[ukc-polo] Re: [Ukc-ww] Kayak Polo!

[Scott Wynn]

Hi Victor,  I just had to laugh a little when I realized who it was that you 
talked to last year.   For anyone to show up at one of our games expecting 
the kind of discipline and skill level he was hoping for it's no wonder he 
had such things to say.   In response to his remarks I would have to add 
that from the first time he played polo with the club, we tried to 
communicate to him that we were not interested in playing competitively, and 
that we had been playing for years as a recreational club.  We don't keep 
score, we call our own fouls, and we play with rules loosely matching the 
international rulebook.  He was disappointed that we didn't want to practice 
his way and play by his rules, although we tried to listen to him and 
attempted to learn some from his drill sessions.  Basically it amounts to 
him not having the patience to deal with our more relaxed attitude and style 
of play.   Getting injured is always a concern.  I agree that facemasks 
would be a great advantage.   Ironically, the guy you talked to was the last 
guy to injure another player,(a sharp blow to Webster's brow with his 
"Official Polo Paddle" and that if I remember right, required several 
stitches).  A facemask would have helped avoid that injury, but so would a 
little less aggressiveness on his part.

The players at the UW are no where near aggressive as the "pros".  I'm not 
sure why he thought that.  I have played in two National Tournaments and we 
are far less aggressive than the players who play at a competitive level. 
Yes, we are less skilled, but for what we are in it for, to have fun, we 
know enough.  In fact the game we play is great for improving boat handling 
skills, and rodeo tricks!  That's where I would say we excel.    As far as 
having penalty's for going "over the top", I would have to ask him what over 
the top is exactly?  As I remember when he played, our games were just as 
recreationally aggressive as they have been for the 6 years I have been 
playing, and I don't remember anyone going over the Top.  He might be 
referring to his frustration with the lack of an official Ref. in contrast 
to our way of using good sportsmanship and calling our own fouls.   There 
are times that a foul goes uncalled or that a foul is contested.  It works 
well to stop for a moment discuss it and then play on.

I guess I mainly wanted to point out that the kayak polo game has been a 
whole lot of fun over the years. This last Tuesday we had a nice turnout of 
4 or 5 new players and if that's any indication, it will be a good summer 
with lots of great games.  I'm not a UW student anymore, and not even a club 
member anymore.   Organizing is a healthy step for any club sport, and if it 
happens in this case it will probably prevent some future injuries and 
increase the game level of play.     If the UW kayak club supports the 
"kayak polo" portion of the club and helps to promote the sport than it will 
definitely grow to be a real team.   Until then Ill keep showing up for the 
weekly practice game at the WAC.  Some of us not affiliated with the UW are 
slowly organizing a club outside of  the UW.  There is interest on the 
Eastside, and near Sayers park also.  Scott W.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Victor Kress" <kress at u.washington.edu>
To: "Scott Wynn" <wynnscott2 at hotmail.com>
Cc: <ukcSafety at u.washington.edu>; "ukc executive committee" 
<ukc-xcom at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Thursday, June 16, 2005 3:49 PM
Subject: Re: [Ukc-ww] Kayak Polo!


> Hi,
>
> I wanted to pass on something I heard from one of the participants last
> year.  This is a guy who played at a very high level (I don't think he was
> on whatever national team we have, but he toured national competitions and
> trained a lot).  Having moved to Seattle he was a bit disappointed with
> local kayak polo and found out about our game.  His evaluation was that
> the UKC polo games were far too dangerous for him, so he now commutes to
> Vancouver and trains with the Canadians.  He thought we were very lucky
> not to have had a serious injury yet.  Problems he cited include:
>
> 1) Very aggressive play.  Every bit as aggressive as the "pros" but much
> less skilled.
>
> 2) Compounded by lack of regard or knowledge of the official rules.
>
> 3) Without knowing the rules, it isn't surprising that there was little
> penalty when people went over the top.
>
> 4) All compounded by lack of proper equipment.  That includes face masks,
> paddle edge padding, and these really silly looking pads at the bow and
> stern.
>
> He thought we needed to go legit and get the equipment and follow the
> rules.  I wouldn't be a strong advocate either way on that.  What I took
> from this is that I would much rather have someone of his caliber drop out
> because he was bored than because he was afraid of injury.
>
> I think kayak polo is one of the cooler things the club does, but it might
> be a good time to asses how to cope with the safety issues.  When these
> games first started, they were about half people who could barely roll in
> a pool.  Play was not aggressive and when someone flipped, the whole game
> stopped.  The average boat was also longer, so people were farther away
> from each other.  The aspect of whether these friendlier games were better
> has already been a topic of discussion, and I gather it was decided that
> some in-between testosterone level was optimal.  I haven't been playing,
> so I don't know where this ended up.  Given where it is now (but this can
> be discussed to), I think we should address:
>
> 1) Should we get special equipment (face masks and special paddles)?
>
> 2) Should we start REALLY following the rules with penalties, a ref etc?
>
> 3) How should we discourage people who are over the top aggressive (does
> kayak polo have a yellow card)?
>
> 4) Should non-club members be participating (are they)?
>
> It would also be good for the rest of us to get a report on what level the
> play is now, who is showing up, where you want it to go etc. just so we
> have a clue what we are discussing :).  I meant to raise all this earlier,
> but I was busy.  The recent talk of going more legit made me think of it
> again.
>
> Just so people know where I stand, if there was enough interest (not me:)
> I would like to see a real team come out of this, with all the bells and
> whistles, but also all the controls.  I was a bit embarrassed talking to
> that guy :).  I would rather see a slalom team, but that's just my
> prejudice :).
>
> What do people think?
> -Victor
>
>
> On Wed, 15 Jun 2005, Scott Wynn wrote:
>
>> Thanks to everyone who showed up for the Game on this last Tuesday!  It 
>> was the best turnout since last October and possibly the most new players 
>> to show up for a game ever!    This is an emerging Sport for Seattle.  As 
>> you new players can tell, we play mainly for recreation and try not to 
>> get too competitive.  However,  as the sport grows we will have the 
>> potential to form a competitive team and attend tournaments like the West 
>> Coast Tourney held in San Francisco, and The US Nationals that just took 
>> place somewhere on the East coast.  We have ideal playing conditions here 
>> and an endless supply of paddles so the future of Kayak Polo for Seattle 
>> looks good.
>>
>> Since we had such a good turnout Tuesday we will be having a regular game 
>> (just like we have had for 6 years now) every Tuesday from now on.   If 
>> we get out on the water on time we can run a few drills and warm up first 
>> if wanted.
>>
>> Pass the word around about what a gnarly time you had playing so we can 
>> keep new players coming in!!
>> See you there, Scott W.
>>
>> To learn more about Kayak Polo check out these links:  www.canoepolo.com, 
>> www.paddleewp.com
>
> -- 
> ________________________________
> Victor Kress
> Earth and Space Sciences
> Box 351310
> University of Washington
> Seattle, Washington
> 98195-1310
>
> (206)616-8512
> kress at u.washington.edu
>
>