Pedal to the Metal: Hardcourt Bike Polo Is on the Rise in Houston

ByDaniel RenfrowPhotography byRichard Ramirez IIJune 6, 2023Published in the Summer 2023 issue ofHoustonia Magazine

A predecessor of hardcourt bike polo originated in Ireland in 1891, and was even played as an Olympic event in 1908.

Image: courtesy richard ramirez II

On Sundays at the hard courts in Eastwood Park, you’re likely to find a coed horde of jort-wearing, well-tatted bicyclists playing a unique version of polo. Mounted on bikes instead of horses, the players, armored in helmets, padded gloves, and kneepads, propel themselves around the court on their fixed-gear steeds, whacking away at a small plastic ball with their often-makeshift mallets.

As they joust, mallet meets mallet, mallet meets ball, unleashing loud cracking sounds. If the shot is a good one, with a violent crack, the tiny projectile careens its way across the court and into one of the nets waiting at either end. During all of the jostling, bike also collides with bike (hence all of the padding), making this type of polo much more high-impact than its posher equestrian cousin. While traditional polo matches are known to end with Champagne, these are more likely to end with six-packs of beer or Topo Chico.

A predecessor of hardcourt bike polo originated in Ireland in 1891, and was even played as an Olympic event in 1908. But it wasn't until the early 2000s that it was given new life, by players in Seattle, then quickly spread across the United States and the rest of the globe. Bike polo has a strong presence in Texas, where cities like Houston, Austin, San Antonio, College Station, Denton, and Dallas all have their own dedicated clubs.

Hardcourt bike polo is usually played in teams of three, with games capped at 12 to 15 minutes.

Image: courtesy richard ramirez II

Despite its name, the sport is much closer to street hockey than it is to traditional horse polo. The official rule book is 38 pages long, and the basics of the sport are pretty easy to understand. Matches are usually played in teams of three, with games capped at 12 to 15 minutes. The rules come with some quirks—for example, if a player touches the ground with one of their feet during a game, called a "dab," they must tap themselves back in by riding to a designated point on the court and tapping it with their mallet.

Diego Ayala, 36, is a local expert on all things bike polo. A longtime cyclist, he was introduced to the sport in 2009 when it was just beginning to establish itself in Houston. "Somebody talked about a new thing people were playing at a park in the Heights called bike polo, so it just seemed like the next thing to check out since I was already so infatuated with bikes at the time," he says. "The rest is history. I was completely hooked from day one."

Diego Ayala is based in Houston but regularly travels to play in bike polo tournaments.

Image: courtesy richard ramirez II

In the 14 years since, Ayala has become one of the top players of the sport in the nation as well as the quasi leader of the bike polo scene in Houston, which is small compared to Austin's, but continues to hold strong despite the city's unfriendliness to cyclists. "Unfortunately, we’re in Houston. It's tough to get people on bikes, let alone to come swing a big stick around from on top of a bike," he says. "There's definitely a strong community here, though, and with their help over the past 14 years, I’ve just been able to get really good practice."

A couple of years ago, Ayala quit his job in Houston so he could travel across the country in a converted box truck and play bike polo full time. He competed in 15 regional tournaments during his road trip, which included stops all over the East Coast, the Midwest, and the Pacific Northwest. At a tournament last September in Seattle, he fractured his ankle, fibula, and tibia in a freak accident. After surgery, he returned to Houston and spent several months in recovery.

"It's open to anyone who likes to ride bikes and is maybe competitive and wants to challenge themselves to think outside of the norm of sports," —Diego Ayala

He says he's now back to "70 percent," and is playing bike polo again on a regular basis, in both Houston and Austin. In May, he played in the North American Bike Polo Championship in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. His team, comprising himself and three players from Portland, Oregon, placed third, advancing to the world championships in Perpignan, France, in August. Although not everyone in the bike polo scene goes as hard as Ayala, who has played the sport internationally in countries like Canada, Mexico, Argentina, and Colombia, he says it has a lot to offer to cyclists of all commitment levels.

"It's open to anyone who likes to ride bikes and is maybe competitive and wants to challenge themselves to think outside of the norm of sports," he says. "The bike polo community is very strong, and it has the potential to make anybody into a better person, whether that is physically through the exercise or mentally by having to work as a team."

"I’m here to play, meet some people, get some exercise, and travel," Tori Ortega says.

Image: courtesy richard ramirez II

Tori Ortega, 33, like Ayala, got into the sport for its competitive nature as well as its sense of community. She was introduced to the sport in 2015, and now plays it more for enjoyment than for the competitive aspect, although she still regularly plays in tournaments across the country. "I’m here to play, meet some people, get some exercise, and travel," she says of her now more relaxed bike polo ethos.

One of the things Ortega enjoys the most about bike polo is that, unlike many other cycling sports, it's coed. "It's more inclusive than most other sports," she says of the mixed-gender matches. "There's still some bro power there, but it's not as notable as in other sports. Bike polo is great about giving all genders and gender identities the space to feel comfortable and competitive at the same time."

Since bike polo can sometimes be a high-impact sport, players often protect themselves from injury by wearing knee pads, padded gloves, and helmets during matches.

Image: courtesy richard ramirez II

On weekends, you’re likely to find Ayala and Ortega playing polo at a court somewhere, whether here in Houston; in Austin, Dallas, or College Station; or at a tournament outside of Texas or even the country. You’re also likely to find newcomers playing with them on occasion, as well as a handful of bike polo-curious nonplayers watching from the sidelines, wondering if they have what it takes to try their hand at the nascent sport.

For the curious, Ortega is always at the ready to offer some encouragement—bike polo is for you if you’re someone who likes to ride bikes already and wants something that's equal parts challenging and enjoyable, she says. "It's just so fun," Ayala echoes. "It's different. It's so up-and-coming, competitive, and fun. There's camaraderie, there's traveling. It's the future."