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.
September – Bike Polo Rules and Reffing
This month we're focusing on rules and reffing at pick-up: understanding the ruleset, calling fair games, and building confidence behind the whistle. It's a chance to get comfortable with the parts of the rulebook that come up most at pick-up, and to try reffing if you haven't yet.
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: 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.
Bike Polo Flyer
This flyer was created by Greenville Bike Polo Association for the purpose of sharing it with the wider Bike Polo community and support club building efforts around the world.