Bike polo is a thing–– and it’s happening all over the world, according to athlete Meredith Pritchard, who discovered the team sport a year ago and has since played in Montreal, Dublin, Vancouver and Anchorage.
The Whitehorse Bike Polo Club started last year and plays every Thursday night. Pritchard heard “rumblings” about it at the end of last summer and thought, “this sounds like the weirdest thing ever…sign me up!”
She describes the queer and athletic communities who flock towards bike polo tournaments as really “talented,” “strange” and “accepting.”
“Everyone’s passion for the game is so pure. It’s such a beautiful place to be for people who loved sports growing up or are searching for an athletic community where they feel like they belong.”
In bike polo, teams of three players on bikes try to hit a ball into an opposing team’s net with a mallet. Players are not allowed to touch the ground with their feet – if this happens they must hit a designated area with their mallet before they can intervene in the game.
Pritchard believes bike polo belongs in Whitehorse.
“There’s such a space for this sport here,” said Pritchard. “There’s lots of queer people here and a large athletic, outdoorsy and adventure-seeking crowd.”
Along with three others – Paige Gallet, David Craig and Beth Hall – Pritchard is organizing a “Queer Polo Mixer” Aug. 10 at Liard Park in Riverdale. The event runs from 7 to 10 p.m. and is an open invitation for all levels of experience. Bikes and mallets will be provided.
Gallet was first introduced to bike polo when she lived in Ottawa. She was “really excited” to hear folks in Whitehorse were organizing a crew.
“Biking is a great way to commute. Bike polo is a way to add fun in biking advocacy,” she said.
According to Pritchard, everyone is welcome to attend the mixer, whether or not they identify as queer or have ever played before.
What makes playing the sport so amazing, she says, are the people she’s met along the way.
“It’s such a neat environment. There’s a DIY, off-the-beaten-track element, and I just love seeing people of all ages playing this really strange sport. Plus, there’s always tonnes of music and food.”
Pritchard says if she goes anywhere in the world and there’s a bike polo community, they will welcome her with open arms. She was very athletic as a child, but the “community aspect” compelled her to join this new team sport as an adult.
“You will be bad when you start,” she joked, “but everyone will be so excited for you to be bad.”
Pritchard encourages anyone and everyone who is curious about bike polo to attend the mixer.
“100 per cent go, even if you don’t want to play. Come to watch, come to hang out, come to meet new people or learn about the sport,” she said.
Gallet has never played, but she has watched.
“It was mostly introduced to me as ‘rough play,’ which can be intimidating for folks like me who are women, queer, but also trans and non-binary people,” she said. “We know sports haven’t always been the most inclusive when it comes to welcoming folks who don’t conform to the norm. I’ve learned that bike polo is actually super inclusive though.”
Gallet misses places queer and trans people can hang out that aren’t pride parades. She says she’s looking forward to meeting folks in the queer community “in a chill setting.”
Contact Magan Carty at magan.carty@yukon-news.com