- Two teams of three players. No player substitutions will be allowed.
- Any type of bicycle is allowed. Handlebars must be plugged. Teams are permitted to keep a fourth bicycle ready for substitution.
- Mallets must resemble a croquet mallet with a wide side and a round end. Modified ski poles and plastic pipe are the most common materials. The handle end of the mallet must be plugged.
- The ball will be a standard street hockey ball.
- Goals will be a pair of orange road cones spaced one bike length apart. If disrupted, it is the responsibility of the player who disrupted it to fix it.
- Round-robin games are timed and end after 10 minutes; tournament games are played to 5 points.
- Start of a game: Each team will be stopped behind its own goal line and the ball will be positioned at center court. Play will begin with a “3 2 1 GO!” from the sideline.
- A scoring goal must be made from the tip of a player’s mallet. A “shuffle” does not count as a goal; if the ball is shuffled through the goal, play continues uninterrupted. ***note*** The ball is still live and considered a shot even after deflecting of a surface (for example a wheel, or opponent’s mallet) and remains in play while under the mommentum imparted to it by the original shooter.
- After a goal is scored, the team who scored returns to their half of the court. The team who was scored on takes possession of the ball and cannot begin play until all members of the scoring team return to their side. The scoring team cannot cross the center line until the ball has been touched.
- Call out the score after each goal.
- Passing “backward” through the goal (from behind the goal line to in front of it, through the goal, a.k.a. “goal offsides”): When the ball is passed through the goal in this way, a goal CANNOT be scored by the first player to play the ball. Any subsequent player to play the ball may score. ***note*** If a non-scoring ball is shot from in front of the goal line and bounces off the back wall and comes out through the goal, the ball is in play and can be scored.
- Players must not touch the ground, or “foot-down”. Each time a player goes foot-down, that player may not touch the ball until they ride to either side at center court line and tap the wall with their mallet. It is poor etiquette not to go immediately and directly to tap out after a foot-down, and disruption of play while heading to center court will not be permitted. Players also may not play the ball with their feet at any time.
- Contact rules: “Like” contact is allowed. Mallet to mallet. Bike to bike. Player to player (except grabbing with hands). All other contact is NOT allowed (mallet to player, player to bike, mallet to bike, etc.)
- A team may call “TIME OUT” in order to tend to physical injury or mechanical failiure only after a goal is scored. Play will continue otherwise.
- Throwing of mallets is not allowed at any time, in any situation.
- Trash talking between teams is allowed encouraged both on and off the court.
So everything is coming together now, and we are putting the final touches on all the little side projects that are going to make this event kick ass. Let’s just say that all our friends have come through, and the all those favors called out have come back ten fold.
Bailey Works has agreed to a make some amazing bags, and we’re really lucky to have such a great relationship with them. The bags are in and I’ve seen them with my own eyes. They kick ass, and are totally hooked up with the ESPI3. But wait, there’s always a twist…
Even better though has been the support we’ve received so far from The Bike Rack (
We’ve also been talking with a local area artist named Jon Wye who makes the most amazing leather belts. He’s talking about maybe putting something together for the winners, but we’re keeping these cards close for now.
