Can a player use their foot to play the ball?

This is not a question we should be discussing this late in the game. I know different places play by different rules and in other sports there are rules that some might want to adopt into bike polo. Say we talk about hockey, well from what I know about hockey they are not talking about the foot really, more like the skate. And in hockey the skate is on the ice and the ice is the surface the puck is on, so puck to skate is going to happen. But in bike polo we are talking about the foot and the foot belongs on the pedal and on the pedal is where it should stay. In bike polo we have a little thing called foot down, you’ve all heard of it I’m sure. Now I know in a few instances when I have about lost balance, my foot has lifted off my pedal and floated around as I’m trying to regain a control of my bike then I set it back on the pedal, not a foot down. But never have I taken my foot off the pedal to play, stop, or move the ball then put it back on the pedal. At least not any times that I was making a legal play that I didn’t get booed for and have to tap out afterwards.

At CMWC there was a play in a game that I was involved in where a player on the other team played the ball with their foot and did not treat that as if it was a footdown. I was a bit upset that I had essentially got the ball out of control of the other player and then he put his foot down low enough to stop the ball, that’s when I called foul.

Weeks, maybe months ahead of time the basic rules for the tournament were posted on the CMWC web site http://www.cmwc2008.com/bikepolo.html and even thought it’s not actually referred to as “rules” in Canada, up there they call it “etiquette”. Maybe that’s a French word,? I don’t know, anyway here is what it says.

2. DABBING: To “DAB” is to have one’s foot touch the ground while in play. A “DABBER” must tap out at one of the two points placed at opposite sides of the court. To play the ball with one’s foot is also considered DABBING.

“To play the ball with one’s foot is also considered DABBING” For those of you confused, “dabbing” is Canadian for footdown. And street beggars don’t ask for a dollar, they ask for “a looney” but that’s a whole ‘nother story. Anyway to finish my point, the rule does not go into details about what is and what isn’t cool. Just one simple foot to ball = footdown. Now I know that just before the tournament games began there was a brief explanation of the rules. If there was some new adjustment to this rule given at that time I guess between all the other talking and more pressing rules, like ball joint and behind the goal issues, maybe I missed it. But that still doesn’t change the fact that playing the ball with your foot is cheap, and if in a poll of all dedicated hardcourt bike polo players, I feel confidant that the majority would agree with me that it should not be allowed.

Also, what the F is up with two the tap out points? This is the stupidest thing in bike polo. Even the guys in Los Marcostan play with one tap out point and those guys are D-U-M-B. Seriously, if you’re going to put a tap out on the right side and the left side of the court at least make it interesting and have people that footdown with their left foot go to the left side to tap out and vise versa.

And just to end this I want to point out that the other player in the game described is a friend and damn good polo player, the situation basicly only came up because we were used to playing by our home court rules.

May your wheels roll true to and from the courts. See you Sunday.