Halloween Weekend
Kip from Incite Cycles (Cascade Cross) reached out to Heather Carter Photography to cover a Bike Polo Tournament happening on Halloween weekend. This event was held by Kip's non-profit organization, Incite Cycles, and the good people from the Bellingham Bike Polo Club, Brett and Dan. A portion of the profits was set to be given to Mount Baker Planned Parenthood in respect to abortion rights. I was all too excited to have the opportunity to cover such a special event like this, mainy because I've never seen bike polo in person! People traveled from all over the West Coast to play, I even met a team that flew in from Anchorage Alaska! It was held in downtown Bellingham at the Mezzanine and there was a local beer & cider truck along with a food truck onsite. Saturday had some pickup games, lots of costumes, and a vibe like no other. Sunday was the full on tournament, and it did not disappoint! Read on for the full Photo recap.
Saturday Night Fever
My job on Saturday was to capture the beer garden vibes and get a feel for what happens in bike polo. It also gave me the opportunity to meet some people and get more insight to how the game is played.
These people are very talented on bikes.
Teams of three are put against each other in a hockey-style format and given 15 minutes to score as many goals as they can. Imagine having to navigate a bicycle through and around people (yes, there was some shoulder nudging!) with a long skinny mallet, trying to hit a ball not much bigger than a ping pong ball into a net. Oh, and every time you fall, it's on concrete!
This is Robert, aka Tofu. He was such a cool person to talk to, and gave me more information as to how the game is played. He was very skilled on the bike too. If you're reading this Tofu, YES you should try out mountain biking! Robert lives and goes to school in the Seattle area.
Dan, one of the shot callers of the event. Dan is so friendly and made sure everyone had a great time. He played in the tournament too.
Since it was Halloween weekend, everyone dressed up in costumes for the games on Saturday.
These players are skilled and tough! Saturday had some fun, light playful energy vibes at the pickup games, where they play by their own special rules. That's Brett from the Bellingham Bike Polo Club in front, gaining control of the ball.
Black & White edits looked the most appealing to me for this situation.
The tournament was on Sunday, and everyone brought their A-game. It was slow to start, but by mid-afternoon the place was buzzing!
Check out the slideshow above for Sunday's photos. Check out the rest here, or click the button below.
