Machine Politics vs Beaver Boys, May 2011. Photo by Bruce Carver
Last night, Zack took a mallet to the eye... twice. The first time wasn't so bad, the second one cut both lids and knicked the eyeball itself. He got eight stiches and might have some vision impairment, but they won't be sure until he heals and the swelling goes down.
I know there are some players that wear protective gear (Robbie and Paul, for example) - but do you think it is time to start thinking about rules for high sticking? Soccer has a dangerous kick rule, and hockey has high stick. These rules definitely came about for a reason. Nobody wants to hit anybody in the eye, and nobody wants to take a mallet to the face.
The downfall of trying to enstate a rule: what would the penalty be? Go tap out? That could actually be pretty effective I suppose. But who is going to officiate it? It makes things very complex. Obviously we need to self-regulate these things as well, but I think trying to call high sticking would end in more argument then progress in the sport.
Thoughts?
sorry to hear about zack.
can you describe the two separate circumstances in which he got hit? i think if you want to officiate mallet height, then we need to be clear about whether it happens on the back-swing, the follow-through, a pass, etc. I think having details about when and how people actually get hit in the face will help us make any such decisions. or perhaps you just want a "no mallet head can ever be higher than ....."?
nyc
I feel like high sticks are hard to define. Sometimes it happens inadvertently. My stick slid up Zach (NYC) in Madison, and caught him over his eye. Luckily it didn't cut him. If you are going to have a high stick rule, even something like what I described would have to be enforced.
I feel like a good penalty for a minor offense (if we are talking hockey terms a 2:00 minor) in polo is the person who committed the foul would have to sit by the tapout for 30 seconds. In hockey the penalty for a foul is you are short handed for 2 minutes out of a 60 minute total game. So if we were going on a 10 minute game model, that would put us at 20 seconds. I like a 30 second rule, but if we are playing 10 minute games, and going by the same ratio that hockey does, 20 seconds sitting my tapout for a 10 minute game.
There's absolutely no reason to have to swing a mallet higher than your bars. Period. I hate it when I see someone wind up with a big huge windmill swing, and for what? Showing off how hard you can hit?
It's awfully hard to enforce, though.
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this will not be enforceable. even the player with a strongest forearms will not be able to stop the mallet from going above bar level on a modestly hard backhand shot. if you're following someone and they start winding forward for a backhand, get out of their way. every facial injury i've is on account of that, partly cause the two points of contact are heading in opposite direction, like a head-on collision. the follow-through on a windmill is much more minor, because by the time the mallet comes that far up, it's lost most of it's momentum. but i agree that most windmills (ahem, menace) are unnecessary.
We should probably be wearing glasses, or visors à la doug/paul (not à la jackel).
i dont know... jackel claims that his visor has protected him on occasion. but as a style or fashion choice i agree not the best way to go
www.mkebikepolo.com
whether high sticking rule is enforced or not doesn't really matter because someone could still get nailed in the face and become seriously injured (as in the case of zack) regardless. i agree with kevin and think that we should probably be wearing visors or something over our faces. if you're concerned about getting hurt you should have the appropriate safety equipment (i have protective gloves and a helmet, and have looked into geting a lacrosse helmet with face guard) bike polo is an inherently dangerous sport and accidents are going to happen whether it's the most gentlemanly game or completely reckless.
i've been hit in the head several times and caught with a shaft in the eye once (it's no fun. my eyeball was bloodred for a bout amonth). i've also hit other people accidently and cut up paul pretty bad (sorry again paul). and, like everyone else that plays polo, we have witnessed some gnarly shit on the court as well crashes that looked brutal but everyone was fine. on the flip side, you may not even be aware that some one was just seriously injured as was the case with andy and doug in madison.... five seconds into the game andy comes rolling up to the sideline with an egg growing out of his hand looking for a substitute.
i'm not saying there shouldn't be a rule against high sticking, i think it's unnecessary as well as inefficient. but i think the main issue here is safety equipment.
-hero squad * milwaukee, wi-
Thanks, Joe. I need to check out a sporting goods store, and see whether the hockey or lacrosse has more peripheral vision. It looks like the lacrosse helmet is going to work out better at first glance.
I bought a lacross helmet (older one) and experimented with it around the neighborhood. I decided it wasn't even worth taking to the court. Currently I'm thinking the water sports helmets with a clear visor is the way to go.
(you can tell from my profile picture that i care about high sticking)
So it impaired your peripheral bision?
Perhaps the helmet didn't fit right (cheap, used) but I found it heavy and annoying. The cage on front and the chin-strap seemed like overkill. If high sticking and body checks were common I'd have bought a better helmet and tried that.
I'm in favor of mallet control and less crashes with reasonable protection "just in case". With a lighter helmet and a face guard maybe I'd get bruised, but not cut and vision impaired. Hopefully I don't need a design that lets me get hit multiple times per game.
Perhaps the helmet didn't fit right (cheap, used) but I found it heavy and annoying. The cage on front and the chin-strap seemed like overkill.
did it look like this?
cause those were the worst. heavy, crappy mobility and limited peripheral bison. pretty much everybody switched to cascade style helmets as soon as they came out
but i'd think they'd still be a lot less pleasant than a skate helmet and some goggles. plus if you fell on the wrong end of a mallet or some handlebars i could see the metal grating possibly forcing the object into your face rather than allowing it to glance off. i've seen it happen with a lacrosse stick and it wasn't pretty. that could be mitigated by a clear or tinted plastic shield a la
Yeah those Cascade style are what I was looking at...they don't seem to impair too much peripheral bision.
Also I'm not into the goggle thing, cause if I'm gonna go that far, I might as well get the cage to protect the grill.
I like these climbing helmets. Light weight and optional visor
http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_listing.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=253...
you are correct. i haven't tried the better variety. Do let us know how you like it. Even so if you have the plastic shield why have the cage at all?
Wear what you gotta, I'm never going to stop taking slapshots until the day I quit this game forever. That may come sooner or later, but that statement is a fact.
high sticking rules are well-established in hockey, if you want to use that as a guide - and i think it makes sense to, personally. if you hit someone above the shoulder with your stick, it's a high-stick. 2-minute minor. if he bleeds because of it, it's a high-stick. 4-minute double-minor. if you hit someone up high on the windup or the followthrough when shooting, clearing, or otherwise playing the puck/ball, it's NOT high-sticking. Defenders gotta keep their face out of your way, and shooters have to be allowed to shoot. Play the man, not the puck.
This isn't complex.
When someone brings their stick too high most people on the court yell at that person to watch what the fuck they are doing. Seems to be a good way of dealing with the problem. Shame.
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Minneapolis Bike Polo information list
A Blog about bikes
A couple weeks ago one of our guys, Math Dog, caught a mallet in the face. While he did get one nice laceration he did loose a quality beard. After that people got a bit touchy about high sticking. As usual we were drunk and yelling, but once most of us sobered up we decided to make the new guideline of keeping the mallet head below handlebar height. We also simultanously outlawed ape hangers.
Most of the mallets to face come from leaning in when someone is in there backswing which in my opinion is a self inflicted wound. check my profile pic. below the shoulder backswing but definitely higher than a handle bar.
I hit our resident doctor Justin in the mouth with my mallet and took out a good portion of his front tooth. My mallet was not that high but Justin was bent over stretching for the ball as I tried to BJ flip it over him. "Watch your Chickletes"
I agree that in general I know when a mallet is goign to be high. I think that mallets to the face will happen even with due care. But we only have one set of eyes and I think that folks that wear eye protection are on the right track.
I'm thinking about a junior hockey helmet.
check out lacrosse helmets. i was looking at them last summer before cmwc. the thing about a lacrosse helmet vs hockey that i thought would be better for polo was the fact that lacrosse is a summer sport and it's helmet seemed much better ventilated (like a bicycle/ hockey helmet hybrid) as opposed to the more insulated hockey helmet
-hero squad * milwaukee, wi-
disagree. did you read the comments above?
i agree about penalties for this: its gonna be tough to enforce. Having said that, I think we can all agree that a mallet that swings above your handlebars, backhand or forehand, is excessive and dangerous. Right?
I fully agree!!!
In every sports there are situation or behavior that are considered "dangerous play" : why shouldn't be the same for HBP ? I mean: I come from rugby that's really a body-force-confrontation sport but there are a lot of not-allowed situation (for ex.: high teckel, stamping, punching etc.)
Sometimes it happens inadvertently to swing above your handlebars, but should be a penalties, it doesn't count if it is inadvertently or not. This is smiley a dangerous play!!!
make a rule all you want its not going to stop accidents , get some goggles and your safe at least with your eyes , frankly i thinks its insane not to wear them especially with all you loose canons out there on the court
High sticking is necessary for true power a lot of times. Could you imagine the sissy shots that would always be happening if there were a no high sticking rule? I look at high sticking as a guideline instead of a rule because sometimes it just can't be avoided. I've gotten hit in the eye twice, a solid smack in the nose ( which led to a great bloodstache), and other areas in "high stick zone" but on only one instance should the other person have been penalized. I vote for high sticking within reason, and penalized under certain circumstances based on players' discretion. A cheap pair of safety glasses will save your eyes, everything else looks cool, right? Then you can tell people, "oh yeah, it happened when I was hit in the face playing bike polo!"
BOOM!
if you're gonna buy cheap sunglasses, buy cheap industrial NSA approved safety glasses, at least they're designed to take a hit.
ride or die
LOOSE BISON EVRYWHERE
Lots of companies make decent looking rec specs nowadays that are a far cry from the old-school "Abdul-Jabbar" look.
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polo championship checklist
6 no drinking
guys and girls this is our near future
Does this mean that your not going to be playing bike polo anymore?
Leon
Seattle Bike Polo
#6 seems suspect. pinko.
TOP CENTER 4-EVA
Has anyone ever seen him actually
drink water?
fuck yeah grill some brats!
just decided im gonna try to klements or usingers to sponsor the COG tourney. i love brats!
www.mkebikepolo.com
So what's the call, coach?
i hate when the ball gets thrown into the air. Joey took a freakin baseball swing at it and ended up hitting me across my chest and landing on my left arm. huge ass bruise.
THERE'S NO BASEBALL IN POLO!
Thanks shane
It was the cone not my mallet
BriBriMKE needs to watch his high sticking
www.mkebikepolo.com
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www.mkebikepolo.com