Cincinnati's first bike polo court opened last Thursday with a ribbon-cutting and demonstration.
The Coy Bike Polo Court, located
at the end of Joselin Avenue in University Heights, is also one of the few official bike polo courts in the country.
"It's great to have a first," said Steve Pacella,
Cincinnati Recreation Commission (CRC) superintendent. "It's all about expanding services. A little bit of something for everybody is what we're all about."
Similar to polo, bike polo is played between two teams of three riders apiece. Games end after ten minutes of play, or after a team scores five goals.
To create the 170-foot-by-70-foot court, the CRC revamped two tennis courts, adding wooden boards for banking and a blue playing surface to make it easier to track the ball.
Prior to construction of the new court, local players often played on old tennis courts, parking lots, or in the old roller skating rink at Sawyer Point.
Jason Berlin of
Cincinnati Bike Polo said that, locally, the sport is enjoying exponential growth, and players typically now have to wait to get into a game.
The new, centrally located facility puts the sport closer to
University of Cincinnati students and riders in the City's urban core, he said.
"But this is more for the community than just a sport," Berlin said.
