Our Journey to a Home Court in Greenville County
GVL Bike Polo started as a small but passionate crew of cyclists and athletes looking for a place to play our creative, competitive, and community-driven sport. Since 2022, we’ve been building this club from the ground up—sometimes quite literally.
Building the Club (2022–2024)
🚲 2022: Planting the Seeds
In the fall of 2022, we officially established our nonprofit status in South Carolina, determined to make bike polo more accessible in the Upstate. That November, we met some Greenville County Parks and Rec employees at the Pavilion in Taylors, SC. This was a connection that would shape the path forward. The following month, we toured Lakeside Park for the first time with one of the employees, hopeful it might become our club’s home.
🛠️ 2023: Playing Wherever We Could
Despite ongoing efforts, we couldn’t secure a dedicated space, but continued showing up wherever we could. We revisited Lakeside in May and June, but no court was ever guaranteed, and we remained nomadic. Most of our regular play took place on a basketball court at a local church, which graciously allowed us to use it.
Christi-An, Dana, and Seema playing at Malvern Hills Park in Asheville, NC - 9/3/23
Because Greenville County lacked a consistent place for us to play, many of our players also regularly traveled to Asheville, NC, to participate in pickup games and events. That meant taking our time, energy, and money out of Greenville County and supporting Asheville-area restaurants and businesses, simply because they had space and support for the sport.
🥅 Early 2024: The Pavilion
Still, we grew. In March, April, and May of 2024, we hosted pickup at the Pavilion for $5 per person, drawing players from Greenville, Travelers Rest, Spartanburg, Asheville, Athens, and Charlotte. And when we couldn’t reserve space at the Pavilion, we continued to use the church basketball court and traveling to Asheville to keep play consistent.
Christi-An, Dana, and Seema at the church basketball court - 2/25/24
🏆 2024 Southeast Qualifier
On June 1st–2nd, we hosted the Southeast Qualifier at the Pavilion. Over 50 players traveled from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and across South Carolina. The weekend was full of intense competition and community connection.
The venue rental alone cost $2,950, and despite collecting registration fees, we had to cover much of the remainder ourselves. Consistent fundraising proved difficult without a home court to anchor our community. This limited our visibility and made it hard to build the kind of community sponsors want to support.
Still, the event brought a meaningful economic impact to our area. We brought in two local food trucks. Visiting players stayed in local hotels and Airbnbs, visited museums and shops, and supported bike shops, restaurants, coffee shops, and breweries.
⛔ Closed Courts, New Ideas
In late 2024, we learned Lakeside was officially off the table. It was labeled abandoned. Our summer and fall pickup sessions moved to Gateway Park, where we again drew a regional crowd from across the Carolinas and beyond.
September 1, 2024
September 8, 2024
In September, we followed up with the county to ask for permission to play at the park and to advocate for basic bathroom repairs. Rather than approving our request, the county installed new signage banning bikes from the tennis courts. Damage to a nearby basketball court, which we had never used, was documented and attributed to our group.
In October, the county offered us access to Jimi-Turner Park in Marieta as an alternative to Gateway Park. While we appreciated the effort to find a compromise, it wasn’t a viable long-term solution. The surface was uneven, the location was farther away from most players than the church court we had been using, and there were no reliable facilities such as bathrooms, lighting, water, or storage.
November 14, 2024
In November, we presented our case to the County Advisory Board, formally requesting access to Lakeside or Welcome Park, or permission to use a single tennis court—such as at Gateway—for bike polo. We continued advocating through the winter.
Maggie, Dan, Grayson and Seema at Greenville County Parks Admin Office -11/14/24
In February, we asked to reserve the Pavilion again for the 2025 Southeast Qualifier, only to be told we were no longer allowed to play there. With no local options available, it was too late to host SEQ in Greenville County, and the bid went to the Tallahassee, FL, club.
🎉 We Have a Park!
In April 2025, Greenville County officially granted us access to play at Lakeside Park.
This moment represents more than just a place to play. It allows us to keep our community rooted locally, welcome new players without asking them to travel out of town, and keep our time, energy, and economic impact within Greenville County. It gives us the consistency needed to grow a grassroots sport.
What does having a home allow us to do next?
With a place to play, we can finally build routines and relationships. Follow along to find out! ⤵️
