Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-02-27
POLO ON BICYCLES
The Sport Has Met With Considera-
Bile Favor.
ABOUT Two YEARS Since ITS ORIGIN
Need for Great Skill in the Partici-
pants.
SOME TRICKS OF THE GAME

The bicycle in the game of polo is not
such A novelty as one would think. The
only wonder is that the sport Is not taken
up by the wheelmen at a much greater
rate than at present The game made its
appearance in this city some time ago and
created more or less interest The lack of
interest that has so far been shown in the
game by the general public is perhaps at
tributable to the ignorance of the sport
and its many fine points. Prior to its intro
duction in this city the game was played
in various other cities of the country, the
fondness for the sport gradually extending
all the while. 1t is hard to say In which
city the game of bicycle polo originated.
There are several places that claim the
distinction. From the best authority it
seems as though the adaptation of the
sport for the cyclists first entered the head
of some northern wheelmen who practical
Iy carried out their own ideas in the mat
ter. The original ideas in the game with
few notifications. still cling to it.
As Is well known, the game of polo was
originally sport on horseback. 1t is vir-
tually a game of ball, and the name is de-
rived from the Thibetan pulu. which means
a ball In the original game. which up to
last year was seldom played in this city.
each player has a stick with which he
drives a ball to the opponents goal. In the
adaptation of the game for cycling a num-
Der OF changes were necessarily made Inc
use of the stick for driving the ball was
abolished, the stick being in the way and
rendering the game dangerous to both alike
the rider and his opponent. In this city
the game on the cycle has been confined en-
tirely indoors. and it is this part that will
eventually make the sport more interesting
Polo on horseback is perfett thy suitable in
the summer season. while indoor polo on
bicycles will undoubtedly have the go in
the winter season.
Game in It's Infancy.
The game is in its infancy yet so far as
the bicycle is concerned. 1t has been hardly
over two years ago since the game origi-
mated. 1t appeared to meet with more nom
u!ar approval-much more so than basket
ball-probably due to the fact that there
was a much larger proportion of cycling
ceYotees- The growing increase of the
game has led TO the formulation of set
of rules modelled after the rules of the orig
maj game and this revision will shortly be
published and placed on the market, if, in
deed. IL has not already made its appear
>ance- The rules for the game however
have not yet reached this city, and what
playing there is up to the present time has
been under the unwritten code of rules and
the general conception of the game as it
should be played.
The game as has been played in this city
Is as follows: Two blocks of wood are
placed at each end of the building about
eighteen inches or two feet apart and these
form the goal. The size of the space in
which the game is PLAYED seems to he i'm,
material 1t has been played in a hall per-
haps thirty feet wide by forty or fifty feet
long. and then again the PLAYING SPACE has
been much larger. OF course the larger
Inc space the more interesting the game
ard more players can participate In some
or the halls in this city in which the game
has been played the space was so small
mat the contest was narrowed down to two
men IL would have been dangerous had
there been two men each side The sides
line up even with the goal line. and the
pan Is placed as nearly al possible in the
center OF the room. The signal is given
and the play commences. Owing to the
lack OF general rules. no regular time is
allowed for an inning. The practice among
the local cycle poloists is to play three in
nlngs. the length OF which averages from
six TO ten minutes. with rest of from one
70 TWO. or perhaps more. between innings
1he innings can be made longer, with q
resi- or FOUR or five minutes between.
win the ball in play the sport is excit-
ing This is especially so when the nIsv
Ing area is limited The poloist must he in
the nature of trick rider to make the
sudden turns. sprnts and short stons viii
which the game abounds His expertness
as a bicycle rider is fully demonstrated
and above all the rider must have spIendii
control OF the wheel. which he mechanI-
cally steers. while his attention Is fasten
ed on the movements of the ball The
pushing of the ball is done entirely with
the wheels OF the bicycle the front wheel
peiHS USED the most, because ii Is more
easily managed An expert bicycle polo
player with square drive. can force the
ball in perfectly straight line for fifty
or more feet This shows the force that
can be exerted by a sudden twist of the
front wheel The aim of each player is to
drive the ball between the two blocks at
the other end of the hall which mark the
goal OF the enemy When he ball Is final
ly driven through the goal one point is
scored by the fortunate side The sides
then line up again. the ball is placed in the
center and the play resumes.
skill Required.
1t necessarily follows that when the
playing is fast the cyclists are pretty close