people with mallets or are chronically dirty, except being asked to leave. And like I said, getting people to agree to 86 someone is pretty hard because nobody wants to take a stand"
It sounds like there are some total psychos in your polo crowd. I guess I'm just lucky then and haven't had the misfortune of being exposed to this kind of behavior, or maybe our community is just a lot smaller so it is easier for us to establish and enforce codes of conduct. But nonetheless, even playing in other cities I've never met any one who fits the description of a problem player that you're putting forward. That isn't to say that there haven't been crashy players, but no one who wouldn't listen when they were addressed on their behavior.
I agree that organizing polo players is like herding cats, but at the same time resorting to violence to solve problems is still dependent upon community sanction for it to be a useful and lasting solution.
-If someone T-bone's you, and you haul off an punch them in the nose, if the crowd disagrees with you and doesn't think it was a dirty move, they'll lynch you.
-If someone T-bone's you, and you haul off an punch them in the nose, if the crowd agrees with you and does think it was a dirty move, they'll let it slide or possibly even endorse it.
Either way, you have a de facto community consensus that can be articulated and mobilized to solve the problem without actually punching the person.
I'm not saying there is no possible way that I would resort to violence, if someone started flailing around with a mallet, whacking other players purposefully, that person would be lucky to get out without being taken out. But to make fighting an acceptable way to solve our disagreements on the court is totally unacceptable. If this was truly the only way to make people play by the rules I wouldn't play this game.
I agree, I think that we are on the same level about the fundamentals, i.e. keeping dirty play out of the game. I also don't disagree that there are more people like you describe out there. I just make a point not to socialize with them, and so far I guess we've been good at keeping them out of polo here.
I guess this means I'm a square too then...
From the Urban Dictionary
Square:
4. A noticeably unhip, mainstream individual, a straight. Someone either ignorant or disinterested of underground subcultures. The antithesis of a hipster.
on the bright side, at least it means we're not hipsters ...
[] for life!
and now a madball album. what are you? a nerd? get back in the pit...fuck those smokers up.
B.O.P. 4-EVA
I'd like your permission to switch my avatar to the following:
and now you're asking permission?!?!?!
B.O.P. If you're not now, you never were...
I look forward to it man! You do know I'm just giving you the gears here. I saw a lot of shows and played in bands and whatnot here in vancouver as well. We'll get together sometime and have a gay ol' time reminiscing. I might even see if I have an old straight edge shirt I could dig out for the occasion.
And, yes, I am a fucking retard. I thought you knew?
B.O.P. 4-EVA
OMG. Karie and I used to date for a bit. Remember hearing about and seeing posters for Blue Monday but I was getting out of the scene a bit at that point as I was getting all "career serious" and whatnot. I didn't know the kids from SF but I did know the Struggle/Swing Kids/Locust folk from SAn Diego for a few years in the 90's. Worlds colliding...
B.O.P. 4-EVA
swing kids...now you're speaking my language. I'm still rocking out to that tortured 90s era screamo. both you bastards are so lucky...but don't you find it hard not to compare the looseness of the bike polo community to the more concrete sense of community in a tight hardcore scene?
FTL BIKE POLO...
it's hard to find good scenes that you feel a part of. polo sometimes feels like all of the dysfunction of my hardcore ("disaffected youth") days. subcultures will always be dysfunctional and there aren't enough good people. that's what i'm feelin' now. not enough good people around...
B.O.P. 4-EVA
I've got posicore out the ass...love old school youth crew stuff but even so there is just something about that early post-hardcore/emo sound...lincoln, hoover, portraits of past, etc...that I love. portraits of past just put out a new 4 song ep by the way...it's ok. refused, check. international noise conspiracy, check. saetia, check. 20 years in the hc scene and I still look forward to 7 seconds tours, hahaha.
I get weirded out sometimes by how few of the kids are from the punk/hc scene...after being in that kind of a community it can be strange (disconcerting) to be around people who are operating from such a different set of experiences. I really notice the absence of accountability and personal/social responsibility in the polo community and I think a lot of that stems from never having been part of a scene with a d.I.y. ethic (justice included). the polo makes up for it for sure haha and I've definitely met some cool kids.
I hope I can make it...responsibilty is trying to claim my ass for the next month or two but I'm fighting it.
FTL BIKE POLO...
It sounds like there are some total psychos in your polo crowd. I guess I'm just lucky then and haven't had the misfortune of being exposed to this kind of behavior, or maybe our community is just a lot smaller so it is easier for us to establish and enforce codes of conduct. But nonetheless, even playing in other cities I've never met any one who fits the description of a problem player that you're putting forward. That isn't to say that there haven't been crashy players, but no one who wouldn't listen when they were addressed on their behavior.
our community isn't smaller nick, we play in one of the richest hotbeds of bike polo with arguably the highest levels of competition anywhere, and victoria is a big part of that. cascadia doesn't need fighting, or even referees for the most part. players here know what a good game is and don't need their fists (or anybody else's) to tell them that. anyone who swung a punch up here would be pretty much banned for life on the spot by the sidelines.
ryan-----yes!!!!!!!!! this is the format i've been advocating for all along. it makes so much sense. no one is really gonna get a haymaker off while on a bike, and the ridiculousness of the mating dance would diffuse the situation. either party foot-downs, fight over.
i don't know what happens elsewhere, and please anyone from NY correct me if i'm wrong, but if i were in the Pit and someone hit me with a mallet intentionally or anything resembling bludgeoning in a game, i'd rip that person off their bike and beat the hell out of them. and be totally justified in doing so. that's just a life rules thing, not even a polo rules thing.
why is this even a quetion?
Meena did tomahawk a mallet at my once after i ruined her tripod, and that was about as pissed as i've ever been in the pit. just a bunch of shouting, no punches though. it's Meena, after all.
we banned tiah for the tomahawk throws here in portland once, where we specifically allow mallet tossing for a block. overhand that shit and you lose the privilege. she sure didn't like that and yelled at us, but she's always yelling so whatever.
paul's got it though: rip those hit-with-intent fuckers off their bikes. afaic, that's a couple of free tacos too.
Luckily I've yet to witness a mallet as a weapon, but yes I'd say it is grounds for banishment.
At least a penalty box purgatory of a few weeks.