Urban bike polo

My Paris neighborhood hosted a European urban bike polo tournament this weekend.

I had only the dimmest awareness of this sport, having learned about it in New York. It’s like polo, but played on bicycles by teams of three (in the variant I saw).

The tournament was supported by the municipality but wasn’t publicized. It was a serendipitous discovery for neighborhood residents.

Urban bike polo is easy to follow. Its rules are simple and straightforward, like the cycles its players use.

Most of the players had a Germanic, altermondialiste look. The teams I saw had both male and female players. One vowed, “In ten years, this will be an Olympic sport!”

I hope that this prediction comes true. But I was surprised to find that cycle polo actually has been around for more than a century since it was invented by Richard Mecredy. According to Olympic lore, the sport was featured in the 1908 London Olympics. I found a contemporaneous photo, although I’m not sure whether it captures an Olympic team.

R.J. Mecredy