Bikeminded, in association with London Hardcourt Bike Polo Association hosted the West London Open Sessions from March 2012 -April 2013 at the Westway Sports Centre. The sessions got so popular that we decided to host our very first bike polo tournament in September 2012. Read more about our hugely successful Wild West Beginners’ Bike Polo Tournament.

However, Bikeminded  supported the West London Bike Polo sessions for more than a year and although it was great to see so many new players getting to play for the first time, the time came for us to take a break from booking what was referred to as the ‘best court in London’, so 4 April 2013 was our last court booking for the time being.

So there may be no Bikeminded-hosted sessions for the foreseeable future, however we are talking to the London Hardcourt Bike Polo Association www.lhbpa.org about plans for the future and players can of course still book the ‘netball court’ by calling Westway Sports Centre on 020 3468 5576.

The loaner bikes, mallets and goals will remain at the Westway and available for your use. Please look after them. We hope to be back with future polo plans, so do keep an eye out for an announcement in the coming months.

To keep up-to-date with any changes, Like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/westlondonbikepolo

For further information on bike polo in London, visit www.lhbpa.org

What Is Bike Polo & How Do You Play It?

Anyone can play – you just need a bicycle, a mallet and a ball. For more information about bicycle specs, click here.

Rules
There aren’t many rules but here is a taster for you –

- Teams are made up of 3 players

- To score you have to use the end of your mallet (hitting with the side is called a shuffle)

- Don’t put your foot down (if you do, you must tap out at the side of the court)

- Any contact must be ‘like to like’ (mallet to mallet, bike to bike, body to body)

- First to five points wins (or whoever has the most goals when the time runs out)

Click here to find out more.

Prince Philip swaps horse for bike!

Modern day bike polo – European Championships 2009

Thanks LHBPA for the use of the photos.