sports // 20

Two tired for horses

» A look at bike polo

Garry Balaganthan, Contributor (The Fulcrum)

Pee is the sport of the aristocrats, but this new spin on it has a growing number of fans, teams, and players. Bike polo is an urban twist on the traditional game without the lavish costs. Originally created by bike messengers on their downtime in the early 2000s in Seattle, bike polo has grown into a global sport played in more than 30 countries and 300 cities.

Ottawa Bike Polo, home of the Mallets of Mayhem, is the first and only hard-court bike polo club in Ottawa. Ten years ago, a trio of local bike messengers brought the sport to Ottawa and have established it as a stronghold in the North American circuit. The group gets together at Ev Tremblay Park in Little Italy a couple times a week, and hosts its world championships annually.

Bike polo takes traditional urban hard courts like tennis courts and accommodates the surface area to their needs. The sport is dominated by veterans at its highest level, and many players take several years to hone their craft. A hard-court

: governing body oversees the : development and growth of the : game on the national scale.

“Every year there is a

: discussion to change the games

: with regards to its rules,” said

: Alexis Mills, a pioneer of the

: sport in North America and

: member of the Ottawa Bike Polo : club.

Polo is a co-ed sport in

: which women are encouraged to : play because of specific women- : only tournaments that take place | : annually in North Americaand — : : Europe.

“It was challenging at first

: but like everything else, if you

: put in the work it can be an

: extremely rewarding experience,” : said Brianna Harris, a second-

: year criminology University of

: Ottawa student and bike polo

: newbie.

“We assemble into two

: teams of three, hop on our bikes, : and wait at the opposite ends

: of the court. Once the ref yells

: ‘polo, we all race to the centre

: for possession of the ball,” said

: Mills.

Played three-on-three,

: tournament play is timed in : intervals of 10 minutes. At the : pickup level, it is played two : teams with three players each.

It was challenging at first but like everything else, if you put in the work it can be an extremely rewarding experience.

- Brianna Harris

: They control the game ball with : a mallet while riding a bike. The : object of the game is to win by

: scoring five goals. Mills said it

: started off as two traffic pylons

: six feet across, but these have

: evolved to a net that resembles

: a hockey net. The ball isa

: standard road hockey ball.

“It’s not explicitly a contact

: sport, but there is a lot of contact, : jostling for position,” he said.

: Agility, dexterity, and speed are

: valued in the sport while brute

: strength takes a bit of a backseat.

Richard III needn't have

worried. No horse? No problem. : To bike! To bike!

theotherpress.ca

By www.northcountrypublicradio.com

No no in Camp Nou

» Barcelona slapped with transfer ban

Eric Wilkins Sports Editor

; M sports ;. .) @theotherpress.ca

Brewers temperature is quite pleasant these days, hovering around the 20 degree Celsius range. But while the citizens find themselves in warm weather, FC Barcelona finds itself in hot water. A FIFA investigation has landed the club in a less than favourable situation

The most recent scandal to rock Camp Nou is the club being banned by FIFA from signing any new players over the next two transfer windows (summer and January) due to Barcelona violating the transfer regulations regarding youth players. With Victor Valdes injured for seven months (and leaving the club in the summer regardless) and Carles Puyol set to retire, the ban could not come at a worse time. Barcelona will be able to fill the holes at keeper and centre-back without hitting the market but doing so internally is definitely not their first choice.

A youth player—under the age of 18—may only transfer if their parents move to the country for reasons other than

: the advancement of their child’s

: career (i.e., for a new job). If the

: player is 16 or older though, a

: move can be made within Europe : should certain educational and

: living criteria be achieved. These : rules are in place to protect players and their families and

: shouldn't be taken lightly.

FIFA’s statement on the issue

was: “The disciplinary committee : emphasized that the protection

: of minors in the context of

: international transfers is an

: important social and legal issue

: that concerns all stakeholders

: in football. Above all, the

: committee highlighted that while : international transfers might, in : specific cases, be favourable to a

: young player’s sporting career,

: they are very likely to be contrary : to the best interests of the player : asa minor.”

Needless to say, Barcelona

: was less than pleased with the

: decision and plans to appeal

: it. “We're victims of a grave

: injustice. With this decision,

: FIFA is penalizing a model that

: has worked for 35 years, it is

: penalizing the club... We have

: no intention of changing our

: model... This model is what has : allowed our club and its football : to be the most successful in the

: last decade,” said club president

: Josep Maria Bartomeu.

Bartomeu is being a little

: overdramatic here. While it is a : harsh penalty, Barcelona likely

: is guilty of violating the rules.

: FIFA is no shining example

: of righteousness itself, but it

: wouldn't take such action if

: substantial evidence didn’t exist.

That being said, this is a

: case of a club being made an

: example of. To put it in the

: other football’s terms, Barcelona : are the New England Patriots.

: Every single team in the league

: was videotaping signals and

: searching for ways to get a leg

: up on the competition, but what : was the NFL to do? Penalize

: every team? Of course not. Just

: like the Patriots, Barcelona isa

: top team; slap them with a heavy : punishment and others will have : to take notice.

With the ban in the news

: and the tax fraud incident around : Neymar’s signing still fresh in

: the minds of many, one almost

: forgets amidst all the trouble

: that Barcelona is deep in the

: Champions League and a real

: contender to take home the

: Spanish La Liga title again. They : may be rubbish at playing games : off the pitch, but they’re still

; dynamite on it.

Josep Maria Bartomeu // By www.catradio.cat