Madison bike polo players practice at the 'Thunderdome,' their name for the rooftop tennis courts in Reynolds Park.
This weekend, Madison is hosting the 2010 North American Hardcourt Bike Polo Championships, the highest-profile tournament for the fast-growing sport of bike polo. Over recent months, local players have plotted courts, over-promised sleeping space at their homes, worked on their slap shots, cleaned and repaired the old tennis courts at Madison College's Truax campus, and built courtside boards durable enough to stand up to a bike crash. Players from as far away as Vancouver, Los Angeles, Tallahassee, New York, and even France and Italy will arrive to try and take home the title.
I've been playing bike polo for the last two years, and it's been a very positive experience except for one glitch. The
