Hey Montana, where'd the money go?

Submitted by Doug D on Oct 22 2009 11:52am

General

100
Montana, ya think you could tell everybody what happened with your event? I think future hosts could learn a thing or two from your example of how to throw a world-class bike polo tournament. Mostly I want to hear about the finances behind the weekend in Fishtown.

-how much money did Brooks provide with their title sponsorship?
-how much money did your fundraiser/auction make?
-how much did the entry fee generate?
-how was that money spent? Could you expand on your expenditures. Details please.

I'm sure your response will be appreciated by all.
Thanks

natred

NYC

crickets.

polojoel

Perhaps another member of the Philly polo community could shed some light on the challenges and issues faced at the Worlds, preferably without creating a dozen distracting threads.

Me personally, I do not care for a discussion of finances in a public forum. I would like to hear more about the decisions made and how things were executed, or not. What I've been able to glean from comments here and rumors is that:
- hay bales do not make acceptable barriers
- the courts were not adequate in size or number

Mark Capriotti

Philadelphia Bicycle Polo

You're not referring to your new mod are you? I'm about to ban you for 45 minutes.

ben

Madison

yea lets keep the money stuff in the dark, that seems to be working great for the us economy. the nice thing about it is it erases the whole accountability thing.

pete

Portland Bike Polo

Those haybales had to be AT LEAST $450 each and the trash bags covering them were probably $180 a pop. You gotta pay top dollar for the highest calibre of courts when having the inaugural hardcourt bike polo world championships.

PETE_of_C0M0P0L0
www.comopolo.com

Pro-friendly bike polo!

el diablo and w...

pete wrote:

PETE_of_C0M0P0L0
www.comopolo.com

wow 450 a pop for hay bails are boardz only cost us 80 some odd dollars
what is up with that

two asshole's don't make it right"
BUTT three asshole's make a good team"

ryand

DC Bike Polo

$450 US is pretty much like $6 Canadian. Your boards cost more.

slapdick bike polo - washington dc

reese

Pullman Moscow Bike Polo

I've noticed you have a thing for haybales... that's cool.

P/M Hardcourt

samh

Bozeman Hardcourt Bicycle Polo

What is this post referring to? Montana is a big place so you must be referring to someplace/something/somebody in particular.

http://thebozemanfix.blogspot.com/

#10

ryand

DC Bike Polo

He means Montana, the guy in Philly who planned Worlds.

slapdick bike polo - washington dc

#11

Mark Capriotti

Philadelphia Bicycle Polo

Doug please edit: "I'm sure your response will be appreciated by all."

to be: "I'm sure your response will be appreciated by all(except polojoel)."

#12

Rory_Bear

It appears Montana is away on vacation with all the profit from the world's. I could live off at least $5000 for a year in central america. Maybe we'll see him at the CMWC's in Guatemala

www.velocityusa.com
www.nsbikepolo.com

#13

kenichi

Portland Bike Polo

are you going?

#14

eh jackal

East Van Bike Polo

from the defunct world's thread, first responses.

http://bikepolo.ca/worlds2009

------

Submitted by le jackal on Wed, 04/01/2009 - 7:03pm.

well, we're coming anyway. curious though, what is so expensive about this tournament. surely this shatters all records for entry fees.

------

Submitted by Montana Norvell on Wed, 04/01/2009 - 7:32pm.

You're not kidding. I apologize again. $40 per player is a lot, but it is the World Championships, and I don't want it to suck. I expect to have to build at least one regulation roller hockey court to match the scale of the other three I've reserved, light it, and have 24 hour security for the duration of the weekend to prevent crackhead South Philly slumlord contractors from stealing all the lumber. I also anticipate needing to bus players between courts (at least once between round-robin play on day one) to keep the bracketing representative. I want to do all of this without inconveniencing or annoying players. And I want to have a huge fucking party. I couldn't have chosen a worse year to volunteer my city for an undertaking of this scale: there's just no corporate largesse left in the world right now, but, I promise I'm working on it. As I said before, I have received lots of generous in-kind sponsorship already, and cash assistance may well be in the works. If the loot comes in, it goes right back to you guys. As for you, budget constraints shouldn't be a problem: you're a shoo-in to win the North Americans, and registration fees will be waived for the winners of the EHBPC and NAs. Travel-related bonuses should be in place for the winners of those tourneys as well. Just sayin'.

------

ha! i've been asking the same questions off-forum doug, thanks for starting the thread. no replies from anybody.

go birds!

referees if necessary, but not necesarily refereeing

#15

CH0MB0

NYC

they need to fire them security guards

---------------------------
CH0MB0 3:16
oh sheet

#16

polojoel

Well then. If everyone is so curious on the actual P&L then perhaps some actual public guesswork is warranted.

Revenue:
$120 per team times 48 teams = $5760
Fundraiser/auction = ??? ($1000 after expenses is a remarkably successful fundraiser in my experience)
Sponsorship direct funding = ??? (appears $0 is a reasonable guess)

Expenses?
- weekend security
- food & bev
- permits
- facility rental
- transportation
- labor (do we assume organizers get paid nothing?)
- misc

Perhaps some of the more experienced organizers could help fill in blanks. How much could Montana have possibly lined his pockets with?

"the nice thing about it is it erases the whole accountability thing."
What accountability? To whom is he accountable? Does 7-11 have to explain their costs after you buy beer there?

"Doug please edit"
You didn't get much by way of moderation powers, did you?

#17

eh jackal

East Van Bike Polo

i think it's important to not jump to conclusions on anyone lining anyone's pockets.

montana is a stand-up guy and just needs the chance to explain himself.

joel, you may want to explore the possibility that mark is fucking with you, and always has been.

referees if necessary, but not necesarily refereeing

#18

polojoel

Someone told me to imagine the person laughing when I read their posts online. Takes the edge off. I've never met Mark in person so I can't imagine his laugh. I am not appreciative of the clutter he's introduced this week. I would also think he would have something constructive to offer here since the event was in his town.

We are also in agreement about not jumping to conclusions. I can not imagine that Montana profited from the Worlds. Even if he did, how many hours did he, and the Philly community, put into the event? It is a labor of love to do a big event like that, and a money eater.

That is exactly why I wanted to avoid discussion of finances. It's an unproductive distraction, and leads to nothing but more debate with no forward vision. I would prefer to learn something about how the event was organized, what went well, what broke, how to avoid the issues in the future. I do still intend to host tourneys in my town, and I will take advice and guidance from anywhere.

#19

ilikegum

I have no vested interest, and I don't know Montana, or you... but discussing finances is absolutely germane to any progressive discussion about any organization. The fact is that this is still a DIY community and when you make it DIY by asking for input and giving players a say in the rules and shit you're basically opening up your whole operation to a magnifying glass. ESPECIALLY if you make a bunch of claims about where the money's going and then don't deliver.

The problem, I think, with what you're saying about "how many hours did he, and the Philly community, put into the event..." is that, if he did take money for his "labor of love" then he should have just said so when he was making all kind of promises about the infrastructure that was going to be in place.

I guarantee, had he made a set of promises, and included a line like "I'm taking $500 or $1000 for our time" and then ACTUALLY delivered on his promises nobody would have had any lasting gripes about him making a few bucks because they'd be stoked that it was setup awesome.

I guess one important thing you can learn is to be up front about how shit is going to go down. Don't collect a bunch of money and then not deliver and then avoid questions about it by telling people it's none of their business.

#20

eh jackal

East Van Bike Polo

polojoel wrote:

first of all this contradicts your previous post, and secondly, how exactly are your two sentences mutually exclusive? you cannot discuss how an event was organised, how it went, and hope to gain insight without discussing the finances, period.

if you spend a million dollars on a tournament it had better go well, whereas one run for nothing might have some understandably rough edges.

i myself would prefer the debate and plenty of forward vision, especially when people paid good money to fly in from all over the world to fork over record fees and play on hay bale courts. those who forget the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them.

at the very least, i would like my fed membership so i can immortalise it up on the wall.

referees if necessary, but not necesarily refereeing

#21

GaGoosh

East Van Bike Polo

polojoel wrote:

But you're missing the point. Tournaments have always been volunteer run in polo. Is this a call for paid jobs? I can't tell you how many hours of work I put into the last East Van tournament but I did it because I wanted to. If you wanna get paid for it (and that's a big "if") announce that you'll be taking a salary from a $40 entrance fee (and I'm in no way saying Montana did - I give him the benefit of the doubt here) and let the shit storm of vocal opposition begin.

B.O.P. 4-EVA

Okay catfish, I'm going to move my mouth like this...

#22

Mark Capriotti

Philadelphia Bicycle Polo

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you (polojoel) weren't even there, nor did you pony up $40. I can understand Doug's thread and the posts following it, but I'm trying to figure out why you're asking questions, and whether or not Montana would have to answer to you. Yes there are things you can learn from this tournament, just like every other tournament ever held. There was one in east van where I learned the valuable lesson of lights. And that other one in Madison where I learned the value of using a white tire.

I love your guesses, too. $1000 from a fundraiser and $0 of "Sponsorship direct funding". Obviously you've never heard of the Brooks family.

serious posts '10

x2 if you agree

#23

Tex

Ottawa

x2 x2 x2 x2 x2 x2 x2 x2 x2 x2 LONG LIVE THE SILENT MAJORITY. WE SHALL NO LONGER REMAIN QUITE.

3...2...1...GO!

Mallets Of Mayhem

Little Richmond B.O.P.

suck it Phaneuf!

http://www.victoire-cycles.com/

#24

reese

Pullman Moscow Bike Polo

A revolution is an idea which has found its bicycles.

P/M Hardcourt

#25

Choppin Cecily

Portland Bike Polo

I'd like to know how the money was spent as well. But to be honest, this thread does appear overly accusatory.

Yes, Joel, we can learn a lot about what to do and what not to do from those who've already been through the process - that includes how money was brought into the event and how it was spent. Accountability, financial or otherwise is a really beautiful thing. Also, this isn't out of the blue. This is something that Montana himself proposed.

That said, I think that rather than posting only the intake and expense records for World's, it would be productive to see that paired with the same records for the North American's (and maybe the Euro's?). I'm not trying to point any fingers, but those are two events with moderately similar turn-out, a large entry fee disparity, a vastly different experiences for the players (better parties in Philly - in my opinion, better courts in Seattle). I'd also like to see a list of in-kind services as well - including Montana's time as well as people like Kelly's time, for example (she designed the sponsorship package for NA's). I'm not sure we can get all that, but that would bring us closer to knowing how much money we really need to bring in from sponsors; the amount of club commitment required to host a large-scale event; and ideas for who and how these events can be run to the maximum time and financial efficiency with the maxiumum experience for those who play.

Anyone from Seattle think those records could be posted/re-created? I'm assuming Montana will post his as that was his idea to begin with.

(it means no worries)

#26

ben

Madison

overly accusatory? yea maybe but have you seen montana respond once to all the post over the last few months talking about the worlds. I havnt, so fuck him. Im accusing. montana swindled us, or hes a huge fuck up and needs to apologize for taking on more than he could handle.

#27

Meg Lee

Minneapolis Hardcourt Bike Polo

I agree with most that is stated. i would also like to know where the money went... this question was brought up on my travels to philly, as well as on the way back... not sure if i knew more on the way back or of i just had more questions.

i would also like to point out that there has already been a thread about the actual pros/cons of the worlds... if we want to be productive with this topic, lets stop picking on the hay bails. we got it.

over all, from what i understand and what has been said about montanas motives/ideas about the extra funds... it totally makes sense. correct me if im wrong but extra funds get passed along for for the next world tournament. this is a legit/productive idea. but if this is the plan i do believe that if "the folks" want to know whats going on, or are questioning... they do have a bit of a right to "point fingers". if an individual (montana in this case) has "hosted a plan" then he should be prepared to answer questions accordingly.

If it is "by the people," "for the people" then lets get it organized.

Bicycle/cykel/自行車/das Fahrrad/polkupyörä/bicicletta/bicicleta/reiðhjól/fiets/يَرْكَبُ درّاجة هوائ

#28

natred

NYC

i think it should become standard to release all this info after tournaments to come. it may end up helping future tournaments.

#29

el diablo and w...

HOLY SHIT SOMEBODY PISSED IN SOMEBODYS CORN FLAKES THIS YEAR

two asshole's don't make it right"
BUTT three asshole's make a good team"

#30

Medic.Mike

Seattle

It was me. I can't help it sometimes.
_______
Marco!
I am the Duck.

____________
West and East squash the beef
That shit 's legit as fuck!

#31

messmann

Seattle

to calibrate a tourney for the NA's for comparison: it cost us about what the registration was for worlds...4 courts same size same location with swimming and camping! All work was voluntary. $10entry! we still have $500 bucks!! and a few patches. $5 bucks if ya want one! So lets cough it up Philly!
Messmann
NAHBPC 2009 Organizer
bikepologuru
seattlebikepolo
2-oh-6ness
since 1998

Messmann
bikepologuru
seattlebikepolo
since 1998

#32

Dave

NYC

messman, speaking of five dollar patches....i still owe you for one. I guess at this point you can charge me interest.

#33

frazer

PENSACOLA BIKE POLO

we got hosed

klack klack klack

#34

ilikegum

OH SHIT! I just got this email in my spam folder:

---
ATTN: PRESIDENT/CEO HARDCOURT BIKE POLO FEDERATION

It is with heart full of hope and gods wish that I write to seek your help in the context below. I am Mr. Montana, the second son of the late Laurent Kabila Former President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (D.R.C) whose sudden death occurred in January 2005. Having gotten your particulars from my late father's library, I have no doubt to your capacity and goodwill to assist me in receiving into your custody (for safety) the sum of US $5760 dollars willed and deposited in the favor of myself and my mother who is the second wife of the late president.

This money is currently kept in a trust deposit vault with a Finance and Security company here in Philadelphia. However, the new Government headed by my step brother Joseph has on assumption of office setup an inquiry to recover all the assets belonging to my late dad including cash and properties with the pretense of a well organized tournament, but with actual intention of personal inheritance. All this because we are from a polygamous family. The investigation team has submitted their report, presently some cash and assets have been seized.

Fortunately, I managed to escape from the country,and with the help of our lawyer, I am presently living as a refugee here, in a house made of hay bales, until I succeed in the transaction and due to the situation of things our lawyer has strictly advised that the willed money be urgently moved into an over-seas account of a trusted Foreign family friend without delay for security reasons. I expect you to be trustworthy and kind enough to respond to this call (SOS) to save my entire family and me froma hopeless future.

I hereby agree to compensate your sincere effort in this regard with at least one regulation roller hockey court to match the scale of the other three that have been reserved, lighting, and have 24 hour security for the duration of our engagement. it is also my anticipation to need to transport members between courts. It is not my wish to inconvenience or annoy members. And I want to have a a party of grand proportions in your honor. I could not have chosen a worse year to involve you in my crisis, no largesse left in the world right now, but, I promise you will no be disappointed. When finally received your US$40 dollar in your local Bank account the attorney here has perfected arrangements with the Bankers to effect complete dislodgment of this money within a week of the receipt of your response through telephone and fax. They have equally guaranteed 100% risk free and smooth transfer.

Reply me via e-mail: montana_claudioka@epatra.com or montana_kabiladio@yahoo.com

Best Wishes
Mr. Montana Kabila ,

I look forward to your quick response. May God bless you for your kindness.

#35

chris roberts

NYC

fixcraft.net

#36

Mark Capriotti

Philadelphia Bicycle Polo

EDIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#37

eh jackal

East Van Bike Polo

referees if necessary, but not necesarily refereeing

#38

polojoel

Events that run well, no one cares or asks about finances. I have yet to see a financial report from a polo tourney.

If you have problems then the whole community expects to see your books opened.

I hoped we could discuss what happened without going straight to the money. It all seems a waste of time since the only thing we're debating is whether to talk about money.

Do people expect a refund of their registration fee?

#39

ilikegum

If you go to 7-11 and buy a tallboy and it's completely full are you going to ask how it got that way?

Of course not. You're paying your $1.49 and getting your $1.49's worth of beer. You got what was promised to you and your expectations were met.

If you pay $1.49 and your fucking can is only half full... are you going to inquire as to why you had to pay $1.49 for a half full can? Of course you are because you didn't receive what was advertised.

If someone promises you something (certain infrastructure) in exchange for some dollars, then they don't deliver then, yes, you should absolutely ask for a refund. You make it sound so out of the realm of reason that someone would want a refund. Even though it's still DIY you can't make promises, charge money based on those promises and then just shrug it off and expect the issue to disappear into the night when you fuck the dog and don't deliver on any of them.

#40

ThePoloFuries

Fort Lauderdale Bike Polo

I don't know what everyone's problem is. It doens't cost shit to put on a tourney.ughhhhhh. it is really really annoying how over-complicated poeple are making bike polo. now it had come to this. .
74 Miles per hour bitches.

"ok Mr. Schwinn fucking Armstrong!"
www.burrobags.com

#41

floppy

COMOPOLO

I'm calling bullshit! There is a lot of work and money needed to do it especially when you draw a couple hundred people. Making it run well is even more difficult. We'll find out if COMO accomplished that in two weeks.

#42

hellochris

Chicago

ThePoloFuries wrote:

It doens't cost shit to put on a tourney.

it doesn't necessarily cost shit to run a tournament.

i think there is plenty of room for both cheap n quick tourneys and the major events that do cost a significant amount of money to put on properly.

Columbia, MO

#43

Doug D

hey dont know your name but it does cost to do tournaments.
permits cost money and require insurance that cost money
not feeding people is a bad idea, so food costs money
portable restrooms cost money
wood to build courts to handle 48 teams costs money
printing shirts, fliers, spokecards for for 150+ people cost money
and all the small things cost a little bit of money too

youre right though, bike polo is cheap. it's called pick-up
but big tournaments cost money.

Doug D
Brooklyn, New York
http://www.hardcourtbikepolo.com/

Doug D
Brooklyn, New York
hardcourtbikepolo+gmail+com
hardcourtbikepolo.com

#44

Nick

Doug is right, tournaments cost money.
The bigger the tourney, the better and more pro you want it to be, the more its gonna cost. We've organized a few small ones here that didn't cost much at all, maybe one to three hundred at most, but they were very small, had minimal infrastructure, no permits and food was made by the players and friends and donated.
We're organizing a mid-sized tourney in december, expecting around 20 odd teams or so, and to get permits, courts with lights, and insurance alone will cost somewhere between $400 and $700, depending on whether we can get some subsidization from the rec centre or not. And then there is things like food and parties etc.
And above and beyond the money, they take lots of work, big or small.

#45

capt. jake

Milwaukee

it costs money to run a good tournament even if you can shoot 74 mph, by the way did anyone calibrate that speed gun before this guy shot?
www.mkebikepolo.com

--
www.mkebikepolo.com

#46

Doug D

real quick, I just want to know if what he said before hand still stands. What he said was to the effect of: He would tell people how the money was spent. And if there is moneys left over, then that will be used for future tournaments.
Since no city has expressed serious interest in doing next years Worlds, and NY has been suggested by a few in NY and out, I would like to know if the budget for 2010 Worlds is starting at ZERO or if Montana had a surplus of money. After he returned the hay bails of course.

So I'm not asking for any more info than what Montana said he would provide.
It's just a few question.

Doug D
Brooklyn, New York
http://www.hardcourtbikepolo.com/

Doug D
Brooklyn, New York
hardcourtbikepolo+gmail+com
hardcourtbikepolo.com

#47

eh jackal

East Van Bike Polo

several cities have expressed serious interest in holding the world's, and i personally think it should go to europe and come back to north america in 2011. i have heard of a lot of desire for the north american champisonship to be held in nyc, but nothing firm from the club itself.

referees if necessary, but not necesarily refereeing

#48

Doug D

ok, I have had a hard time finding anything serious on this site in the last few weeks.
If you know a list of the several cities that have expressed serious interest in holding the world's
could you fill me in. thanks

Doug D
Brooklyn, New York
http://www.hardcourtbikepolo.com/

Doug D
Brooklyn, New York
hardcourtbikepolo+gmail+com
hardcourtbikepolo.com

#49

eh jackal

East Van Bike Polo

have you been using the search feature to find serious content doug?

perhaps you need mark-the-moderator to give you some tips on finding truly useful and practical information. i can put you in touch with him, he might be willing to set up numerous federation-sanctioned "serious-content-only-zones", or give you suggestions for other polo websites out there that specialise in earnest and grave polo articles.

i am aware of five european cities currently in the process of preparing bids for the world's in 2010, and zero north american cities.

(save messman who wants it to be in seattle, but i think seattle has already said no.)

while you're here looking for serious content, i'll ask you some serious questions:

what is your opinion on holding the world's in cities a few hours apart two years straight?

what message do you think that would send to europe, or the other parts (and countries) of north america?

are you in favour of building a truly international polo scene?

can you even get hay bales in new york?

referees if necessary, but not necesarily refereeing

#50

ben

Madison

those are loaded questions. come one piet just cause someone has a different opinion than you doesnt mean you have to make them out to be american bigots.

#51

Doug D

you said "five european cities" without listing them, then ask me four questions.

If clubs are really taking on making bids for 2010 Worlds I'd like to just know who. It's nearly November.

Doug D
Brooklyn, New York
http://www.hardcourtbikepolo.com/

Doug D
Brooklyn, New York
hardcourtbikepolo+gmail+com
hardcourtbikepolo.com

#52

eh jackal

East Van Bike Polo

berin, karlsruhe, barcelona, geneva, and one other that prefers to remain a dark horse (not london).

referees if necessary, but not necesarily refereeing

#53

ben

Madison

i cant tell if thats supposed to be bern or berlin. by the way, you need to cite your sources with footnotes and shit, otherwise you sound like a teenager

#54

eh jackal

East Van Bike Polo

who says i don't want to sound like a teenager? from what i can tell, it seems to be the key to fitting in around here.

referees if necessary, but not necesarily refereeing

#55

JohnnyMidwest

Fuck. I thought the key to fitting in was visors, frisbee golf and copious amounts of ganj.

#56

Mark Capriotti

Philadelphia Bicycle Polo

Pieter doesn't disc golf. Ultimate.

#57

eh jackal

East Van Bike Polo

wrongo bongo mark, it's the other way around. i actually kind of hate ultimate, and am sort of in love with frisbee golf. fewer wankers.

referees if necessary, but not necesarily refereeing

#58

joeMKE

Milwaukee

96% wankers down from 97%?

- Beaver Boys * Milwaukee Bike Polo Club -

#59

eh jackal

East Van Bike Polo

maybe even 99 down to 98 joe, you are absolutely correct. i don't know what frisbee golf is like elsewhere, but here it's like polo-- not drinking is cheating.

and i can throw that frisbee really high.

referees if necessary, but not necesarily refereeing

#60

Mark Capriotti

Philadelphia Bicycle Polo

come one, ben, you know he meant berlin.

x2 if you agree

#61

Paul

NYC

i'm pretty sure NY is bidding for NAs. We're having our end of the tournament season bbq and discussing this after polo tomorrow. Not totally sure, but i'm pretty sure Ken has locked down MSG as the venue. no big deal, had to cash in a few favors, quiet a few volcanos, viva a los marcosian or three.
and most people i've talked to here, and at Philly Worlds this year, are/were excited about and in full support of Worlds '10 in Europe.

so, you right for dat, piet.

-------bike polo. are you sure you're taking it seriously enough? --------

#62

Doug D

edit.
double post, oops

Doug D
Brooklyn, New York
hardcourtbikepolo+gmail+com
hardcourtbikepolo.com

#63

Tex

Ottawa

I really miss Rhasp-poutine

3...2...1...GO!

Mallets Of Mayhem

Little Richmond B.O.P.

suck it Phaneuf!

http://www.victoire-cycles.com/

#64

Nick

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8huXkSaL7o

#65

eh jackal

East Van Bike Polo

with apologies to frank farian...

There lived a certain man in Philly long ago
He was big and strong, the wizened owl of polo
Most people looked at him with terror and with fear
But to polo chicks he was crazy it was clear
He could score from on his side of centre
More than seventy-four miles per hour
But he also was the kind of shooter
Women would desire

RHA RHA RHASP-POUTINE
Liked to keep the forums clean
He soared and whatnot from dusk until dawn
RHA RHA RHASP-POUTINE
Polo's wisest goal machine
It was a shame how he carried on

He perched in front of net like Obama's goalmouth czar
And the shots he stopped they were really wunderbar
At each tournament he was the man to please
And it was real great when he went on scoring sprees
With rear brakes he was a wheeler squealer
Beer point winners through your tires
Watch there soars the fish town website stealer
Backhands goals he fired

(Spoken:)
But when his drinking and lusting and his hunger
for power became known to more and more people,
the demands to do something about this outrageous
man became louder and louder.

"This man's just got to go!" declared his enemies
But the ladies begged "Don't you try to do it, please"
No doubt this Rhasp-Poutine had lots of hidden charms
Though he was a brute they just fell into his arms
Then one night some men of high-er standing
Set a trap, they're not to blame
"where's my two dubs?" polojoel kept on posting
As owl went insane

RHA RHA RHASP-POUTINE
Hates it when the forums ain't clean
He duped his own threads for all our glee
RHA RHA RHASP-POUTINE
Polo's East Coast truth machine
confirm / deny x2 if you agree

RHA RHA RHASP-POUTINE
Self-appointed moderating queen
They wouldn't quit, they bitched in his threads
RHA RHA RHASP-POUTINE
Philly's serious-content-only machine
So they banned him, the owl was dead

Oh, those Hunters…

referees if necessary, but not necesarily refereeing

#66

ben

Madison

thats a really good poem/ song, but you didnt say anything about his jeans.

#67

eh jackal

East Van Bike Polo

you are so fucking right ben, thank-you. it is a terrible oversight to forget a man's classy denim wardrobe. hands up everyone who has a polo bike that costs less than just one of mark's bourgeois dungarees.

instead of "Polo's East Coast truth machine"

it should have : "Polo's East Coast jean machine"

referees if necessary, but not necesarily refereeing

#68

ben

Madison

to pieter the whinner

who has become

has become peiter the winner

of second to one

fits well with his dual personalities

but one man comes off the court the same

hanging his head in dismay or shame

one man remains

#69

Chillstar

COMOPOLO

i actually just listened to this song (the original). weird

#70

ken

I don't recall when Montana publicly said that he'd disclose all of his finances from the World's, but this is something he said to me personally late in the evening on Sunday after the finals. He told me he'd post everything, and open the distribution of the surplus up to discussion. It's not something I *requested* of him - it simply came up in our conversation. I expected him to decompress for a bit (because he did catch quite a bit of flak for the tournament - rightfully so or not - and tournaments can be extremely stressful to organize), and then take the time to detail his expenses. Disappointingly, that has not yet happened. So Doug, good on you for calling him out. It's deserved.

It's deserved because shit, for nearly $6K a seamless, unforgettable tournament could be thrown. Polojoel, it DEFINITELY costs money to throw a tournament. Los Marcos cost me somewhere between $1500 and $2000 out of my own pocket, and that "tournament" just pure ridiculousness. BUT people were fed, people were housed, people were entertained, and people were brought to amazing parties for four days. And we got NO MONEY AT ALL from any sponsors.

Philadelphia definitely got money from sponsors. Lots of it. We are very much justified in asking where it came from and where it went. Los Marcos registration was $15 per person, and I'm pretty sure we blew some people's minds. World's was $40. Why?

********************************
Does not apply at Los Marcos Melee

#71

polojoel

Thanks for the clarification Doug and Ken. I feel a wave of reasonableness washing over the thread. The way Doug frames the question ("Any leftover for next year?") is perfectly fair. I would be with everyone in feeling that Montana is obliged to respond.

And thank you for the $1500 to $2000 range. It sounds like a conservative estimate of the cost for a national tourney in my limited experience. For SF, we are thinking about doing a real official (permitted, insured, etc...) event next year. That'll learn us about how much these things cost, what's req'd to make it successful, etc.... Would like to avoid pitfalls.

#72

nedderweevil

San Francisco Bike Polo

polojoel wrote:

reasonableness

It's megamaid sir! She's gone from suck to blow!

"Never attribute to malice what can be explained by stupidity. Don't assign to stupidity what might be due to ignorance. And try not to assume your opponent is the ignorant one -- until you can show it isn't you." attributed to M.N. Plano in The Transparent Society by David Brinn

--
Credo quia absurdum

#73

son...

East Van Bike Polo

this thread sucks
and DD has never thrown a tourny
TAKER

BOP!

Portland United
www.eighthinch.com

#74

Doug D

I helped with ESPI2 and the NYPWRRPT&BBQCMDE http://www.hardcourtbikepolo.com/?p=34 was pretty much my idea. Ask anybody in New York.
Wait, you were there.

This thread would be better if it had some answers.

Doug D
Brooklyn, New York
http://www.hardcourtbikepolo.com/

Doug D
Brooklyn, New York
hardcourtbikepolo+gmail+com
hardcourtbikepolo.com

#75

Tex

Ottawa

What is that Jason? Blue Steel, Le Tigre, Magnum?

3...2...1...GO!

Mallets Of Mayhem

Little Richmond B.O.P.

suck it Phaneuf!

http://www.victoire-cycles.com/

#76

son...

East Van Bike Polo

sorry doug
sorry for everything...
goodbye doug
i know you wont miss my frequent visits to pit

BOP!

Portland United
www.eighthinch.com

#77

Ange

Where's the money Lebowski?

#78

Doug D

Doug D
Brooklyn, New York
hardcourtbikepolo+gmail+com
hardcourtbikepolo.com

#79

BOOOM

Milwaukee

http://wookieenation.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/dk-cn-00005.jpg

BOOM!

I like your polo.

#80

ken

********************************
Does not apply at Los Marcos Melee

#81

BOOOM

Milwaukee

Thanks, Ken!

BOOM!

I like your polo.

#82

ThePoloFuries

Fort Lauderdale Bike Polo

i'm going to prove you wrong by holding a free tournement that will cost NO money to eneter or to PUT ON. Oh, and it will be a fantastic tournement.
Excessive things...
tee shirts
spoke cards
insurance
permits
flyers
74 Miles per hour bitches.

"ok Mr. Schwinn fucking Armstrong!"
www.burrobags.com

#83

Tim A

COMOPOLO

Good luck with that. I've never heard of a one man polo tourney, but then again, I guess no one would, right?

www.comopolo.com

#84

Drew CoMO

COMOPOLO

I'd be fucksapissed if I drove to all the way to South Florida only to get kicked out of the courts by Straightlace McPenpusher at the FTL parks department since you decided not to stay legit.

Getting insurance and permits ARE IMPORTANT and they DO cost money, if nothing else as insurance that people who come from far away won't get kicked out of the spot. DIY ethos are nice and all but letting down polo homies is bad mojo.

SUCK TOWN POLO

#85

Dave

NYC

Really? You're going to be able to get permits and insurance without paying for it? Please, do the polo community a favor, and key us in on how you plan on doing that so that we can all offer these no cost tourneys.

I have no problem saying that there is, currently, absolutely no way that it is possible to get a supply of sponsors to cover cost to hold a tourney. Actually, I dont think that this game will ever be so attractive to so many sponsors that you or anyone else would be able to hold a tournament of any size at no cost to organizers or participants.

#86

kev

Toronto

Straight up. I've been to a number of good tournaments that didn't have any of these things. If you have secure tenure of good courts, you don't need permits. Insurance is great for players, and sometimes required but whoever actually owns the courts, but definitely not necessary.

#87

Dave

NYC

kev wrote:

And these tourneys were 100 percent free for the competitors and the organizers??? I doubt it. I am not saying that some locales are not still able to forgo permits and insurance, I am sure that is the case. I do think though, that in order to successfully host a tournament of any size, that permits and the required insurance to obtain them, are a necessity for more locales than not.

#88

kev

Toronto

At the NYC in Madison, all registration money went into a pool that was split between the winning team, who got $1000, and the team that knocked out Doug/Zach/Paul, who got $250. The indoor half of the tourney had insurance and was permitted (um, at the cost of scrubbing floors). Tons of free beer, lots of free food, no one in Madison spent much money.

i'm not arguing for free tournaments, i just think that the overall point is that people can be resourceful... All Polofuries said is that he could do it, and i bet you he could, on the only outdoor double-hockey-court i've ever seen.

#89

Doug D

Kev, your example is a good one. That tourny was a good one. I didnt think it cost too much and it was not lacking in what it delivered. A success for your club.
Fishtown cost a lot and delivered little. So back to the original question, where's the money? and how much is left? (for the European city yet-to-be-named that is hosting 2010 Worlds)

Doug D
Brooklyn, New York
http://www.hardcourtbikepolo.com/

Doug D
Brooklyn, New York
hardcourtbikepolo+gmail+com
hardcourtbikepolo.com

#90

Dave

NYC

Still, "no one in Madison spending much money" is different than spending NO money, which Polofuries claims is doable. It may be, but my bet is that it is not possible to hold a tournament (not a glorified Sunday Session with local teams) that anyone would deem a success without having to spend $$$. I'm not going to argue this anymore...there have been lots of tournaments with lots of different amenities offered and, more importantly, lots of great polo played, all of which have cost varying amounts of money from the organizers and/or competitors.

Anyway, I think Doug asked someone here a question, didn't he? I made no secret of my disappointment in the Worlds as soon as I saw the venue. However, I continued to give Montana and the rest of the organizers the benefit of the doubt. Then, I got a Pint Glass and a Tshirt amd played all but two of my games on the mini courts where you couldnt even keep the ball in play within the confines of the haybales and cut up Cigarette signage. Also, I was a little flabbergasted when my team was charged $180 for "late registration". Yes, i am fully aware that Montana let us know about this uptick in reg fees if we didnt pay on time, but what could he have possibly needed that extra $60 for? Surely it was apparent by the weekend of the tourney how much money was spent.

For the record, I have always liked Montana and I was probably one of his biggest supporters in his venture towards the Federation. Ironically, when the idea of the Fed was in its infancy, he had asked me to serve as Treasurer....I told him I would be happy to fill it until the organization was off the ground and proper appointments could be made. I never heard another word about it...did someone else fill this? If so, do they have any insight as to where almost $6000 in registration fees went? To those who think that this thread is accusatory, maybe it is, but we are DEFINITELY owed some explanation of where this money went. Mostly because Montana said he would do so long before the tournament even took place but also because I believe that Montana would probably benefit hisself by doing so. I dont think that he is vacationing somewhere with our money, i think that, at worst, it was just grossly misspent/mishandled, not stolen. The only way that he can quiet his accusers is to answer these questions.

#91

jonny

Madison

Madison didn't spend any money on this but that is because ben, and i and the rest of the madison players used up a ton of social capital and got everything else for free. The beer, food and lodging as well as courts would have cost us money if we didn't have the relationships to make that happen. I do think tournaments could be done cheaper and there is a lot of money that is getting thrown away because resources are not allocated very smartly. I'm assuming that if a tournament had a space with a secure court that cost could be significantly cut.

Liability insurance is mostly for the owner of the facilities and does little to help out with injuries to players or materials. If a location doesn't require it then don't get it.

Montana doesn't seem to want to talk about this and i don't know his motives for that but we do know now that open process of how money is going to be spent should be talked about before a major tournament. We should know what the courts are going to be like as well as a few other logistics.

#92

Sveden

Minneapolis Hardcourt Bike Polo

Spokecards rule.

Minneapolis Bike Polo dot Com

#93

JohnnyMidwest

Yeah, Madison was great. Look at the stark difference between the two (admittedly differently sized) tournaments:

One cost very little, was well run (floor cleaning excepted), everyone had a place to stay and left satisfied. The organizers didn't spend a ton but they used their relationships & social capital - lots of people in Madison put in time and donated shit to make it happen. The other one: people left unsatisfied and the handful of organizers had/asked for very little help.

#94

JohnnyMidwest

ThePoloFuries wrote:

The only catch is that it will be in Buttcheez, FL and no one will come.

#95

ThePoloFuries

Fort Lauderdale Bike Polo

yah, well, i'll be enjoying warm weather and playing polo in shorts while you freezee your ass off in the winter

"ok Mr. Schwinn fucking Armstrong!"
www.burrobags.com

#96

john from dc

DC Bike Polo

GOT EM

#97

ben

Madison

watch what you say on the internets or youll catch a fist to the jaw at the next tourny ... see how lame it sounds now . exactly oh and guess what you took that stupid shit down. how fast was your shot again, i guess i forgot. maybe it was nice to have it constantly posted. just for reference.

#98

ilikegum

damn, this just got serious.

#99

ThePoloFuries

Fort Lauderdale Bike Polo

haha
74 miles per hour ben hunter

"ok Mr. Schwinn fucking Armstrong!"
www.burrobags.com

#100

JohnnyMidwest

ThePoloFuries wrote:

yah, well, i'll be enjoying warm weather and playing polo in shorts while you freezee your ass off in the winter

Warm weather makes you fat and lazy. Siberian winters make us strong like oxes. You're getting a sand-wedgie at bike polo spring break.

#101

Mark Capriotti

Philadelphia Bicycle Polo

You're from Madison?

#102

capt. jake

Milwaukee

hes from michigan
www.mkebikepolo.com

--
www.mkebikepolo.com

#103

ThePoloFuries

Fort Lauderdale Bike Polo

ugh. nevermind. you don't fucking get it.
74 Miles per hour bitches.

"ok Mr. Schwinn fucking Armstrong!"
www.burrobags.com

#104

ryand

DC Bike Polo

you are right. the people in this thread who have successfully organized multi-day tournaments that required being the only people to use a facility, taken the money out of their pockets to get in touch with our local parks services to get the location secured and insured, so that when you come and hurt yourself you can go to the hospital and you are covered. to get in touch with people to house 20-something teams. to find a venue to host 60 polo players + locals + volunteers for food and drink. we just don't fucking get it.

slapdick bike polo - washington dc

#105

kev

Toronto

Most tournament organizers haven't provided health insurance to players, many haven't had to pay to get a location secured, and no one as far as i know has paid for housing for players. In many cases food/beer has been sponsored, provided for free.

So i get what he's saying. It just depends on the city.

#106

ryand

DC Bike Polo

ESPI3 cost us a lot of money to secure the location. New York also has to get permits for the pit.

The housing meant just taking the time to find places for that many people to sleep. It is a lot of work to house all of the out of towners for a tournament.

And yeah, I guess Birdeye said it right down below with the insurance actually being to cover the city? I don't know. All I know is we had to pay for it to get the permits, so I assumed it was for people getting hurt, but since nobody did, I didn't test the theory.

A tournament CAN be held for little to no money, but if you are going to host something more than some DC Small Potatoes Day Trip tournament (ESPI, NSPI, Worlds, NAs, Euros, whatever) you should take the time and money to plan it right.

slapdick bike polo - washington dc

#107

ThePoloFuries

Fort Lauderdale Bike Polo

nope, you still don't get it. And i have put on a full weekend event that went quite fine thank you.
Kev does... thank you.
74 Miles per hour bitches.

"ok Mr. Schwinn fucking Armstrong!"
www.burrobags.com

#108

ken

congrats. worked for you. doesn't always work for everyone else. clearly didn't work for philly. And why? that's what we want to know.

********************************
Does not apply at Los Marcos Melee

#109

chris roberts

NYC

fixcraft.net

#110

CH0MB0

NYC

late night drunk post and what not

---------------------------
CH0MB0 3:16
oh sheet

#111

Mark Capriotti

Philadelphia Bicycle Polo

why do you keep doing this? we know you wrote something "nasty" and then edited.

x2 if you agree

#112

hatchet

Paris

stupid question which I think I read elsewhere but the answer slipped through my headmass.

What is the insurance for?
Does it cover personal injury or is it to protect us if we trash the courts in some way.

#113

Birdseye

Seattle

Here NYC, the insurance is to cover the cities liability. So if a player or passerby hurts them self and decides to sue, to cost doesn't come out of the city/venues pocket. I could be wrong, but I don't think it does anything like blanket medical coverage for the participants.

#114

keith

Seattle

You are right. It does not provide medical coverage. The injured participant of passerby would have to sue, & win, to be reimbursed for medical expenses, ect. This is a common misconception.

Chicago Hardcourt Bike Polo

#115

ben schicago

Chicago

When people are traveling across the country to play in a highly competitive tournament, free-of-charge or otherwise, you get insurance. Without question.

#116

Roxy

When people are paying to play in your tourney and are traveling from another country to a country with no National Health Service, you have, at a minimum, paramedics on site.

#117

ken

And that could cost money. We can't ship Johnny Midpaypal EVERYWHERE.

********************************
Does not apply at Los Marcos Melee

#118

eh jackal

East Van Bike Polo

and why not? johnny midpaypal everywhere in oh ten!

referees if necessary, but not necesarily refereeing

#119

mad_sam (not verified)

We could do it, if we used SCIENCE

#120

ben

Madison

hey kev can you see when montana last logged in?

#121

Matt-Hewitt

Milwaukee

x2 the old fashion way.

mkebikepolo.com

www.mkebikepolo.com/wordpress

#122

kev

Toronto

yes

#123

ben

Madison

good to know

#124

Doug D

I'm sure Kev can but knowing that says nothing since this site is public and being logged in is only needed if one wants to comment or post.
I think Montana knows people want information and that he's not providing it.
Either he is preparing the info to make public or he's keeping it a secret and we will never know.

Doug D
Brooklyn, New York
http://www.hardcourtbikepolo.com/

Doug D
Brooklyn, New York
hardcourtbikepolo+gmail+com
hardcourtbikepolo.com

#125

pete

Portland Bike Polo

"Either he is preparing the info to make public or he's keeping it a secret and we will never know."

I suspect the latter.

PETE_of_C0M0P0L0
www.comopolo.com

Pro-friendly bike polo!

#126

ben

Madison

but his web site theinterneteatsabagofdicks.edu doesnt seem to be working.

#127

nedderweevil

San Francisco Bike Polo

alma mater

--
Credo quia absurdum

#128

son...

East Van Bike Polo

BOP!

Portland United
www.eighthinch.com

#129

Kiersten

Seattle

Does anyone else find it slightly ironic that this is exactly the kind of thing the Fed should be handling?

A high profile tournament, that seems to have had a major facilities problem, questionable money handling, and upset participants demanding refunds. I feel that in other sports a governing body would have stepped in to sort this out.

I have nothing against Montana or the Fed, and wasn't at worlds. But its my observation from the sidelines.

#130

ben

Madison

a governing body couldt fix a fucked situation like this, unless were talking about obama and the detroit crisis, wall street crisis, housing crash, and main street crisis.

the fed is a failure because it wasn't able to prevent this. if the fed is worth anything its in prevention not patching.

but with a piece of shit like montana running things it was bound to fail. look at how he went around trying to build the fed. join or die. so montana if you are reading. fuck you, stay the fuck out of bike polo.

#131

eh jackal

East Van Bike Polo

montana is not a piece of shit. i'm sorry ben, but he isn't. there are fuck-ups, i've made my share, but it doesn't make someone a piece of shit. maybe he is tired of a website that just calls people pieces of shit all the time. (though i sure wish he'd answer phone calls). montana, wherever you are, i hope you are doing okay.

referees if necessary, but not necesarily refereeing

#132

ben

Madison

not answering phone calls, not responding to simple questions.

talking really big and then completely failing? thats not a big deal, what makes him a piece of shit is his 2 mo. zone of silence. what makes him a fucker is his refusal to answer questions he said he would.

sorry piet but right now hes scum, and if he wants to change that he better do something or its just gonna cement itself into a brick permanent brick o shit that is montana.

#133

Medic.Mike

Seattle

I say we wait for word from montana before we start saying things like this. It would be pretty poor judegement on his part to line his pockets with polo players money. If this was done, which after my encounter with montana at the N.A.'s I doubt, then yes I agree with the anger, but name calling and comments such as "stay out of polo" are out of place based on speculation.

It certainly doesn't seem to be a very welcoming atmosphere for montana to explain himself when many people have accused him of things that aren't going to be accepted by the community. I hope that at somepoint montana makes the finaces of the worlds public, I'd like to see what the expenses were out of my own curiosity and desire to run something of this scale some day. I doubt he will if people are all ready doubting his actions.

_______
Marco!
I am the Duck.

____________
West and East squash the beef
That shit 's legit as fuck!

#134

polojoel

Yes a gov. body could prevent (fix) something like this.

This situation seemed to have a gov. body sanctioning its own event. That is a fundamental flaw. The gov. body must be separate from event. There has to be a group looking over the shoulder of the organizer, making sure promises are kept.

Montana is one person. Maybe this was just his big f.u. and a city in Europe will show us next year. Let's hope there will be more Worlds.

#135

dustin

Seattle

also, where's the trophy?! we do want that thing eventually.

#136

Medic.Mike

Seattle

You'll get nothing except swaffle and like it.
_______
Marco!
I am the Duck.

____________
West and East squash the beef
That shit 's legit as fuck!

#137

sauls

PENSACOLA BIKE POLO

youll get it when leon and seabass get yalls SESPI shirts.

sorry agains.

#138

Sveden

Minneapolis Hardcourt Bike Polo

The Twin Towers jokes have been unpublished. This thread is already hot enough without jokes in poor taste.

Minneapolis Bike Polo dot Com

#139

ilikegum

Better add that to the guidelines, Mr. Serious.

You'll leave a post with one dude calling another dude a piece of shit over and over (which I don't care about) but you're going to edit a post that has The Fresh Prince of Bel Air dancing on WTC #1?

This whole thread is in poor taste... but here it is and still delivering. Try not to ruin it for us.

TOO SOON FRAZER, TOO SOON!

#140

frazer

PENSACOLA BIKE POLO

now this is a story all bout how
my worlds bucks got misspent somehow
and i'd like a take a minute
just sit rite down
i'll tell u how montana gave us the runaround

klack klack klack

#141

ThePoloFuries

Fort Lauderdale Bike Polo

i love you frazer

"ok Mr. Schwinn fucking Armstrong!"
www.burrobags.com

#142

ryand

DC Bike Polo

who are all these florida kids talking shit about montana? were you guys at worlds? the only floridians i knew of being there was tampa pete and loud ryan.

slapdick bike polo - washington dc

#143

jason f-off

Seattle

there were two florida teams plus a few random florida players at worlds...irregardless it shouldn't matter what state or city you are from anyway. i think if anything it should be a point of pride for the polo community that the fledgling clubs are given a voice. the last thing polo needs is players/clubs/cities/states that enjoy some counter-productive and ridiculous sense of entitlement. plus, newer clubs are sometimes not as jaded as some of the older clubs and still have that optimistic far reaching hope that polo can be something amazing...each and every tournament. having never met you i know nothing about you and i'm in no way saying you feel the way i mentioned above and i can only hope and assume you were using florida simply as locative rather than pejorative...but if any florida kids are talking shit (which i haven't heard)...i doubt any of the complaints/gripes are aimed at montana personally but rather at the exorbitant attitudes and seemingly easily avoided oversights of organizers in general. i think most of us agree...amazing courts come first, period....the rest is window-dressing. i see complaints about the courts at the worlds as neither frivolous nor malicious...they were sub-standard. this was the worlds...should have been bigger and better than the north americans...right?

FTL BIKE POLO...

#144

ben

Madison

what does irregardless mean, do you mean regardless?

#145

GaGoosh

East Van Bike Polo

sofa king lovely.

B.O.P. 4-EVA

Okay catfish, I'm going to move my mouth like this...

#146

jason f-off

Seattle

prescriptivism aside...it's used mainly in prose and being a lit nerd sometimes these little guys sneaks into my everyday lexicon. it's commonly considered a combination of sorts...irrespective and regardless. plus, I am a sucker for double negatives, colloquialisms, antiquated terms, etc...love 'em.

FTL BIKE POLO...

#147

ryand

DC Bike Polo

i've never met a self proclaimed lit nerd that was corrected by ben hunter, and then went on to defend with the statement "these little guys sneaks into". i think before you go on telling everybody that you are a lit nerd, you should take a few more grammar lessons.

actually, i don't think i've ever seen anybody be corrected by ben hunter. amazing.

slapdick bike polo - washington dc

#148

jason f-off

Seattle

hahaha...you gotta love the internet where typos are everything. I'm a bookworm...it's not a statement of self-proclaimed intellectual prowess it just means I nerd out over lit and I definitely don't ascribe to any rigid sense of prescriptivism. don't care about learning me no proper grammar or speaking me no standard American English...because they don't exist. language evolves. many great writers purposefully rebel against the curtailment of creativity and non-standard expression by purposefully using non traditional modes. maybe this post will cement my nerd status? just so we're on the same page here...I was just trying to keep you from making the mistake of lumping all Florida kids together as shit-talkers. have the guts to single people out don't make it all impersonal and call out a general area that by your own admission you don't even know anything about...don't be douchey. I'm pretty antisocial so if I rub you the wrong way don't worry about it...I keep to myself and just play polo. I got no designs on breaking in to any inner circles...

I don't know ben so I thought maybe he really was actually interested in the etymology of irregardless. pobably I'm too out of the loop to fully appreciate the stinging shame that is a ben hunter correction?

FTL BIKE POLO...

#149

ThePoloFuries

Fort Lauderdale Bike Polo

pwned.

"ok Mr. Schwinn fucking Armstrong!"
www.burrobags.com

#150

ben

Madison

I made a name for myslef by not correting typos and just going at it with whatever iwanted to say. it ws primarily a social tool that i used to help peole not take me too seriously and allow for some idiots ( red army rebel) to name one, a easy outlet to diss me while at the same time missing the point. It has been refered to as the glory hole days of ben hunter,b ut at this point i useally just wait for people to slip up and smck them with a gramatical correction. plus i used to use irregardless alot then i realized that it wasnt really a word and i shou;d use the word i menat wich was regardless. shortly after that i turned twelve.

#151

ben

Madison

above is an example of my above mentioned literary style. if you track my post through profile and look at some of my earlier work you will see a broader more dynamic expression of that style. Also the above was written without the use of alcohol or weed, so it really isnt completely true to form. a reference point that you may want to be aware of is that redarmyrebal no longer exist, but some bop bullshit or another.

#152

GaGoosh

East Van Bike Polo

But I'll always be an idiot Ben. You can't straw man or red herring that away from me. Buy me a ticket fuckwad. I wanna go to Madison and see, um, you...

B.O.P. 4-EVA

Okay catfish, I'm going to move my mouth like this...

#153

jason f-off

Seattle

glory hole days has a nice ring to it...surely there was something more notable than that to welcome you to your last pre-teen year? irreverence and self-deprecatipn are indeed useful social tools...especially when it's part of a private joke.

FTL BIKE POLO...

#154

ben

Madison

it was a very public joke, i think that was the point, just cause you dont get it doenst mean its inside.

#155

jason f-off

Seattle

nice...public inside joke...everybody wins...almost.

FTL BIKE POLO...

#156

Tex

Ottawa

FUCK OFF jason

3...2...1...GO!

Mallets Of Mayhem

Little Richmond B.O.P.

suck it Phaneuf!

http://www.victoire-cycles.com/

#157

jason f-off

Seattle

you have to color in the "F" and the "U"....hahaha.

FTL BIKE POLO...

#158

brian from ottawa

Ottawa

ha ha

#159

JohnnyMidwest

jasonfortlauderdale wrote:

FTL BIKE POLO...

Hmmm. That explains the tattoo, then.

#160

jason f-off

Seattle

misanthropy explains that little guy...and why it's not covered up. I've had it for 19 years so I actually forget about it until it somehow offends someone's delicate sensibilities, hahaha. I think what should be more offensive is the terrible homemade job we made of it...ahhh to be irredeemably punk rock.

FTL BIKE POLO...

#161

ThePoloFuries

Fort Lauderdale Bike Polo

i love you jason, but you explain yourself too much. chill out. you got nothing to prove to anyone.

"ok Mr. Schwinn fucking Armstrong!"
www.burrobags.com

#162

jason f-off

Seattle

you're so feisty...I'm too old...this damn newfangled internet thing...this is real life, right? I need to stick to talking polo...all polo all the time!

kyle's been tearing it up at pick-up by the way...

now back to the thread...

FTL BIKE POLO...

#163

Sveden

Minneapolis Hardcourt Bike Polo

Glad to see you edited this post after the fact to say something slightly more coherent.

Minneapolis Bike Polo dot Com

#164

ilikegum

My coherency aside. You're still a piece of shit.

#165

Sveden

Minneapolis Hardcourt Bike Polo

Minneapolis Bike Polo dot Com

#166

renard argente

Philadelphia Bicycle Polo

YIP!

#167

son...

East Van Bike Polo

coming from a rich history of 15 plus years of road racing i can see where this is going
check out the uscf.
its really not a bad organization
they have representatives in different regions of the country
these reps are in charge of upgrades/stats of all riders in there region
the refs are a very important part of the whole thing because they come out early in the season to check courses to make sure they are safe and up stand the qualifications
i happen to think that the "stats" and regional "reps" will prevent another crisis like worlds
in other words...
high level of play
great play spots
seperate brackets for "B" teams able to work there way up to the main event
thanks for reading i should have stayed in college/payed attention in high school

BOP!

Portland United
www.eighthinch.com

#168

brian from ottawa

Ottawa

WOW! What a great dialog we have here. First, I feel that Montana does have an obligation to disclose the info that others are asking. Second, calling him names is completely uncalled for despite what your personal opinions maybe. My guess is he lost his shirt on this even with the high cost of registration and obvious low cost of investment in infrastructure. I have heard of some ridiculous costs in renting facilities in the USA. Not to mention the cost of liability insurance. Perhaps a big part of where the money went. Not the problem here in Ottawa.

The North Side out lay of cash is similar to that of Los Marcos being somewhere around 1500-2000. Yes there are sponsors and yes things still cost money. And yes we turn a small profit every year. That money gets rolled back into our local community and helps forward next years tournament making things go easier every year. It also allows us to do charitable things for others like ship Kremin's bike to Vancouver before the North Americans. ($184.00 cdn)

Personally I understand the frustration from so many about the facility not being up to par and feel that we as a North American Polo community took a black eye for the bad infrastructure. As far as passing blame on to one persons shoulders, I feel that perhaps we should all take a piece of that. Many of us stood by to watch it fall. However, It was not my tournament nor was it in my city either. I'm off work now so more later.

#169

Evan

word

#170

ben

Madison

when shit went bad at naxxx in toronto, we all understood that it didnt make you a fucker. you tried your hardest you put in tons of work and you got help from lots of people. sure pieter was a dick at that tourny, and you put him in authority but you hadnt slept for days. the long story short is that you were open to talk, you talked and you explained what was going on.

montana talked, he laid out explicitly what he needed to pull of this tourny and what he was going to provide, he raised according to him over 10 grand probably close to 15, and for what. if he would post or make some sort of comment or answer his phone or do anything. anything i would be willing to not be so harsh. but as things are he missed that boat. it would have taken him 10 min to give us a rough estimate on where the money was spent and an apology for fucking up. that was due within 7 days of the tourney. Sure we could be a ever forgiving loving and thoughtful community, but im not going to give him the benefit of the doubt until he speaks up.

#171

son...

East Van Bike Polo

thanks COACH

BOP!

Portland United
www.eighthinch.com

#172

son...

East Van Bike Polo

FUCK THE worm THREAD!

BOP!

Portland United
www.eighthinch.com

#173

BOOOM

Milwaukee

BOOM!

I like your polo.

#174

son...

East Van Bike Polo

me thinks the whiney owl WAS THERE

BOP!

Portland United
www.eighthinch.com

#175

BOOOM

Milwaukee

A HahahahaaAAAHA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAA!!!!!! HAHAHAHAAA!!!!

BOOM!

I like your polo.

#176

Tex

Ottawa

Thunderbird?

3...2...1...GO!

Mallets Of Mayhem

Little Richmond B.O.P.

suck it Phaneuf!

http://www.victoire-cycles.com/

#177

Choppin Cecily

Portland Bike Polo

those nylons they wear really freak me out.

#178

ben

Madison

yea, in a good way?

#179

Meg Lee

Minneapolis Hardcourt Bike Polo

yeah, i was just going to say... whats wrong with their legs??

Bicycle/cykel/自行車/das Fahrrad/polkupyörä/bicicletta/bicicleta/reiðhjól/fiets/يَرْكَبُ درّاجة هوائ

#180

ilikegum

they wear that shit because their legs usually look like a garbage bag full of cornflakes.

#181

ThePoloFuries

Fort Lauderdale Bike Polo

BAAA ZING!

"ok Mr. Schwinn fucking Armstrong!"
www.burrobags.com

#182

Kenny D.

East Van Bike Polo

I always thought the hooters girls had prosthetic legs, you mean they are just horribly disfigured; thats a relief.

Kite

EVBP

EVBP
nsbikepolo.com

#183

son...

East Van Bike Polo

haahaahahahahahahhaah
hooty whoooo
owl for 5th moderator NOW

BOP!

Portland United
www.eighthinch.com

#184

Polosapien

Calgary Bike Polo

can we end this thread now? its not going anywhere, except in tighter and tighter circles!

www.bikebike.ca

#185

Ange

We want za munee Lebowski.

#186

GaGoosh

East Van Bike Polo

Wavey Davey is right. Show us tha Benjamins!

B.O.P. 4-EVA

Okay catfish, I'm going to move my mouth like this...

#187

ben

Madison

i dont know if you know this but ben is short for benjamin.... by the way capriotti emailed me. guess what he said

#188

GaGoosh

East Van Bike Polo

that ben is short for benjamin?
or that montana has been incapacitated for the last month or so and will read this thread as soon as he is physically able?

B.O.P. 4-EVA

Okay catfish, I'm going to move my mouth like this...

#189

polojoel

x2?

#190

Mark Capriotti

Philadelphia Bicycle Polo

I didn't click the option to send it to myself, so i forget exactly what it said, but it was in response to one of his many coherent zingers. irregardless.

#191

ben

Madison

yea, it was sweet to get a email, makes it feel more person to person

#192

ken

I just found out that Montana gave all the money to Johnny Midwest.

********************************
Does not apply at Los Marcos Melee

#193

polojoel

Someone new to lynch?

Glad he didn't say he gave it to me.

#194

Choppin Cecily

Portland Bike Polo

and Johnny MidPayPal goes deeper into the hole.

#195

Ange

Perfect, cuz Johnny Midwest owes money.

#196

Medic.Mike

Seattle

Shit ange, Nursing school is expensive.
_______
Marco!
I am the Duck.

____________
West and East squash the beef
That shit 's legit as fuck!

#197

son...

East Van Bike Polo

congratulations DR Jones on your polo union...! Marriage that is ! I Wish you all the best, and hope you make many polo babies after you consimate in the hay. Love jaz

Portland United
www.eighthinch.com

#198

natred

NYC

anyone have one of these? whered the saddles go montana?

http://brooksengland.com/en/Shop_ProductPage.aspx?cat=editions+-+Limited...

#199

Rob_G

Chicago

Pretty sure Abe from Chicago is rocking one of the "Mandarin" ones, not sure where it came from though, I don't think he was there.

You'll see. Unless you drilled out your eyes because they were too heavy.

#200

lucky

Didn't Montana incur thousands of dollars in legal and filing fees incorporating The Federation as a Delaware s-corp? He probably paid himself back for that.

Wanna buy some polo stuff?
http://www.fixcraft.net/stcago

#201

eric_dc

DC Bike Polo

No. The Federation obtained a C-Corp charter in Delaware but never completed incorporation. Total filing fees were under $200 and I paid a big part of that. There were no legal fees. Thanks for asking.