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The rules are simple enough: Hit the ball through the cones to score, and don’t let your feet touch the ground. But getting the hang of riding a bike while carrying a mallet and hitting a ball can sometimes be a challenge for even the most experienced cyclists.
Scott Gibbons, a statistician at the Labor Department, started playing bike polo five months ago. A competitive cyclist for the past 15 years, Gibbons was surprised to find bike polo harder than he expected. “I quickly learned that being a really good biker is not an advantage, and being a bad biker is not a disadvantage,” he says. “There’s a whole different skill set involved.”
Comprising a core of about a dozen regular players, DC Bike Polo welcomes newcomers. With hopes of competing in East Coast tournaments, the group looks forward to expanding its ranks of consistent players over the next year, says Dave Tink, one of the founders.
“We just come out here to have fun,” says Mehgan Murphy, the only regular female player. “It’s competitive, but we have fun with it. I love this game.”
To learn more about DC Bike Polo, visit myspace.com/dcbikepolo. To see photos of the sport in action, check out our slide show above.