Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Friendlies. Saturday, December 5th. Right here.

It's our turn to host the highway 70 polo-show, and the date has been set. Noon til dark, we will play polo with all comers from Columbia, KC, and anyone else we can rope into driving to our fair town.

The possibility exists that we will need to house/entertain a few people overnight. Lemme know who can do that and where and we'll get everyone set.

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can house people. I have plenty of floor space.

-Nick

Lucky said...

Cool. I've sent invites to all the clubs within a 5 hour drive. Chicago, Louisville, Memphis, Indianapolis, and Bloomington.

Ben said...

I am a fan of friendlies!

I am a bigger fan of friendlies that require no more than 15 minutes of driving!!

Ben said...

Also, I'm assuming we'd play at Mt. Pleasant. I'd be willing to pay for gas or pipe or both if Cole and/or Jake wanna weld a couple of goals.

Buckets work. Goals work better.

Lucky said...

Agreed on the goals. Patterson has some portables, if anyone sees him around in the next coupla weeks.

Also, this just arrived in my email:

Polo greetings,

I'm emailing on behalf of North American Hardcourt, your fledgling organizing body.

Once the ball is rolling, the plan is to write a system for voting-in regional representatives, who will make up the body of NAHardcourt. These regional reps will be chosen by city reps, and that's why I'm writing you. We're asking St. Louis to choose one representative who will cast your city's vote. Choose how you'd like. The role of the city rep is not set in stone yet, but it would be helpful if everybody were prepared.

Also, feel free to email me with any questions, critiques, etc... I'm not the brains behind this operation, I'm just helping out, but I'll respond as best I can. If there are any issues or concerns you feel need voiced, let me know.

Thanks, Chris Williams Comopolo, Columbia, MO

I nominate Ben.

STL BIKE POLO said...

I've got a sectional couch and some floor. So a couple few are welcome at my place.

Does everyone like Mt. Pleasant more because of size? I prefer Lindenwood. I prefer it greatly.

Anonymous said...

if its Mt. Pleasant, maybe the friendlies should be forewarned about the bathroom situation

-Patrick

Anonymous said...

1.) I'm housing 4 or 5 from CoMo.
2.) I think Ben would be a great rep.
3.) Are we playing tonight?

4.) Last chance for any of you who may have stumbled upon a pile of money and decided to spend it on a good time: the MO polo train is leaving for New Orleans on Friday. Vince, Pete, Charlie, Nick, Me. Plenty of room for more.

Julia

Ben said...

I like Mt. Peasant's size. But I much prefer Lindenwood's bathroom situation (mainly because Pleasant's bathroom situation is nonexistent).

I appreciate the nominations. I'd be willing to rep S-T-Hell...even though none of us know what repping entails. I'm in...if that's the consensus.

Ben said...

If we wanted to play at Mt. Pleasant, renting a Johnny for a day isn't outrageous.

Honestly, I'd host friendlies at any of our three frequently used rinks.

Mt. Pleasant - Big. Fast. Never used.
Lindenwood - Goals. Bathrooms. Shelter.
Maplewood - Goals. Play past dusk. Food 50 yards away.

(I don't think Maplewood's in the mix...But peoples' reactions would be priceless when they rolled up to that small, slick rink.)

Ben said...

Polo tonight. 6:00 PM.

Lower level of the Wash U parking garage.

From Skinker:
1. Take Forest Park Parkway East
2. Turn Left on Big Bend
3. Immediately turn Left on Snow Way.
4. Drive 100+ yards.
5. Parking garage will be on your left.

STL BIKE POLO said...

won't people still be parked there at 6:00 pm ???

just sayin.

-Trent

Ben said...

There are a couple parking garages in this area. And every time I've driven by the garage, the lowest level is always empty. The lower level section is the furthest away from the education buildings, and people are generally lazy...It should be empty.

Ben said...

This image gives you a good idea where we're heading:

http://i627.photobucket.com/albums/tt352/fixed_st_louis/Directions.jpg

Lucky said...

I like the size and speed of Mt Pleasant. As well as the lack of interference from other sports/kids. If it had goals, I wouldn't even entertain playing anywhere else. If it had lights and a roof, I'd live there.

That said, if it looks like we're going to be getting a lot of folk in for friendlies (like, more than 15-20) we should play at Lindenwood, so we can break off a group and send 'em to Tilles or Willamore.

Have fun in the garage tonight.

Ben said...

Evan and I hung out in the basement of the Wash U parking garage.

We constructed boards and practiced our shooting.

It was great until a security guard politely asked us to leave.

http://i627.photobucket.com/albums/tt352/fixed_st_louis/IMG_0053.jpg

Anonymous said...

i drove past that part of the garage on Monday and didn't think it was practical for polo, nice to see I was wrong. the only problem was the security guard, makes me think about starting a bike polo club at Wash U just to use that garage during bad weather

-Patrick

Lucky said...

As long as it doesn't limit participation to students only, that's a fine idea. There are college based polo clubs in a few U.S. cities already.

But honestly, I'm all right with polo being seasonal. There are other things I like to do sometimes.

RE: Friendlies. I looks right now like one car from KC, 2-3 from CoMO, and one from Bloomington, IN!

Ben said...

I think Evan would agree with me when I say that garage is great for poor weather polo.

-No pillars.
-As wide as Lindenwood (if not wider).
-As long as you want it to be.
-No traffic.
-Free polo advertising as people drive by on Forest Park Parkway (I kept looking over at people sitting in traffic. Their "WTF" looks were great...Then I'd try to whip a shot and impress them. I usually whiffed.)

I don't even think the security guard would've cared if the two of us hadn't constructed a complete, walled-off rink with the supplies sitting in storage.

If the weather is nice, obviously, we'll be at a rink. But if it's raining or snowing and people wanna get a game going or just practice stick handling, the Wash U garage is amazing.

I considered writing the Dean or someone important at Wash U about riding our bikes around the garage, but it so rarely rains on polo days, it doesn't seem that necessary. I'm sure that we could contact someone in the future, mention COMO's use of their garage, and get permission from Wash U pretty easily. I'll wait and see how the winter weather shakes out.

Polo is a year-round sport!!

THERE IS NO OFF SEASON!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1OcaNJbaIE

While Evan and I were there, I was just laughing to myself thinking, "Our worst polo spot (Wash U) is better than MOST polo spots in the world."

STL: Polo Mecca

Anonymous said...

Polo this Saturday? I'm liking how saturday polo is becoming a regular thing

-Patrick

Anonymous said...

all im going to say is that in order to really appreciate the amazingness of the garage and the boards that we made, you had to be there... it was pretty awesome. and we played for like 2 hours before the security guard asked us to leave. definitely one of the nicest security guards that ive ever encountered...

for friendlies, i can house people if need be. i have a couch and lots of floor space. just let me know...

and also, this has nothing to do with polo, but i know a couple people have asked about my 'band' and i said i would let them know when i was playing next... im playing this saturday (11-21) at 8 S Church St. in Belleville, IL. $5 for the show starts at 8. theres no drinking there but there are plenty of bars within a block. the Belleville metrolink station is only like a mile from the venue. if your interested then come on out, but be ready for a dance party...

alright back to polo...

-Evan

Anonymous said...

we used to freeride (or urban ride , or whatever its called) Mtn bikes there and we would get kicked out super fast with a vengeance. I would NOT ask for permission for polo and just keep it low key for now. It was years ago, but the security was tight and our sessions would last minutes.
If anything post some fliers on campus and try and get a legit wash U student group involved so we could use the garage in some sort of legit manner.
-Anchovy

Anonymous said...

good idea! it might be a lot easier to get an existing student group involved, instead of creating another one, I'll send out emails and ask some Wash U undergrads I know who ride bikes often, i think there's a few bike clubs on campus

-Patrick

Anonymous said...

is there polo today? maybe earlier than 2?

-Patrick

Lucky said...

Nope. Sunday at 2pm. Mt Pleasant park. It'll be just as nice out as it is today, plus a coupla degrees.

CoMO Polo said...

Luck was on our side with out garage spot. The campus police and maintenance men are definitely on our side...as long as there is no booze. I think polo is recognized as more of a sport than freestyle BMX or MTBing, so it might be easier to get away with. You have nothing to lose.

Tim A.