I'd never heard of this sport until last weekend, even though it has been around since 1891. As part of the festivities of the East End festival this exciting version known as hardcourt cycle polo was played at Spitalfields Market.
There are three core rules of play:
In the case of a 'foot down' or 'dab' (touching the ground with ones foot) the player must "tap out" by riding to mid-court and hitting a designated area with their mallet. There is usually a tap-out located on either side of the court.
In order to score, the offensive player must hit the ball across the goal line using the narrow end of the mallet - this is called a "shot" or "hit" - hitting the ball across the goal line with the wide end of the mallet is called a "shuffle".
When your team scores a goal, you wait back in your end for the other team (player or ball, whichever comes first) to cross half before engaging in play again.
There are three contact rules: body on body, bike on bike and mallet on mallet.
An etiquette rule is that you play others as hard as they play you
