It started in the 19th century, featured as an exhibition sport in the 1908 Olympics, it blossomed in England in the 1930s and gained traction in the United States in the 1980s and 90s.

It’s cycle polo. And it hasn’t changed much. Playing requires superb bike handling skills in tight spaces, excellent coordination, and the ability to weather frequent crashes.

Video: Cycle Polo Today:

Cycle Polo’s Origins

Cycle Polo has been around almost as long as the bicycle. I have read a couple of accounts, one a romantic story of how stablehands in colonial India were forbidden from riding the horses so they took to bicycles to play the “sport of princes.” Wikipedia has a different account:

“The game was invented in County Wicklow, Ireland, in 1891 by retired champion cyclist Richard J. Mecredy, editor of The Irish Cyclist magazine. In October of that year the first cycle polo match was played at the Scalp (County Wicklow) between Rathclaren Rovers and the Ohne Hast Cycling Club. Towards the end of the 19th century the game reached Great Britain, France, and the United States where the American Star Bicycle was a popular mount. The first international match was played between Ireland and England in 1901. Cycle polo was a demonstration sport at the 1908 London Olympics with Ireland winning the gold, beating Germany.”

Source: Wikipedia

Here’s some photos of cycle polo through the ages, Bicycle Polo Recycled – collection of images from Prince Phillip playing in the 1960s to modern day London games on hard courts.