About the BPAA
The Bicycle Polo Association of America was founded in 1994 by Lou Lopez
and Bill Matheson, two members of the legendary Boxwood Bicycle Polo Team,
which went undefeated in 4-on-4 competition from 1972 through 1981, at which
point they went their separate ways. That's Matheson and Lopez at the far
right in the picture below, after Boxwood's victory in the 1972 Cartier Challenge
Cup in Southhampton, NY. Their other teammates were Charlie Bostwick (#5),
Peter Mulligan (#4), and the late Jan Wendland (#2). The Cartier Challenge
Cup was played from 1971-74, at which point the beautiful silver and gold
trophy with the wooden base disappeared. There have been several sightings
reported at the Racquet Club in New York City, but repeated efforts to recover
the trophy have come to naught.
The Cartier Challenge Cup was sanctioned by the United States Bicycle
Polo Association, which was loosely affiliated with the United States Polo
Association. The USBPA based the rules of bicycle polo on the rules of equestrian
polo, since the latter had been evolving for some 2,000 years, and had reached
a certain refinement. In those days, bicycle polo was also played with the
outdoor polo ball, which was made of wood or plastic and was extremely hard.
The USBPA became dormant in the 1980's, and a group of well-meaning people
in Colorado founded the World Bicycle Polo Federation, believing that they
had invented the game themselves. They thought up their own rules, which
had nothing to do with equestrian polo, and set about promoting the sport.
Their version of the game was played on a very short field (53 yards) with
a whiffle ball, and players were required to ride parallel to the sidelines
to hit the ball. Matheson was retiring from equestrian polo at about the
time he heard about the World Bicycle Polo Federation, and decided to try
to revive the original version of the sport.
As luck would have it, Matheson received a call from Bill Townsend, a Californian
who was interested in promoting the sport. Townsend took the extraordinary
step of traveling from Sacramento to Matheson's home in the tiny hamlet of
Gilbertsville, New York, to pick his brain about the sport. Unfortunately,
when Townsend returned home to California, he decided to adopt the WBPF rules,
without having played either version of the game competitively. He thought
the WBPF rules were "simpler," and its version of the sport "safer."
Townsend also took the trouble to find out if the USBPA had ever actually
been incorporated, and discovered that it had not. He then proceeded to register
the name, which is how the USBPA has come to promote a version of the sport
that is anathema to the players who played in USBPA tournaments in the 1970's.
The ultimate proof of the inferiority of the WBPF rules is that even those
who invented them have converted to rules based on those of equestrian polo,
and several veteran WBPF clubs have converted as well, such as the one in
San Diego.
Having seen the USBPA go in a direction with which they did not agree, Matheson
and Lopez decided to form the BPAA to encourage players to take up the original
version of the sport. The BPAA rules were written by Bill Matheson, based
on the current version of the USPA outdoor and arena rules, but with several
significant modifications derived from Matheson's years of service on the
USPA's Rules, Arena Polo, and Umpiring Committees. We hope they are easy
to understand, and to follow; that was certainly our aim.
Since 1994, the BPAA has been involved in an effort to coordinate the various
versions of the sport, merging with the American Bicycle Polo Association
in 1997 to form a nationwide association. (The ABPA was based in Washington
State, the BPAA in South Carolina.) Since then, members of the BPAA have contacted
or played with bicycle polo players from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile,
Costa Rica, France, Great Britain, India, Ireland, New Zealand, and South
Africa. While most of these countries play with rules based on the equestrian
rules, there are many variations within that general framework. The Indians
play with a tennis ball, the British and Irish with an outdoor polo ball,
the French with a "Team Handball," and many Americans with an arena polo
ball. The British and French play five on a side, with goaltenders, and have
an upper limit on the goal; most other countries play four on a side, with
no upper limit, only goal posts.
Clearly, there is a lot of work to do before one international version of
the game is agreed upon, but it is probably fair to say that there are more
people playing under equestrian-based rules than not. The BPAA remains committed
to working with players around the world to promote the sport, and to integrate
the various versions into one everyone can enjoy.
Current BPAA Officers
Chairman: William L. Matheson,
Jr.
President: Dennis McQuerry
Vice President: Louis J. Lopez,
Jr.
Secretary: Jonathan Smalley
Treasurer: Steve Baker