Photo Booth, Photos, and Video!!!

We are very fortunate to have a professional photographer amongst our club members, one that doesn't mind lending her services to create a photo booth for teams on Saturday and event photos and video from Sunday!!! Also makes the best Christmas in your mouth shot I've ever had!!!!!
Sasha we love you!!!
Check out her site www.slightlyremovedphotography.com

THE PHOTOS ARE HERE:
Photo Booth Shots

Sunday photos

Finals videos

Tournament Awards!

So we will always have standings for the tournament but this particular event REQUIRED us to award based on more than just how you performed in the tournament! This weekend was enjoyed by every participant not solely on how they did in games, but, mostly, on all the fun side activities and treats that we had for everyone! Being that it was basically a party all weekend long, we created some unique awards for our guests.
Below are the awards we gave out, to who, and what they received!

Thank you again to our sponsors! Everyone had a great time and we couldn't have done it without your continued support!

FURTHEST TRAVELED TEAM:
RINGWORM
Shelley NYC, Zac BOS, Tyler BOS; traveling a combined total of 5658 miles to get to Austin!
--all won ATXBPSC clubs shirts, event shot glasses, Fyxation grips, water bottles

The USHERS aka the most noted volunteers:
Tyler BOS
Louse LOU
Nathan HOU
Dylan DFW
Bob ATX
NORAH ATX - specialty lady of the day! helped us so very very much in command center
--all won t-shirts, Fyxation grips, water bottles

The HANGOVER aka the partiers:
Joe Zoo
Michelle HOU
Cedar PDX
Miguel ATX
-- all won event shot glasses, t-shirts,grips, water bottles

BEST DRESSED FEMALE of the weekend:
Elise Fornell, ATX
--dressing to theme both days, Elise played excellently and always looked fabulous! she won Green Goat Designs [a local jewelry maker] necklace inspired by cycling, t-shirt, grips, water bottle

BEST DRESSED MALE of the weeeknd:
Alekos, HOU
-- dressing in the tightest leopard print outfit we could ever imagine, Alekos won crowd vote for best dressed male all weekend earning him a pair of Green Goat Designs cuff links, t-shirt, grips, water bottle

BEST DRESSED TEAM of the weekend:
PRIMA NOCTA
Joe Zoo CVG, Louise LOU, Chris Evans CVG
--dressing the part as a team everyday and really showing they were "together" if you will! they won Sprinks Kinks Designs event shot glasses, handmade cycling caps, handmade saddle covers, t-shirts, grips, water bottles

HONORARY BRIDESMAIDS:
Just for being themselves and being amazing: Kayla Story of CHI, and Britt Willey-Schultz of MKE/CHI won a handmade, reversible and washable hat by Chandel and a hand-knitted saddle cover by Jasmine

MAID OF HONOR:
This award is akin to the Female MVP award in most tournaments, our winning lady was voted for by guests of the event. Told to keep in mind that the Maid of Honor is one lady that plays hard, has fun, helps when and where needed, keeps a smile on her face, is the life of the party, dressed the part, acted the part, and was the part all weekend. It is with the greatest of honors that we awarded our own MAUREEN "MO" GRADY of ATX this title.
She was presented with a complimentary pair of DZR shoes, Seagull Bags gift certificate, Fast Folks t-shirt, Sprinks Kinks Designs event pint glass, and grips, water bottle

BEST MAN:
This award, in likeness to Male MVP, was awarded to the male that most stood out to the guests for representing the greatest of all traits in image, attitude, game play, and everything in between! Dressed the part, acted the part, was the part, and some would probably argue "and then some" , we are happy to announce that JOE "ZOO" ZUGEITER of Cincinnati, Ohio was crowd voted this title. Dressing to the NINES Joe did not disappoint, from his neon cumberbun and matching bow tie, to his garden party attire, he was the Best Man.
 Joe was presented with an Official Texas Armadillo belt buckle, Seagull Bags gift certificate, a bike pump, t-shirt, Sprinks Kinks Designs event pint glass, grips and water bottle

Tournament Standings:

1ST PLACE: MANWICH UNITED: Chandel ATX, Miguel ATX, Rob ATX
--the team was awarded trophy Green Goat Designs necklace and cufflinks, Sprinks Kinks Designs event pint glasses, Fixcraft Hot weather regulation ball, Square Built handle bar discount, t-shirt, grips, water bottles

2ND PLACE: HOT AND READYS: Elise ATX, Fabian ATX, Lembo ATX
--team awarded Freight Baggage bicycle drink holsters, Fixcraft bandanas, Sprinks Kinks Designs event pint glasses, Square Built handle bar discount, t-shirt, grips, water bottles

3RD PLACE: BUKAKI BRIDES: Adylle HOU, Diego HOU, David Torres SATX
--team awarded Fast Folks cycling caps, Square Built handle bar discount, t-shirt, grips, water bottles

ALWAYS A BRIDESMAID NEVER A BRIDE aka DFL: POLITO GUEY: Michelle HOU, Shane HOU, Omar HOU
--Red Franklin balls, t-shirts, grips, water bottles

THAT IS ALL SHE WROTE! Thank you again to everyone that came and everyone that helped make this happen!

In the above lists:
T-shirts were donated by: Ozone Bikes, Fast Folks Cyclery, Fixcraft, and ATXBPSC
Grips were all donated by Fyxation
Water bottles were donated by Fast Folks Cyclery, Perfomance Bikes, and Ozone Bikes

Tournament Standings!

So the weekend is over and we have our results!!!!

Tournament Results:

1	Manwich United : Rob ATX, Miguel ATX, Chandel ATX
2	Hot and Readys: Elise ATX, Fabian ATX, Lembo ATX
3	Bukaki Brides: Adylle HOU, Diego HOU, David Torres SATX
4	Hide your brides: Jasmine S. BMG, Travis Davies BMG, Sprinks RVA
5	Hairy Anglers: Kayla CHI, Britt MKE/CHI, Brian CHI
5	Something awesome: Jasmine J ATX, Israel ATX, Andrew ATX
7	Horse burgers: Kristina ATX, Gray ATX, Dylan DFW
7	Jorts4lyfe: Kelly S CHI, Matt Bailey LOU, Bob Rogers ATX
9	Divorce rates: Annie ATX, Dan ATX, Artie ATX
9	Polostinians: Michelle HOU, Nathan HOU, Lindsey HOU
9	Pre-nup: Jess HOU, Gonzo HOU, Alekos HOU
9	Prima nocta: Louise LOU, Joe Zoo CVG, Chris Evans CVG
13	Bearded mussels: Kristina ATX, Zach ATX, Cedar PDX
13	Red neck shotguns: Jasmine J ATX, Kevin SMTX, Colin SMTX
13	Smitten kittens: Mo Grady ATX, Jody ATX, Travis GNV
13	Wasted youth: Jess HOU, David Beck SATX, Chuck SATX
17	Coitus interruptus: Mari Jo DFW, Damiri DFW, Brandon DFW
17	Polito guey: Michelle HOU, Shane HOU, Omar HOU
17	Poopsicle: Katie DFW, Ryan DFW, Austin DFW
17	Ringworm: Shelley NYC, Zac BOS, Tyler BOS
17	Southern scramble: Annie ATX, Shelley NYC, Chase ATX

The garden party is in full swing! (Aka double elimination)
Follow the brackets here!!
http://www.seattleswiss.com/view.php?id=64&view=lbracket 

BACHELOR-ETTE PARTY

Hey everyone! We're kicking it off right tonight at Jasmine's house for some great fun and games!!!

The address is 2822 Salado Street, ATX 78705
Times are around 7-8pm start until ? that's up to you!

Can't wait to see you all here! We've seen some friendly visitors already!!!

ARTWORK

FINALLY GOT THE POSTER DONE!

thanks again to all our sponsors!!!!!!!

Actual Schedule

Schedule

So we've pretty much got the weekend set up and can share the details now!


Friday, March 1: court building and bachelor/ette party

-court building during the day, starting at 9am loading at Jasmine's place, building at the courts by 11am; 1100 Cumberland Road, ATX, 78704
-registration BACHELOR/ETTE party at Jasmine's house; 2822 Salado Street, Austin, TX 78705
-over-the-top hyped bachelor/ette party favors, goodies, and entertainment

Saturday, March 2: ceremony day
Location: South Austin Rec Center, 1100 Cumberland Road, Austin, TX

-9am arrival time to the wedding location [aka the tournament courts]
-ceremony outline speech
-10am start on courts, all teams all day swiss rounds, no am/pm bracketing
-2pm meal service [see food and drinks entry]
-230pm continuation of ceremony
-6pm completion of ceremony; dinner break
-7pm reception begins [aka pick up time and party time at the courts]
-7pm-8pm toasts and speeches
-8pm-10pm dance party, reception party, pick up, fun times until lights out
-10pm-? there are many things to do in Austin, some of you might have something specific in mind, some of the Austin hosts will have some great suggestions too! this part of the evening will be organic and we'll just let you guys do what ya want!

Sunday, March 3: brunch/garden party [think Kentucky derby, plaids, fancy but not, big hats, etc]

-9am arrival time
-mimosa and bloody mary bar served as well as brunch, serve-yourself
-10am start on courts
-1pm break for lunch
-5pm commencement of double elimination bracket of all teams registered
-530pm awards and prizes
-7pm clean up and take down of all party favors, more pick up if you want to
-7pm-10pm deconstruction of courts and sorting of wood

Monday, March 4:

-9am loading wood into uhaul and dropping back at Jasmine's place


We're very excited to have the schedule out!

Food and Drink!

The days are nearing and we're hoping that y'all are getting as excited as we are!

Updating the sponsor list daily and getting such great feedback from everyone! I'm happy to announce some of the food and drink components of this tournament.

Food:
Being that it is a wedding theme, and Sunday is a brunch theme, we have been working hard to get some local food sponsors to come through.

So far we have bread stuffs donated by AMITY BAKERY!
Check out their website: http://amitybakery.com

Named one of the top ten bakeries in North America, we are all in for a very special treat!!!!
Thank you to Barrie Cullinan for helping with our cause!!


Not to give away what it really will all entail, we will say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and having a nice bread to munch on is amazing, but what could we pair with it???

Hmmm...well we're also very fortunate to have another local canning guru, Stephanie at Confituras, join the yum-ranks! Providing some of her delicious and delectable spreads, jams, preserves with us!

Check out her website here: www.confituras.net

Locally sourced and supported, both of these companies are near and dear to our hearts! We are so very grateful!

We've also added to the roster, PIZZA! for lunch on Saturday, as part of the "meal" you would receive at any great wedding!
Austin's Pizza is donating a handful of pies to our event and we're super happy to accept them!
Thanks guys!
www.austinspizza.com

Drink:

What's a wedding without a little libation tastin'! We are happy to be able to work with some great local companies and through our connection with a great marketing and promotions company, Big Green House Presents, http://www.biggreenhousepresents.com/, we are able to at least give y'all a beer or two from our "open bar"!

Thank you to Dos Equis for being open to working with a unique and guaranteed to be fun event!
www.dosequis.com

ALSO UP OUR SLEEVES!
St. Arnold's is donating beer for this event as well! We'll be enjoying this fine beverage at the bachelor/ette party Friday evening!!! Thanks!
www.saintarnold.com

AS IF WE'D STOP THERE!!!!

We are so excited to announce that TITO'S HANDMADE VODKA will be sponsoring our BLOODY MARY BAR for Sunday!!!!!

Thank you to Tito's for seeing our vision and helping us create a great atmosphere for the guests! We're sure you will all enjoy it! They have been doing this for over 15 years now!

www.titosvodka.com

On-Site Mechanic

WE ARE STOKED!!!! One of the hardest components for us to find is an on-site mechanic station for the days of the tournament.
Austin is lucky to have a great cycling community and one that loves to support each other.

Big shout out to our weekend mechanic saviors: BRYCYCLE

These guys also do the local Thursday Night Social Ride, they set up at the start and help get everyone going from there. They do the Frankenbike monthly events, and they are just all around great dudes willing to spend time with us and help all our participants in times of immediate mechanic need.

Thank you thank you thank you!!!

 

email them here: brycycle2.0@gmail.com

registration again...

so we're getting more and more interest!!!!

in case you missed it we're looking at registration and trying to make this the best it can be!!!

please go to:
www.hardcourtbikepolo.org/wedding/

there is a form to fill out and you will be "registered" after that!
we will be sending out info to registrants on Friday, Feb. 15th with more details!!!

also check out our sponsors page! it's growing!!!!

thanks and we're close! it's going to be amazing!!!!

What is the THEME?

We've been promoting and promoting this as a wedding themed two-day tournament. From the schedule posted in a previous entry there are probably questions around how this will really be visually linked to a wedding theme, here are some answers:

Like any traditional wedding there will be a bachelor/ette party to celebrate solidarity and remembering the times when you are single and just having fun. Akin to bike polo, this is where you are your own person at the registration party, only really as a 'team' when you let the organizers know you are there and ready for action. Usually after that you are own your own to mingle, say hello to old friends, and meet some new ones. Let's not forget scoping out the competition, be it other pretty ladies/gents at the event or other teams you know will be fun to play against! This party will be memorable in the long run, and we also assume many may forget, or want to by the next day!!! Like any good bachelor/ette party we will have party favors for the men and for the ladies. This does include but is not limited to shapely straws or mugs, party games, drinking games, and entertain of the adult variety!

The wedding ceremony will follow the very next day, all day, at the courts. Albeit no one is actually getting married (this time around), we are going to focus on the aspects of a wedding as if every one of our guests is also a potential bride or groom, part of the wedding party, or just an esteemed guest of bride or groom (or both) and we'd like you to dress the part! Many weddings are planned around a color scheme and ours is no different. Decidedly more fun than many a traditional ceremony, we went with less convention colors! Black, white, and anything NEON is our theme! We highly encourage all guests to dress in formal, or as close to formal as you can while still being able to stay on your bike and be comfortable for the whole day. There will be traditional photography and some bonus candid photo opportunities to take advantage of. This will also prompt us to award based on efforts of costuming too! Keep it in mind ladies and lords!
Our location doesn't really allow for tables and chairs for everyone, so we will consider this more of a grande picnic type set up.
The ceremonies begin at 9am where we will go over the rules of engagement during the day and what you can expect from us and what we expect from you. This is pretty standard and should have us on the way to the real action within that first hour. We are suggesting that every guest stays for the entirety of the day/ceremony. We don't want to separate our brides guests from our grooms guests, this ceremony will see it perpetually mixed up all day long.
The festivities will take a breather if needed around 1pm for lunch, but we may find that it's best to just keep the whole day going! This we will play by ear and see how everyone's doing the day of.
Festivities will continue with guests all receiving a gift from the lucky 'couple' to commemorate celebrating the union of the poloverse with more poloverse!
We should be wrapping up the ceremony by about 6pm, upon which time the reception will commence. No need to go anywhere to change as we're all looking great already! We will have a section for speeches and toasts (which is a free-for-all-sign-up so start writing up some witty anecdotes or silly speeches to announce) and a cake cutting ceremony. There will be first dances, middle dances, last dances, awkward dances, group dances, jumping dances, square dances (we are in Texas so brush up), two-step dances, and all forms of other dances we can think of! There will also be time to use the courts because they are lit so we can keep the polo going next to the party until they turn off! We are attempting to create a full outdoor reception atmosphere and this is hopefully including donated libations (this is unconfirmed as of right now but we are working hard at it!)
At some point in time there will be food needed and we are working on how to approach this, whether we provide or you step away to forage your own, we're waiting on potential sponsors for this.
The end of the reception will be at lights out, so we will discuss further after party opportunities, as we know some of you will want to keep the party going!

Sunday will be a day to reflect on what you may or may not have done, or remember doing, the night before. This will also be in the theme of brunch/garden party. Please assume the attire for this is post party garden gala. There will be brunch provided by the ATX Bike Polo Social Club as well as typical brunch drinks, working on these as well atm.
The entire guest list will participate on this day also and we will run a double elimination bracket to play out from the rankings of Saturday's 'ceremonies'. This day is much more relaxed on theme and attire, but we are still excited that you as guests can stay with us brides and grooms the whole day. We anticipate this to be ending by 5pm or so. We will do awards and encourage more play after this if y'all want, or we may suggest other places to check out in the city. The lights will stay on so you may do what you wish!

Thank you and we are very much looking forward to celebrating this union of polo souls on March 2nd and 3rd! Please direct any questions to our event email <a href="mailto:atxsavethedate@gmail.com">atxsavethedate@gmail.com</a>

Schedule

Hey I know everyone is wanting a schedule of some sorts to see how AWESOME this tournament is going to be, so for now here is a loose or rather not fully detailed version of what is to come:

Friday, March 1: bachelor/ette party

-court building during the day
-registration BACHELOR/ETTE party at location tba
-typical hyped bachelor/ette party favors, goodies, and entertainment

Saturday, March 2: ceremony day
Location: South Austin Rec Center, 1100 Cumberland Road, Austin, TX

-9am arrival time to the wedding location [aka the tournament courts]
-ceremony outline speech
-10am start on courts, all teams all day swiss rounds, no am/pm bracketing
-1pm break for lunch
-2pm continuation of ceremony
-6pm completion of ceremony; dinner break
-7pm reception begins [aka pick up time and party time at the courts]
-7pm-8pm toasts and speeches
-8pm-? dance party, reception party, pick up, fun times until lights out

Sunday, March 3: brunch/garden party

-9am arrival time
-10am start on courts
-1pm break for lunch
-5pm commencement of double elimination bracket of all teams registered
-530pm awards and prizes
-7pm clean up and take down of all party favors, more pick up if you want to

Monday, March 4: clean up

-take down of all court construction

Double love time!

Update!
We are finding that many ladies are saving their dough and bread and all their biscuits to head on up to Vancouver in May/other expenses/other commitments, so the successes of completing a co-ed team are slimmer than we anticipated!

We do have a solution of sorts:
The ladies that have currently signed up have been consulted and agree to play on TWO teams if it means that more people will be able to attend the event. This means that the team they are currently signed up on/the first team they register with will be their PRIMARY team, the team that they are helping to complete as coed will be their SECONDARY team. In this case, should the two teams that a single lady is a part of have to face each other she will play with her primary team and the secondary team can sub any other lady in for that game. It sounds more rigid than it will be I'm sure, but I do want the clarity there for all you sticklers [aka me].
This would also apply to any ladies that haven't signed up yet. If you plan to and would be into playing on two teams just let us know in the "notes" when registering and we can add you to the list. Or just sign up with two teams and let us know which is your primary team.
So, the ladies that are available and are confirmed registrants are:

Jasmine Jones ATX
Mo Grady ATX
Elise Fornell ATX
Kelly Strosser CHI
Kayla Story CHI
Britt Willey Schultz MKE
Jasmine Stevens Bloomington
Shelley Smith NYC
Kristina Kinsel ATX
Ann G. Linders ATX
Chandel Bodner ATX

Please take a look at the list and ask one of these fine ladies to join in your two-some if the only thing holding you back is that co-ed component.

Also note that this will adjust our registration fee from per team to PER PERSON so as not to punish anyone playing a double love life at the tourney!

If you have any questions about this, or need help connecting with one of the ladies listed please email us at atxsavethedate@gmail.com

What is Hardcourt Bike Polo?

For those of you out there that are finding the blog through friends, family, facebook, emails, etc and don't have a clue about hardcourt bike polo here is a very short lesson and video!

Basic rules:
There are 3 players to a team. Teams start at opposite ends of the court behind the goal line/touching the wall with their back wheels. The "joust" starts the game with the ball in the center of the court. Game is called out, two players rush for possession to start it all off. Goals are scored into nets. Possession changes after each goal scored. Touching the ground with any part of the body is a "dab out" and takes the player out of play until the touch a designated spot, usually center court on the wall, with their mallet. Games go until 5 goals wins, or until time is called. These are the basics.

Check this video out for an example of some bike polo being played here in Austin last year!

Participants to Save the Date! Please note these are the courts we will be using in the tournament, consider this a preview to the surface and size.

Watch the VIDEO HERE!

Here's another longer full-game to watch!

We want more Participants!

We thought we'd take some of the leg work on for those destination clubs we'd love to see present at our tournament!
The flight pricing listed below is only from Southwest Airlines, given we all know the bikes and bags can fly for free.

Take a look! These are current from today's date!!! Return flights listed.

LA  $372
JACksonville, FL  $485
Seattle  $242
Minneapolis  $435
Portland, OR  $318
San Francisco  $250
Atlanta  $222
Chicago  $258
Milwaukee  $284
Pittsburg  $328
Denver  $218
Phoenix  $338
Fort Lauderdale  $201

We aren't trying to leave any cities out but these were done on a quick search!
We still have room in the tournament and would love to see y'all come out and enjoy this festive occasion with us!!!
 

Sponsors!!!

A tournament wouldn't be a proper tournament if we didn't have prizes to hand out to the winners, the losers, and some of you in between! Currently, potential sponsors are being contacted and confirmed. Once confirmed they will be listed here with websites/other info if applicable.

To all of the sponsors, Austin Texas Bike Polo, as well as all participants, are grateful for your generosity in helping make this the best tournament we can possibly throw! Great prizes means superb attendance by the best teams out there. Thank you for helping us draw the top players from around the continent in their desire to win what you've given us!

Also, if you know of a company that is up and coming, or would fit the bill for this tournament, please have them contact me via email at atxsavethedate@gmail.com for the sponsor proposal. No company is too small to get their name and brand out there!


Fixcraft
www.fixcraft.com

Sprinks Kinks Designs

Custom design work by Charles Sprinkle, polo player

SquareBuilt Bicycles
www.squarebuilt.com

Seagull Bags
www.seagullbags.com

Eighth Inch
eighthinch.com

Fast Folks
www.fastfolks.com

Fyxation - Gear for Urban Riders
www.fyxation.com

Freewheeling Bicycles
www.freewheelingbicycles.com 

 

Green Goat Designs

http://greengoatdesigns.com/

Ozone Bikes 

www.ozonebikes.com

Freight Baggage

www.freightbags.com 

DZR Shoes

www.dzrshoes.com

Performance Bicycle
www.performancebike.com

Registration aka RSVP!

Registration is underway for the tournament and can be found here:
RSVP HERE

Thank you to our local club member, Zach, for helping to host the rsvp on his website www.hardcourtbikepolo.org
We couldn't have done it without him!

Please fill out registration completely and make sure you are including at least one female or one male player as this is a mandatory CO-ED tournament!

Because our courts are restricted to only being two in number, we must max out our capacity at 36 teams. This means you should register now!!!

We will email all registered teams and advise regarding specifics and payment to the email you provide on the RSVP.

Can't wait to see you all!

Welcome!

Starting off the 2013 season with a bang! Austin Texas Bike Polo Social Club is happy to host a return to the fun of bike polo event this coming March!

March 2-3, 2013 we will throw a Co-ed Save the Date destination tournament, themed as a wedding but without the actual nuptials!

What does this really mean?
It means we will have all of the points of a professionally run hardcourt bike polo tournament with fun, games, and costumes along the way!
Starting off typically with a registration gathering on Friday, March 1, we will be dubbing this our "bachelor/bachelorette" party and planning as such. You can expect all the typical shenanigans of a bachelor/bachelorette party on this night! Think strippers and last-acts of singles games! More on that later...
Saturday will be a swiss round game playing day in theme of the wedding ceremony. The bride and groom are undefined, or rather they can be anyone! We have elected our local club as the "bridal party" and the rest of the participants as guests, we do have a color theme and encourage everyone to dress as formally as possible while still remaining comfortable enough to play polo. The colors of the day are black, white, and anything neon! We will have plenty of photo opportunities as well as prizes randomly for great attire! The end of Saturday will bring rankings for all participants as well as a 'reception' party at the courts, complete with cake and dancing!
Sunday will be a traditional double elimination day including all teams from Saturday, and the theme for the day is 'garden brunch party', including delicious brunch features and drinks. Participants are asked to dress accordingly, and also in team 'attire'...again more prizes and fun events throughout the day. Sunday night will see relaxation and departure times for our honored guests.

We are very excited to host an event like this for all those willing to travel to our fair city and enjoy the good times ahead!

Please check back here for many updates along the way including sponsors, registration, schedule details, and more!!!