2020 NAH Season Update

Dear NAH community,

Like many of you, we are closely following COVID-19 developments. We are continuing to monitor the latest advice from our federal health agencies. Currently, the state of affairs is such that we are advising all of our regional reps to press pause on 2020 Regional Qualifier tournament planning. We are also strongly encouraging anyone hosting a tournament in the coming months to follow all guidelines put in place by your local or federal governing bodies. It is critical that we all do our part to help our health system to function as best it possibly can. This means avoiding all unnecessary contact with others.

Furthermore, we were informed last week that the WHBPC 2021, which was scheduled to be held in July 2021, will now be taking place in October 2021. This of course significantly impacts the schedule NAH announced on March 10th.

The NAH Executive team is working to reconfigure the 2020 and 2021 tournament season schedules given the concerns and information outlined above. We will be in close contact with your Regional Reps to work out how we would like to move forward in the coming months. Please stay tuned and most importantly stay safe.

The NAH Executive Team

2020-2021 NAH Competitive Series

🚨Please see our updated post about the upcoming season and COVID-19


This year we find ourselves in a unique position. For the first time ever we have significant advanced notice of the next World Hardcourt Bike Polo Championship (WHBPC): it will be held in July 2021. With that knowledge, we are able to preplan two full seasons of NAH tournaments.

2020 Regional Qualifiers will be the qualification grounds for the 2020 North American Bike Polo Championship (NAHBPC) which in turn will be the qualification grounds for the 2021 WHBPC. This will ensure that all qualified teams have adequate time to raise funds, plan their trip, and collect any travel documents required for travel to Europe.

In spring 2021 we will, as usual, host our Regional Qualifiers. The 2021 Qualifiers will be the qualification grounds for the 2021 NAHBPC. The 2021 NAHBPC will take place after the 2021 WHBPC and will not be a qualification grounds for the 2021 WHBPC*. As in other years where we have not had a WHBPC to qualify for, the NAHBPC will be the climax of the 2021 season in North America.

Timeline

Tournament Dates Year
Regional Qualifier ‘20 April-July 2020
NAHBPC ‘20 Sep-Nov 2020
Regional Qualifier ‘21 April-June 2021
WHBPC ‘21 July 2021
NAHBPC ‘21 Aug-Oct 2021

*These decisions were made with Regional Rep support and after consideration of the scheduling logistics for this year and 2021 season. Logistically, we cannot use the 2021 Regional Qualifiers and 2021 NAHBPC to qualify teams for the WHBPC because there will not be enough time to host all required tournaments. In addition, this schedule provides qualified teams a greater chance of attending the 2021 WHBPC in Europe by providing them with enough time to get needed travel visas, arrange travel, request time off work, raise funds, etc.

For any questions regarding the NAH competitive series, please contact Mark Aseltine directly at mark@nahardcourt.com.

Big Monday

The 2018 NAHBPC is done, and another season of North American bike polo is complete. We would not be here without the hard work of many people. First, a thank you to this year’s host of NAs, Milwaukee Bike Polo. They worked hard to provide a great space for this year’s event, and their work resulted in a reinvestment to bike polo infrastructure that will surely strengthen the region and help players for years and years to come. We should also be thankful to the ten hosts of the regional qualifiers who helped make this year’s qualification series. It is a lot of work to coordinate regionally and provide an accessible tournament for all those who are eager to compete for the North American Championship title.

I’d like to personally thank Mark Aseltine, who was not physically at the NAHBPC, but was quietly supervising remotely from out west. Mark designed the entire tournament, qualification system, and documentation for the event. Will Robbins helped make sure the event had scheduled refs and helped track all the volunteers for that labor. Joe Rstom helped with on-site event management when I was not there and also helped provide some tech support for the live stream that was setup by David Barthod. I’m very glad to have a quality video record of some amazing matches from this year’s event. I’m sure that this model for live streaming will become more and more popular in the future, and the NAH encourages events to try and budget for this kind of media coverage. If your event is interested in doing this, reach out to us for more information about costs, supplies, and how to host on the official NAH YouTube channel.

At the closing ceremony, I announced that I was done with being President of the NAH. While I am stepping down from that role, I plan to remain in support of the NAH in two other roles. I will continue to support the NAH as Treasurer and as Governor. The latter title is not a functional position in the NAH, but rather it means that I am the point of contact for the U.S. Government for the NAH in managing and maintaining our 501(c)3 non-profit status as an organization. With the help of Meghan Shoop earlier this year, the NAH created a roadmap document for clubs who are interested in formal incorporation and establishing themselves as their own 501(c)3 non-profit. If this interests your club, please do not be shy about asking questions or seeking advice.

My former teammate Greg Russo calls the melancholy Monday after a bike polo tournament “Big Monday,” and last monday was one of the biggest I’ve had in a long time. Although I have stepped down from the role of President, I have a few outstanding agenda items. For the benefit of the community, I’ll outline what work remains to be completed.

1) NAH Census

The need for good data on the status of bike polo has been asked for of the NAH for a few years. This data could be useful to future NAH leadership rebalancing regions, providing targeted support, and reviewing existing policies. The NAH has created a census form. This form is not like previous surveys that the NAH or others have produced. The census was designed to be a repeatable questionnaire to help track the health and development of bike polo at the club level. What makes this questionnaire different is that only one entry if filled out per club. It is not a form for individual players.

The census will be administered through the NAH’s Regional Reps and local club leaders. The census will open soon and we hope to collect all responses by the end of December. Regional Reps will be given early access to the form in the near future. The result summary will be made public and raw data will be made available to all Regional Reps.

2) 2019 Survey of Players

Forms forms and more forms, but this survey is for all players who attended the 2018 NAHBPC and the NAH Regional Qualifiers. This information will be provided to the NAH’s new leadership to help inform their decisions on the design, format, and schedule of the 2019 NAH Qualifying Series and how players will qualify and be certified for the 2019 WHBPC in Córdoba, Argentina.

This form will be sent to all team captains from the 2018 NAH season starting with the captains from the NAHBPC and later the captains from the Regional Qualifiers. Captains will be responsible for dissemination of the link to all members of their team roster.

3) New NAH Leadership

Perhaps most obvious is the need to fill any vacant positions in the NAH and reorganize as needed. In addition to myself, Joe Rstom and Will Robbins will also be stepping down from their roles in the NAH as Rules Director and NAH Head Ref respectively.

The NAH will provide descriptions for the roles and responsibilities on our website in the next week. If you are interested in filling any of these roles, you should start thinking about your experience and qualifications. Once we have collected information about interested nominees, the NAH will publish short profiles of each person online. More information about the selection process will be published in the near future.

This is not Goodbye!

As I look back on the times I’ve spent with the NAH, I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together and with groups like WTF-FRST. I’m proud of the last two years of development and the kinds of changes we’ve seen new rules and the squad format. Change can be uncomfortable and sometimes letting go is hard, but I have full confidence in our community. I know that whoever steps up will do great things.

Lastly, some unsolicited advice from me, leadership is not merely having opinions and it’s not measured solely in what people like (although trying to make people happy should always be at the front of one’s mind in a service position). You will make hard choices, and you will face criticisms, but worse is existing in a state where nobody is let down because nobody expects anything from you. Criticism means that people agree that you’re in a position of responsibility and one of consequence. I’ve tried to take criticism and constructively focus it into my decisions over the last few years, and I hope that my legacy will read charitably of my judgment, candor, and optimism for what we can be. Last year I asked that we all make bike polo special for someone else, and I want everyone who made it special for me to know that I’m forever in their debt. Thank you for letting me have the honor of your service, and I look forward to seeing you all on the court, wherever it may be next.

If you have questions about the Census, email Alias Tagami at alias@nahardcourt.com.

If you have questions about the Player Survey, email Joe Rstom at joe@nahardcourt.com and Jenny Spencer at jenny@nahardcourt.com.

WHBPC Bid Candidates

The World Bike Polo Organizing Committee have received three bids to host the 9th World Hardcourt Bike Polo Championship.  The committee is composed of representatives from NAH, EHBA, AHBPA, AsiaHBPA, and BPLA.  The last two continental regions to host (NA and Aus/NZ) were not eligible to bid unless there were no competitive bids submitted.  Fortunately there was a huge response, and we have three excellent candidates to host then next world championship!

The bidding cities are:

Bike Polo Vienna (Austria, EHBA)
Córdoba Bici Polo (Argentina, BPLA)
Perpignan Bike Polo (France, EHBA)


All bidders are offering venues with three to four courts, and with host dates in August-September 2019.

Location Information

Vienna – Martinek Army Base (closed):  Google Maps
Cordoba – Parking of Stadium Mario Alberto Kempes, Forja event center: Google Maps
Perpignan – Parc des Sports – Avenue Paul Alduy:  Google Maps

What Next?

The committee is now asking the bidders to expand on the information provided, including providing pictures of the venues, and we will present final bids for a vote starting 01-July-2018 and closing on 31-July-2018.

En Español

Propuestas para el noveno Campeonato Mundial de Hardcourt Bike Polo

El Comité Organizador Mundial de Bike Polo ha recibido 3 propuestas para organizar el noveno Campeonato Mundial de Hardcourt Bike Polo. Las ciudades candidatas son:

Bike Polo Vienna (Austria, EHBA) – https://www.facebook.com/BikepoloVienna/
Córdoba Bici Polo (Argentina, BPLA) – www.facebook.com/cordobabikepolo/
Perpignan Bike Polo (Francia, EHBA) – https://www.facebook.com/perpignanbikepolo/

Todos los postores ofrecen lugares con 3 a 4 canchas y fechas en septiembre de 2019.

Base del ejército de Viena – Martinek (cerrada):  Google
Córdoba – Estacionamiento del Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, centro de eventos Forja. Mapa de lugares: Google
Perpignan – Parc des sports – avenida Paul Alduy:  Google

El comité ahora está solicitando a los postores que amplíen la información provista, incluyendo la provisión de imágenes de los lugares. Presentaremos las ofertas finales para la votación que comenzará el 1 de julio de 2018 y finalizará el 31 de julio de 2018.

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Global Bike Polo Clubs

Milwaukee to Host NAHBPC 2018

The NAH is very pleased to announce that the 2018 NAHBPC will be returning to Milwaukee, WI!

Milwaukee (MKE) has been a bike polo institution in the short history of our sport.  It has forged champions, and it no stranger to hosting major events.  The NAH knows that the MKE club will provide an excellent continental championship, and we were very pleased with the content of their bid.  The final date of the event is still being finalized, but it will still occur within the original NAHBPC window (Between Sept 21st and Oct 22nd).

As more details are known will be posted here: nahbpc.com

MKE’s bid took excellent advantage of the grant initiative funding that the NAH reserved for the event, and the entire North American bike polo community should praise them for their work thus far and to come.  Their bid features supplemental support from Wausau Bike Polo, and as such praise and thanks should be passed on to both clubs for their collaboration.  The bid is ambitious, and involves potential new court infrastructure.  If you are already familiar with MKE’s court setup, the bid outlined how the tournament space will adapted for the squad format should existing infrastructure be used for the event.

Please be patient while we work with MKE.  In an abundance of caution, we won’t over-promise on details, so today’s announcement is limited to the location and time-window of the event.  The Regional Qualifiers (RQs) have already begun, and we are excited about the season.  Because of the NAHBPC’s timing, we remind all regions who have not yet scheduled their RQ that as a courtesy that they not schedule their tournament within six weeks of the NAHBPC.  This allows for players and teams to have the bare minimum time needed to plan and schedule leave for the event and ensures a high quality competition.

Read more about the 2018 NAHBPC here.

If you have any questions about the format of the NAHBPC, email Mark Aseltine (mark@nahardcourt.com)

Good luck on the court!  Be Safe!

~Alias

Global Note:  Looking ahead to the next WHBPC, the international committee has began receiving bids for 2019.  Those documents are not the custody of the NAH, and we will share what we can when the committee agrees the material is ready for public review and input.  It’s an exciting time in bike polo!