The rain may have kept the numbers down but it didn’t seem to dampen the spirits of those that turned out down at the Parksville lacrosse box last Thursday to try their hand at bike polo.
Just over a dozen riders, including five youngsters from the Oceanside Middle School Bike Club, were on hand and the clinic certainly served as an eye-opener to the growing sport.
“I thought it went pretty good, didn’t look like a lot of kids but I’m happy that six or seven gave it a try and seemed to have fun,” organizer ‘polo’ Fred Pakkala said after, adding he plans on holding another clinic when the weather gets better, which should result in a better turn out.
“I’ve had a tough go at getting polo going here in Parksville, been trying for over 10 years, so my idea of success has been downgraded,” he surmised, but that said, being able to play weekly in Nanaimo “is a huge improvement from a few years ago when I would drive to Victoria once a month or so after work and return at midnight, on a work night and over to Vancouver from time to time.
“One day we might even have a scene here in Parksville.”
Island Cycle’s Brad Donaldson was on hand to try it out.
“This is my first time, but not my last,” he said, adding, “it’s fun; now I just need to work on (tweaking) a bike.”
Fourteen-year-old Aidan Collins showed up on his unicycle and took to the sport like a duck to water.
“It’s good ... it’s fun,” he echoed with a smile and a nod of his head, then shoved off looking for a pass.
At one point a half dozen veterans of the sport showed us how it’s done, putting on a display of skills and shot making that shed new light on the little known sport.
For more information on bike polo, e-mail Fred at bikepolo@shaw.ca.