The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Polo de bicicleta gorda en la avineda Elk
by Than Acuff
The Borealis Fat Bike Worlds presented by Ska Brewing are coming this Friday through Sunday, January 24-26, and while the world championship race on Saturday is the premier event of the weekend, the Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association (CBMBA) and the town of Crested Butte are shutting down the block of Elk Avenue in front of the Brick Oven at 3 p.m. for some Fat Bike Polo action Friday, January 24.
According to a pamphlet procured from the Crested Butte Mountain Heritage Museum, polo is one of the oldest team sports in the world and started on the other side of the planet.
“The Persians probably developed polo to improve cavalry skills in battle,” reads the pamphlet. “The game spread across Asia along the Chinese silk route…”
It goes on to trace the game of polo to England via their colonization of India and propensity for sport and empire. But it wasn’t until July 5, 1987 that polo soon became a sport played on bikes as well, when a crew of haggard bike enthusiasts were working off a rough night with some croquet, got on a bike and “invented” bike polo.
Fast-forward 32 years and CBMBA has taken the reins on the Borealis Fat Bike Worlds and taken bike polo and carried it over into winter to host a Fat Bike Polo tournament as part of the fat bike festivities.
“We want to celebrate bikes in the winter and bring in the world’s oldest sport,” says CBMBA director Dave Ochs.
Ochs and CBMBA are looking for 64 players to sign up who will then be split into 32 teams, with two people per team. There will be two “courts” set up on Elk Avenue in front of the Brick Oven, where teams will battle through a series of 10-minute games starting at 5 p.m. culminating with the championship game at approximately 9 p.m. The “courts” will be snow-covered, possibly a bit icy, but Ochs has a plan to help players stay upright.
“We’re going to use what nature gives us but the town will be throwing down some gravel for extra traction,” says Ochs. “Super cool of those guys.”
There are some rules and they can all be found online at cbfatbikeworlds.com. One rule that is especially sticky is the foot-down ruling. In true bike polo, the foot may not hit the ground during play or a penalty is enforced. The same is true in the fat bike version, just not as stringent.
“It’s criminal to put your foot down in bike polo but we’re not going to blow the whistle all of the time,” says Ochs. “We want people to play.”
If you are called for a foot down though, you may have to run into the Brick Oven and chug an adult beverage provided by Ska before returning to play, leaving your teammate to play solo until you return.
As for bikes, fat bikes are preferred but not mandatory and if people want to play on bikes with plus-sized tires, or even mountain bike tires, that will be allowed.
“We got all sorts of things to make it easier for everybody to play,” says Ochs.
There may be some town-on-town rivalries as well, as rumors are swirling that both Durango and Carbondale, towns with fervent bike polo followings, may be sending teams in for a shot at the Borealis Fat Bike Worlds Fat Bike Polo (BFBWFBP) title.
All information, registration and regulations can be found at cbfatbikeworlds.com.
