Bike Polo Rules: Body Contact Penalties
Bike polo allows some contact, but not all of it. This post covers where the ruleset draws the line on charging, holding, extension, head contact, trapping, and flagrant fouls, plus how the Ref judges each one.
Bike Polo Rules: Mallet Penalties
Your mallet is for the ball, not for other players. This post covers slashing, high sticking, jamming, hooking, throwing, and dropping your mallet, and what each one looks like on the court.
Bike Polo Rules: Bike Handling Penalties
Put a foot down and you're out of the play until you tap in at half court. This post covers dabbing, toppling, and bike-on-bike contact: what's allowed, what isn't, and how the Ref calls it.
Bike Polo Rules: Technical Penalties
Some penalties have nothing to do with contact. They're about timing, attitude, and positioning. This post covers delay of game, unsportsmanlike conduct, interference, illegal substitutions, and crease violations.
Bike Polo Rules: Penalty Format
How a Ref decides how serious a foul is, and what happens next. This post covers ball turnovers, minors, majors, player advantage, penalty shots, and how repeat fouls escalate. Start here before the posts on specific penalties.
Bike Polo Rules: Ball Handling
Who has possession, what counts as a shot, and how long you can hold the ball in your mallet. A guide to shuffles, scoops, ball-jointing, and the 2-second rule, so you know why a goal did or didn't count.
Bike Polo Rules: Game Mechanics
From the opening joust to the final whistle: how games start, when the clock stops, how play restarts, and what counts as a goal. Section 4 of the NAH Ruleset, with diagrams.
Bike Polo Rules: Tournament Formats
How teams get ranked, how brackets work, how long games are, and why tournaments ask players to ref. A guide to Section 3 of the NAH Ruleset for first-time tournament players and anyone thinking about organizing one.
Bike Polo Rules: Players, Courts, and Gear
Who's on a team, what an official court looks like, and what your bike, mallet, and ball need to pass a tournament gear check. New to polo? You don't need any of this to start. We have loaner gear.
Bike Polo Rules: Referees and Officials
At pickup we call our own fouls, but at tournaments a crew runs every game. Here's what the Referee, the Official, and the Goal Judges each do, where they stand, and what the whistles and hand signals mean.