LexRides

[brokebike]

ok... now for the possibility of a polo tournament during Bike Lex month:

Issue two is that I have been delegated by the folks organizing the Bike Lexington events during May to look into the possibility of staging a bike polo event to add to the calendar. Some sort of tournament seems to be the best choice and several of you have already expressed interest in helping out. If it looks as if it can be put together in a reasonable enough amount of time, and if there aren't too many obstacles to jump over, then I think we can pull this off and have it be really great. In order for this to be as "legit" as possible, and for it to be placed on the calendar right alongside other city-sponsored Bike Lex events, I'd like for this to go through all the right channels. Not only will it make it smoother and easier to organize, it will also help us skirt any surprise obstacles right before the day of the event (like the cops showing up and kicking us all out).

Aside from the fact that we don't yet have a location secured, here is what Parks & Rec told me we would need in order to make a one-day tournament happen. We need a location to hold the event. A public space (Parks & Rec) makes the most sense because otherwise we are dealing with someone else's property and that opens up a whole other range of issues with liability and insurance. Again, Coolavin Park comes up as a prime candidate because it is a relatively unused park where I don't think we'd face much resistance from other park users, AND Parks & Rec have already encouraged us to check it out to see if there is a space there that will meet our needs.

We also need insurance. I don't have any experience in dealing with this sort of thing, but from my understanding, some basic sort of insurance coverage could be purchased that would somehow cover the issues faced if someone got seriously hurt. Rudy Cruse from Parks & Rec said that most blanket insurance deals like this could be had for around $300 - $350, but something to the effect that it would be tacked onto an existing policy, such as someone's homeowners coverage, or some sponsor's business insurance coverage. Again, I've never dealt with anything like this, so some of you may know more about this sort of thing.

The other thing we would need would be the permits and waivers required by Parks and Rec. This, I think, is relatively simple... you sign a waiver releasing liability of whatever entity, be it Parks & Rec, or whoever. Perhaps we charge a modest entry fee, and when you pay, you sign the waiver and the fee helps offset the cost of the insurance?

Kenzie Gleason is going to look into a few things for me as far as getting support for this tacked onto some of the other events currently in the works. I think this will make it easier to glide down all the right channels if it seems less like just a bunch of dudes putting on a polo tournament, and more like it is part of everything else, just with us doing the majority of the work...

If anyone has anything to contribute to this idea, please feel free to chime in. I think what we need to do first and foremost is go to Coolavin, and check it out... maybe play a night of polo there this week?
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[beardcrumbs]

A couple of things:
I think we should definitely charge some sort of registration fee, maybe a per team fee, to offset the cost of insurance and misc. materials. If we can scrounge up some kick ass prizes people would be able justify the registration fee.
Coolavin Park has tennis courts which we could use for hardcourt play. A question for parks and rec. Can they remove the nets and posts for the day of the tournament? That would make for one big fenced in polo rink/court.
The tournament. Are we thinking single elimination or round robin style. Seems like it would depend on how many teams show up as to which style would work best.
I can check out Coolavin Park sometime this week, and would be up for a few games to check out the grass play.
I'm excited! I know we can pull this together and have a great tournament.

[politicalhero]

I rode by Coolivan yesterday (in the car did not stop) and it looked like some of the nets were missing so that would be a good thing. I mean besides Woodland I don't know of any other park that all tennis courts are in use all the time. I think if there are four courts we should see if we can use two.

I'd be down for a late night bike and beer if the weather stays good

[alex]

I took advantage of the nice weather and rode over to cool-avin park today. Here's the summary:

There are 4 tennis courts inside a chain-link fence. This is a huge area, big enough for 2 games at once, but it obviously hasn't been used in a few years. there are no nets at all, and only 2 of the 4 courts have both of their poles. The poles, or remnants of poles might be kind-of sketchy. But the real problem is that there are huge cracks big enough to almost swallow a MTN bike tire. They're so big and old that they're filled with soil and plants. I think the cracks would make it pretty sketchy to play full out.

There are at least 2 spots to play on the grass there. The first is hemmed in a little by trees, but pretty flat and not too rough. The second field is huge and somewhat rough.

The neighborhood is not quite as "affluent" as woodland park. So, probably no one would give us a hard time about playing.

It's really easy to get there. At the corner of Jefferson & 6th. If you're on limestone and turn left at Al's you'll dead end into the park.

Let me know if there's anything I missed.

[jkizzle]

Consider Bluegrass Cycling Club as a big helper in this -- they have tons of insurance already for their rides and events, and they get really excited when young people come out.

I was probably the youngest guy at their spring kick-off ride, but the people i talked to seemed really enthusiastic about the young guys racing for Chris Rowe, as most of them are 30+.

They are a major player in all things bike in lexington, so it would be great to get them on board.