COMOPOLO

FYI. E-mail I received from the NAH board...

Hello Everyone,

The NAH board met tonight and is putting into place a new policy to facilitate rule and structure changes. This is our first test of the system so it warrants a little description.

When the NAH board finds an issue that needs to be resolved with input from the greater polo population we will send out an email like this one. These emails will normally regard proposed rule changes that have a major impact on the polo community. When you get the email you need to read it, research the issue, and present the situation to your club by whatever means of communication works best. Your job as a rep is to find a general consensus among your club and present it to your regional reps. They in turn, will take your votes and opinions to the board and make the overall decision based on feedback from the entire NAH community. There will be corresponding public threads on LoBP that can add to discussion of the issue. You will have 7 days to let your rep know your thoughts before the issue will be closed! After 7 days of discussion the board will review the votes and implement the changes. Board members and regional reps are included on this email group, but make sure to communicate with specific individuals if you want your club's opinion counted.

Now that you know the system, let me present you with the first issue:

Our current NAH rules have a range of goal dimension that are "acceptable" but, if any of you have played near the goal you understand that 20cm (almost 6") is a major difference when it comes to guarding a net. Many cities are currently building permanent goals and we need to come up with a more concrete set of dimensions to standardize play on an international level.

This is what the rules state now:
4. Goals
4.1 - All goals will have nets.

4.2 - Goals should be no larger than 200 cm x 95 cm and no smaller than 180cm x 85 cm

4.3 - The goal line will be marked.

What we need from you is a description of what you play with now, and what you think is the ideal polo net size.

Here is a link the the forum discussion: http://leagueofbikepolo.com/forum/courts/2011/0...

And here is a link to a previous discussion about nets: http://leagueofbikepolo.com/forum/rules/2010/03...

Let us know if you have any questions, and remember that you only have 7 days to work this out.

Thank you,
NAH Board

ours are 6ft x 2ft (182cm x 60cm)

I do like the new goals being lower, since and out of the way of all handlebars

I know I haven't had as much experience as most of you guys but I definitely like the shorter goals more than the taller ones.

I have no problem with the lower goals, but I never understood the handlebar thing. I never play goal close enough to the actual frame to get my handlebar snagged on it...and no one needs to be that close. I think it may have to do with the fact that I position myself so that I can move in an arc rather than just posting parallel to the goal, but even if I were to post up parallel, I wouldn't sit right up on it like that.

i could go for some taller goals, but other than that they're great

I think we should move to soccer sized goals. That way more goals=more viewers. Also I think we should reduce the size of the ball. I am thinking golf ball sized.

Floppy wrote:

I think we should move to soccer sized goals. That way more goals=more viewers. Also I think we should reduce the size of the ball. I am thinking golf ball sized.

thanks. I think I found my new avatar

TimD wrote:

I never play goal close enough to the actual frame to get my handlebar snagged on it...and no one needs to be that close. I think it may have to do with the fact that I position myself so that I can move in an arc rather than just posting parallel to the goal...

Can you (and others) teach me this? I tried it last night, but I'm not sure I did correctly.

Speak up if you haven't done so already. I'm indifferent towards goal size. A big part of me would prefer to be knocked into a taller goal than over the top of a small one, even though that shold never happen to begin with. 3' x 6' seems to fit the bill nicely. Lexington's goals at the Open last year were sick!!!

YIMYOM wrote:

Speak up if you haven't done so already. I'm indifferent towards goal size. A big part of me would prefer to be knocked into a taller goal than over the top of a small one, even though that shold never happen to begin with. 3' x 6' seems to fit the bill nicely. Lexington's goals at the Open last year were sick!!!

K.

notsochristian wrote:

Can you (and others) teach me this? I tried it last night, but I'm not sure I did correctly.

I can, but it has its disadvantages as well. positioning at an angle leaves either your front or back open at any given time if the ball carrier isn't coming straight on. It leaves you vulnerable in 2 on 1 situations. You have to be quick, both moving forwards, and backwards (which can be tough on a freewheel).

Thanks for the tips yesterday Tim D. It makes more sense now.

And for what it's worth, I dig the Cosmo goals.