Bike Polo in Timaru

Kia Ora!

When I read the Australasian Bike Polo championships were happening this weekend in Timaru, I was curious. Bike polo? Never heard of it. By chance, we cruised through the park at Caroline Bay when it was in action and stopped to learn a bit.

There were three arenas in action at once. Both men and women teams competed, but we were there during the men's competition. They sported creative names like Fifty Shades of Graze, Bi Polos, and Dog Head Men. Six players are on the court at once, three for each side. One usually blocks the net but the person playing goalie seemed to change during play. With mallets they viciously whack a small red ball. The cycling skills were awesome. The players would adjust their direction by making small hops with the bike. At one point, a player used the mallet as a pivot point and on the bike did a 180 around it. We watched for some time; as we left the orange shirt team was ahead. In general, the fans and competitors were a tattooed, scruffy looking lot but obviously serious athletes.

The food court held a surprise. Take a good look at the flag in front of the little red food trailer. Yup. They offered Tex-Mexican food. Was it authentic? It certainly smelled like it but the name Tex-Mexican was suspicious. It's called Tex-Mex, folks.

Cheers,
Kiwi Traveler