- published: 27 Aug 2010
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Cycle polo is a team sport, invented in County Wicklow, Ireland, in 1891 by retired cyclist, Richard J. Mecredy. The sport is similar to traditional polo, except that bicycles are used instead of horses. The hardcourt game has seen a sharp spike in interest as of 2007 and new teams are sprouting up across the world. Cycle polo can now be accounted for in the USA, Ireland, Switzerland, France, India, Germany, Pakistan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Hungary, Australia, Sweden, England, Scotland, Argentina, Italy, and Canada.
Traditional cycle polo is played in a rectangular grass field, 150 meters by 100 meters officially, unofficially whatever field is big enough. Moreover, official dimensions can vary between 120 and 150 meters in length on 80 to 100 meters in width. The ball used is of circumference 12-15 inches and the mallet is of length 1 meter.
There are 6 members (7 in France) in a team of which 4 (5 in France) are on field at a time. The other two are used as substitutes. International matches are played for a duration of 30 minutes divided into periods of 7.5 minutes each called as a chukkar. Extra time can be used to determine the winner in case the scores are tied at normal time.