Category: WHBPC

2022-23 NAH Tournament Season Timeline

Posted on by Mark Aseltine

Dear NAH community, 

In a recent survey, we collected your feedback  for the 2022 – 2023 NAH competitive season  schedule leading up to the 2023 WHBPC in France. We also met with and gathered input from the Regional Representatives. With your and the Regional Reps feedback, we’ve selected Option A, which includes the following schedule:

  • NAH Regional Qualifiers will be held between Sept. 1 – Oct. 31, 2022.
  • The NAHBPC will take place between April 15 – June 15, 2023. 

Overall survey and Regional Rep feedback 

  • Most players preferred Option A (Qualifiers in the fall of 2022 and NAHBPC in the spring of 2023) because it gives players and clubs time to get back in shape, to practice, to get organized after more than a year away from competitive polo due to Covid, and to help grow new players’ skills and get them excited about playing in their Region’s qualifier in the fall. 
  • However, some players from Regions with snow were concerned that Option A — which would host the NAHBPC in spring— won’t give them enough time to practice or compete before they attempt to qualify for the Championship. Because of these concerns, we have extended the window for hosting the NAHBPC into mid-June, pending a search for a venue.

Next Steps

We will work with the Regional Reps to schedule Qualifier dates and locations for 2022 and to find a host city for the 2023 NAHBPC.

If your club is interested in hosting the NAHBPC in late Spring of 2023, please reach out to Mark (mark@nahardcourt.com) to discuss the possibility and to have any of your questions answered.

Coming up in the next month(s), we will send information regarding the following items:

  • Regional allocation for the qualifiers to gain entry to the NAHBPC. 
  • More detail on how NAH plans to prioritize in-region teams and players for their local qualifier. 
  • We will make an official call for bids to host the NAHBPC in spring 2023. 
  • We will announce dates and locations for regional qualifiers as they become available. 

It’s a very exciting time for bike polo in North America and we hope to be able to host many successful and exciting events this year and beyond. Most importantly,we can’t wait to see you all on the court!

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

For questions regarding your Regional Qualifier please reach out to your rep directly here: https://www.nahardcourt.com/clubs/

2020 NAH Season Update

Posted on by Jennifer Spencer

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

Posted on by Mark Aseltine

🚨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.

Results of the Bids for the 10th World Hardcourt Bike Polo Championship

Posted on by Mark Aseltine

The World Bike Polo Organising Committee have received 1 bid to host the 10th World Hardcourt Bike Polo Championship. The bidding city is: Perpignan, France (EHBA)

They offer a venue with 3 courts, and dates in July 2021.

Venue: Perpignan – Parc des sports – avenue Paul Alduy – Perpignan

Since there is only one bid there will be no voting and Perpignan is the chosen host already. However, the committee is now asking them to expand on the information provided, including providing pictures of the venue. They have to present their detailed bid by the end of February. Once they fulfil this formality the event will officially happen in Perpignan in 2021. We will make an announcement once we receive the information.

If you have questions get in touch with the worlds committee:

Asia
Ai Tanaka
xxxaiaiaixxx@gmail.com
Member of the Japanese Bike Polo Association

Australia/New Zealand
Nick Dixon-Wilmshurst
xoqz01@gmail.com
Canberra representative on the Australasian Hardcourt Bike Polo Association

Europe
Gernot Gruber aka. Django
eurobikepolo@gmail.com
Member of the European Hardcourt Bikepolo Association

Latin America
Vero Enríquez Ruiz
vero.enriquez.ruiz@gmail.com
Member of the Latin American Bike Polo Association

North America
Mark Aseltine
mark@nahardcourt.com
NAH Tournament Director

Worlds 10 Bid Announcement

Posted on by Mark Aseltine

Spanish Version

The World Hardcourt Bike Polo Organising Committee congratulates Córdoba Bike Polo and Bike Polo Latin America for the successful hosting of the 9th edition of the World Hardcourt Bike Polo Championship. We also congratulate Mongrels United on their third consecutive title.

The World Hardcourt Bike Polo Organising Committee is now seeking Expressions of Interest to host the 10th edition of the World Hardcourt Bike Polo Championship.

At this stage, Expressions of Interest will only be accepted from Asia, Europe and Australasia. Expressions of Interest can be submitted by a specific club in a region, or by a regional contact on behalf of a region, with the exact location to be determined later. Only clubs or regions who express interest in hosting will be invited to prepare final bids.

Interested host clubs or regions are asked to complete the following form by 30 November 2019 – https://forms.gle/c7kpW1bTrG5n5PVG9

The community will be informed of the clubs or regions that have expressed interest in hosting, including the indicative dates proposed, which must be no earlier than September 2020.

If anyone has any questions please contact your local rep from the Organising Committee.

  • Asia
    • Ai Tanaka
      xxxaiaiaixxx@gmail.com
      Member of the Japanese Bike Polo Association
  • Australia/New Zealand
    • Nick Dixon-Wilmshurst
      xoqz01@gmail.com
      Canberra representative on the Australasian Hardcourt Bike Polo Association
    • Mike Broadhead
      Timaru representative on the Australasian Hardcourt Bike Polo Association
  • Europe
    • Gernot Gruber (aka. Django)
      Alejandro Carrillo
      eurohardcourt@gmail.com
      Members of the European Hardcourt Bikepolo Association
  • Latin America
    • Vero Enríquez Ruiz
      vero.enriquez.ruiz@gmail.com
      Member of the Latin American Bike Polo Association
    • Lina María Córdoba
      Member of the Latin American Bike Polo Association
  • North America
    • Mark Aseltine
      mark@nahardcourt.com
      NAH Tournament Director
    • Joel Crandall
      joel@nahardcourt.com
      NAH Rules Director

El Comité Organizador del Mundial de Bicipolo felicita a Córdoba Bicipolo y a Bicipolo Latinoamérica por la exitosa realización de la 9na edición del Campeonato Mundial de Bicipolo. También felicita a Mongrels United por su tercer título mundial consecutivo.

En este momento, el Comité Organizador del Mundial de Bicipolo está buscando Expresiones de Interés para organizar la 10ma versión de este campeonato.

Por ahora, solamente se aceptarán las Expresiones de Interés provenientes de Asia, Europa y Australasia. Estas podrán ser presentadas por un club específico de las regiones mencionadas, o por uno de los contactos regionales en representación de una región, en este caso la locación exacta podrá determinarse después. Solo los clubes o regiones que expresen su interés serán invitados a desarrollar las propuestas finales.

Los clubes o regiones interesadas en organizar este evento deben llenar el siguiente formulario – https://forms.gle/c7kpW1bTrG5n5PVG9 hasta el 30 de noviembre de 2019.

La comunidad mundial será informada sobre los clubes o regiones que expresen interés, incluyendo las fechas estimadas, las mismas que no serán antes de Septiembre de 2020.

Preguntas o comentarios, por favor, contactarse con su representante local.