Autumn Tournament wrap up

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Last weekend, May 11th and 12th Melbourne bike polo hosted the Autumn Tournament for the 5th year running. This is the longest running tournament in Australasia, starting in 2009
Each year we have listened to your feedback, learned from the past and planned for the next tournament. Each year more and more teams arrive and we are proud to announce that this year we saw 22 full teams with players from Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart, Perth, Sydney, and Melbourne (with teams from Northcote and Frankston/Seaford).

We used the excellent followpodium.com software to automate the Swiss Rounds and final Tournament bracket, where we ran the top 10 teams in the Whackers bracket and the lower 10 teams in the Hackers Bracket.  Due to a hiccup, Podium is showing an unfinished tournament (the Hackers bracket) and I have emailed Vince the Podium admin to remove this tournament.  Stay tuned

Quick note regarding final scores! Due to a hiccup with followpodium.com and being effectively locked out of the final scores and results, we had to go from memory. Unfortunately we made a mistake. 4th place was given to Yeah Buddy! at the awards ceremony but was actually won by O for Oweseome. This was highlighted by Ray from Yeah Buddy! who offered to return his prize. Congratulations to O for Owesome, and our sincere apologies for this mistake. You can review the full Whackers bracket tournament in detail below, a few pages down.

This year we saw a high number of novice teams wanting to enter a tournament but felt they lacked the skill to compete, so we voted to use the Christchurch Whackers/Hackers bracket system. The Hackers and Whackers brackets separated out the Top 10 teams into the Whackers bracket, and teams ranked 11th to 21st to compete in the Hackers bracket to give the newer teams a fair chance to compete in a fun tournament environment and allow the top tams to compete against the best of the best.

We look forward to seeing the progression of these newer teams, many of which are already showing great promise.

Thanks to everyone who pitched in, helped out, ran missions and assisted. Every one of these tasks made a huge difference to the tournament and helped the organisers concentrate on their duties and kept things running smoothly. Thank you to Dan Strout for flying down from Sydney with his broken arm and taking on the Head Ref duties. Massive thanks to our MBP organisers AJ, Andrew, Bart, Damon, James, Will and Gemma, we all pitched in and worked in our own free time (and some of us at work), giving up our evenings and weekends to put this event on

Here are the screen shots of the rankings in Day 1 Morning/Afternoon swiss rounds, the final seeding for Day 2′s Hackers and Whackers bracket, and the final rankings.  The hackers bracket was run oldskool cardboard/marker style, the Whackers bracket was run via Podium

Morning Swiss Rounds results

Afternoon Swiss rounds results

Combined Swiss rounds results and rankings

 Whackers Bracket (top10) Tournament ladder

Hackers bracket (Places 11 to 21)


Many thanks to our Sponsors who support Australasian Polo players and MBP tournaments, we thank you for your continued support!

Sydney Tournament on Queen’s Birthday Weekend

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Sydney Bench Tournament - Her Majesty's Last Annual Bike Polo Regatta 2013

Sydney Bench Tournament – Her Majesty’s Last Annual Bike Polo Regatta 2013

Note to those outside Sydney: Yes, this is short notice, but with Melbourne’s Autumn Tournament and Christchurch’s Winter Whack within a few weeks, we have kept it low key and focused on getting Canberra and Newcastle to Sydney for development. For those that are disappointed or expect us to hold a large tournament – hold your horses, we are planning some big things at the end of the year, or likely in February again!

Sydney Bike Polo is pleased to announce that we will be hosting a small tournament on Sunday the 9th of June 2013!!! This will be a single day Bench Tournament with randomly seeded players to even everyone out. There will be a chilled out vibe with music, BBQ, drinks and costumes!

Further info can be found at the Sydney Bike Polo website.

We will be holding pre drinks on the Saturday night and of course, an after party on Sunday night. Don’t forget that the Monday is a public holiday so we can work of those hangovers with more polo!

All you have to do is register by the pre-party Saturday night to get involved. How much is t did I hear you ask??? WELL IT’S FREE!!!

The costume theme is “The Queen” so dress in anything royal, the commonwealth or Freddie Mercury. There will be a prize for best costume!

More information to follow, but for now, all you need to know is:

When: Sunday 9th June 10am until 7pm(ish)
Pre-Party?: YES please – Saturday night 8pm location TBC
After-Party? Oh god yes – Sunday night 8pm location TBC
How to register: Contact Brook or Ben or sign up at the pre-party
How much?: It’s free!
Music: Are you kidding me? Of course!
Food: Meat and Vegan BBQ options. Gold coin donations.
Costume: Mandatory. Drinking penalties apply
But I’ve never played before: Don’t be daft, get signed up and join in!

For further info, check Sydney’s site at: www.sydneybikepolo.org

A quick note on court fees in Melbourne

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Each week we pay to use the courts. This gives us lights and two courts with an amazing surface. We also use the money to maintain the boards that enclose the court.

We try to keep court fees as unobtrusive as possible to keep bike polo fun and accessible. We don’t ask visitors or new players to contribute to the court costs.

How it works

Ongoing payment for the courts is made by regular players who pay into the club bank account on a weekly, three monthly or yearly basis. If you don’t have a suitable bank account, another regular player will be happy to transfer the money for you. The payments are received by Andrew who pays invoices from the account. This is all tracked in a spreadsheet which is open to everyone for transparency.

You can view the spreadsheet here.

We aim to keep some money in the bank so that we don’t get caught short. We can also use additional money to improve the boards.

What about tournaments?

The courts are booked in advance for all our tournaments for the year. After the tournament the additional fee is included in our club invoice for that month. Tournament organisers need to raise money through either entry fees or sponsorship to cover the cost of court hire.

The rates

· New players and Visitors are free
If you have only played polo at Flagstaff less than 6 sessions (ever) or if you’re travelling from interstate or overseas then please consider yourself our guest.

· Member $80/ 3 months

For the long-term regular player. This is the most popular and important membership type to keep Melbourne Bike Polo going at Flagstaff.

(Consider this if you have been playing for more than 6 months and plays 10 or more times over 3 months)

Seasonal fees are payable in advance and are due:

̵ 31st March (for April to June)

̵ 30 Jun (for July to September)

̵ 30 Sep (for October to December)

̵ 31 Dec (for January to March)

· Casual/Concession/Under 18′s $5/day

Consider paying the reduced weekly rate if you have been playing less than 6 months, you’re still in school, or if you only play 1 or 2 weeks a month.

· Member $250 / 1 Year (from payment)

For the most committed and passionate supporters of Melbourne Bike Polo.

(Consider a yearly membership if you want to demonstrate your commitment to the highest level)

The future of Australian sport (looks like us)

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The future of Australian sport report was released today by CSIRO Futures and The Australian Sports Commission. It reinforces many of the themes and issues that Bike Polo has exerienced as an emerging sport left of the mainstream.

Australians love sport. It always has been and will continue to be part of our cultural identity. In particular the report notes the rise of lifestyle, adventure and alternative sports. which are particularly popular with younger generations. These sports typically involve complex, advanced skills and have some element of inherent danger and/or thrill seeking.

Adventure, lifestyle, extreme and alternative sports are on the rise.
They are also characterised by a strong lifestyle element and participants often obtain cultural self-identity and self-expression through these sports. These sports are likely to attract participants through generational change and greater awareness via online content (e.g. YouTube, Facebook, Twitter).

There is strong viewer demand for extreme sports videos on the internet and television.

The sports played in Australia, as well as how and why we play them, are changing over time. The research findings from The Future of Australian Sport report will play an important role in shaping long-term policy, investment and strategic planning within government, the sport sector and broader community.

Visit the CSIRO page, read the full report or view the video here.