WHAT IS BIKEPOLO?
Hardcourt Bikepoloย is a fast-paced, gender-inclusive team sport played on a hard, smooth, enclosed court with rounded or angled corners. Three players per team ride bicycles and use mallets to hit a small plastic ball into the opposing team’s goal while avoiding physical contact with the ground. From its emergence in the 1990s, the sport benefited greatly from in the 2010s’ bike boom seeing the formation of international clubs and the growth of a strong tournament culture. Drawing from aspects of team sports and cycling, its unique blend of brutal difficulty, finesse, physicality, and flow attracts spectators and players alike, creating a passionate and vibrant sporting culture.
BASIC RULES
The game is typically played in teams of three on a rectangular, enclosed court with rounded corners. At the start, the teams line up with their bikes against the back wall of their goals and rush for the ball in a “joust” after the whistle. Points are only scored with a “shot” using the ends of the mallet head, not with a “shuffle” using the long side. After scoring, the attacking team must return to their half, while the defending team has ten seconds to advance the ball past half-court. A player who touches the ground (“dab”) must perform a “tap out” at a designated spot before rejoining play. The game is 12 minutes long or ends when a team has a lead of 5 goals.
EQUIPMENT
Hardcourt Bike Polo players originally made their own mallets using UHMW plastic heads and aluminum shafts, though professional mallets are now more common. Recently, carbon fiber shafts have gained popularity for their lightweight feel, despite concerns about durability. The game uses a PVC ball similar to a street hockey ball, with variations in hardness for different temperatures. While any bike with a brake is allowed, most players customize their bikes with strong brakes, single-speed setups, and wheel covers for protection. Competitive play requires netted goals, though informal games may use traffic cones. Despite growing standardization, innovation and experimentation continue to shape the sport.
BIKEPOLO GRAZ
The Bikepolo Graz club was founded by bike enthusiasts in 2010. Graz has a manageable but stable scene, which trains once or twice a week. Besides the training and fun games in Graz, we go to Maribor once a month to meet our friends from the south. So called “Coolpolo Jugo Alpe” ( Graz, Maribor / Ptuj, Zagreb, Villach). Graz regularly participate at a couple of national an international tournaments and even at the European and World championships. Django placed 5th with his team Check Mate (Shaye, Jason) at the World championship 2019 in Cordoba (ARG).
Every year Bikepolo Graz hosts an international tournament in the Volksgarten, where 16 teams, with players from many different countries compete and have a great time together.
2. / 3. Mai 2015
MUSCLE OPEN 2015
1. Octopussy (Tim, Leon, Pajac (๐ฉ๐ช/๐ต๐ฑ)
2. Apollo 3 (Przemek, Maciek (War), Maciek (Krk) ๐ต๐ฑ)
3. MMA (Rudy, Madej, Adi ๐ต๐ฑ)
30. April / 1. Mai 2016
WELLNESS OPEN 2016
1. Ride that Pony (Manuel, Matteo, Noce ๐ฎ๐น)
2. Fidget Midgets (Adi, Olej, Mateen ๐ต๐ฑ/๐ฆ๐น)
3. Rade Serbedzija (Andy, Kristaps, Reinis ๐ฉ๐ช/๐ฑ๐ป)
29. / 30. April 2017
JURASSIC OPEN 2017
1. Munichsaurusrex (Kat, Ghandi, Phil ๐ฉ๐ช)
2. Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (Shaki, Madej, Adi ๐ฆ๐น/๐ต๐ฑ)
3. Controlled Extinction (Conny, Mateen, Jirka ๐ฆ๐น/๐จ๐ฟ)
5. / 6. Mai 2018
DONKEY OPEN 2018
1. Alberto Bomba (Stef, Django, Marco ๐ฆ๐น)
2. Wattn Ditte (Florian, Christoph, Christoph ๐ฉ๐ช)
3. Angebot der Woche (Tim, Andrew, Kristaps ๐ฉ๐ช/๐ฑ๐ป)
27. / 28. April 2019
THE REAL VIENNA OPEN 2019
1. #itsonlyfuckingwolfgang (August, Tim, Kevin ๐ฉ๐ช)
2. Golem (Jirka, Daniel, Kyncl ๐จ๐ฟ)
3. Viennanever4ever (Prolo, Django, Andi ๐ฆ๐น/๐ฉ๐ช)
29. / 30. April 2023
ANKLE OPEN 2023
1. Caramel (Max, Eliลกka, Greg ๐จ๐ฟ/๐ฌ๐ง)
2. Enorm in form (Christoph, Levin, Julius ๐ฉ๐ช)
3. Diagonal Boi (Ana, Top, Gallo ๐ฆ๐น/๐ฎ๐น)
27. / 28. April 2024
VALHALLA OPEN 2024
1. Salchichas con Salsa (Alejandro, Django, Jonas ๐ช๐ธ/๐ฆ๐น)
2. Golem (Jirka, Jonaลก, Daniel ๐จ๐ฟ)
3. Caramel (Max, Eliลกka, Greg ๐จ๐ฟ/๐ฌ๐ง)
