The NAHBPC 2023

The NAH is extremely excited to announce that San Luis Potosi (SLP) will be hosting the 2023 NAHBPC in collaboration with Mexico City and Guadalajara. Bringing the NAHBPC to Mexico has been long overdue and we appreciate all of their hard efforts and want to congratulate them on a job well done! The event will be held May 12 – 14th, 2023 at the INPODE SLP – Instituto Potosino de Cultura.

The SLP bid includes three courts which will allow for more teams to compete in this year’s competition (more info coming soon). The NAH Events Team has already begun working with the Mexico organizing committee and will work closely with them in the upcoming weeks and months to provide a top-quality tournament experience. Bicipolo Mexico has high ambitions for the event and we will do everything we can to support them in their efforts.

The NAH Tournament Director will begin formal team invitations and requests for registration fees in the coming days. Given the tight timeline we will be requiring teams to make decisions quickly so please start discussing your ability to attend now.

The Mexico organizing committee requested that teams playing in the 2023 NAHBPC be required to have a WTFNB player on their team to participate. Mandatory mixed-gender is a core value of the Mexico Region and their clubs and they feel it is an important way to increase inclusivity and make space for WTFNB players and provide them with the opportunity to play in competitive tournaments and develop and grow their skills. But given the fact that teams have already qualified, the NAH feels it would be in bad faith and unfair to change the team requirements after the fact. In addition, the NAH believes that before mixed-gender mandatory is adopted at the NAH level, the WTFNB community needs to be engaged with and included more widely in this important discussion. Given these concerns, mixed-gender mandatory teams will not be a requirement for the 2023 NAHBPC. We would, however, like to strongly encourage all teams to acknowledge the core values of the host region when making their final team rosters.

Additional updates regarding the 2023 NAHBPC will be posted here on our website and on Instagram account (@nahbpa) over the coming weeks and months. We would also encourage you to follow @bicipolomexico for updates from them throughout the buildup and during the event.

Thank you for your patience and support through the process of selecting a host. If you are interested in getting involved and volunteering your time in supporting the Events team on site in San Luis, please reach out to Seema Choudhary (Event Coordinator – seema@nahardcourt.com). If you have any questions about the competitive portion of the event, please contact Mark Aseltine (Tournament Director – mark@nahardcourt.com)

The NAH Events Team


La NAH está muy emocionada de anunciar que San Luis Potosí (SLP) será la sede de la NAHBPC 2023 en colaboración con Ciudad de México y Guadalajara. Llevar la NAHBPC a México se ha retrasado mucho y apreciamos todos sus arduos esfuerzos y queremos felicitarlos por su excelente trabajo. El evento se llevará a cabo del 12 al 14 de mayo de 2023 en el INPODE SLP – Instituto Potosino de Cultura.

La oferta de SLP incluye tres canchas que permitirán que más equipos compitan en la competencia este año (más información al respecto próximamente). El Equipo de Eventos de la NAH está actualmente trabajando con el comité organizador de México y trabajará a la par de ellos en las próximas semanas y meses para brindar un torneo de la más alta calidad posible. Bicipolo México tiene grandes ambiciones para el evento y haremos todo lo posible por apoyarles en sus esfuerzos.

El Director de Torneos de la NAH comenzará a enviar las invitaciones formales a equipos y a recolectar las cuotas de inscripción en los próximos días. Dado que el cronograma está ajustado, solicitaremos que los equipos tomen decisiones rápidamente, así que les recomendamos que comiencen a conversar sobre su capacidad para asistir desde ahora.

El comité organizador de México solicitó que todos los equipos que jueguen en la NAHBPC 2023 tengan un jugadxr WTFNB en su equipo para participar obligatoriamente, ya que el juego mixto y para todxs es un valor fundamental de la Región de México y sus clubes; reconocen que es una forma indispensable para aumentar y garantizar la inclusión, hacer espacio para les jugadorxs WTFNB al brindarles la oportunidad de jugar en los torneos más competitivos y para desarrollar y aumentar sus habilidades. Pero dado el hecho de que los equipos ya han clasificado, la NAH cree que sería malo y/o injusto añadir este requisito a los equipos ya clasificados. Además, la NAH cree que no se debe adoptar el deporte como mixto de forma obligatoria al nivel de un torneo norteamericano, a menos de que la comunidad WTFNB tenga una discusión amplia al respecto y exprese quererlo. Queremos alentar a todos los equipos a que reconozcan que el juego mixto es uno de los valores fundamentales de la región anfitriona al hacer ajustes en la versión final de sus equipos.

Se publicarán actualizaciones adicionales sobre la NAHBPC 2023 aquí, en nuestro sitio web, y en la cuenta de Instagram (@nahbpa) durante las próximas semanas y meses. También les invitamxs a que sigan a @bicipolomexico para obtener actualizaciones de ellos durante la preparación y el evento mismo.

Gracias por su paciencia y apoyo durante el proceso de selección de la ciudad anfitriona. Si están interesadxs en involucrarse y ofrecer su tiempo como voluntarix para apoyar al equipo de eventos en San Luis, comuníquense con Seema Choudhary (coordinadora de eventos – seema@nahardcourt.com). Si tienen alguna pregunta sobre la parte competitiva del evento, comuníquense con Mark Aseltine (Director del torneo – mark@nahardcourt.com)

El equipo de eventos de NAH

Call for 2023 NAHBPC bids

Welcome to the official call for host bids for the 2023 NAHBPC!

This next edition of the NAHBPC is set to occur in the Spring of 2023. Ideally, the event should occur between April 15 – June 15, 2023. If you would like to host outside of this time window, please contact Mark, the NAH Tournament Director, to discuss the feasibility.

Call for bids is open effective immediately and will close on September 1st. The announcement of the successful host club will follow thereafter.

Amenities Needed

For a full list of the amenity requirements, please see the brand new NAHBPC Host Handbook. A minimum of two courts is required but ideally, three courts are made available. The facility should also have basic player amenities such as shade, water, toilets, and access to food for purchase. Organizer amenities, such as power and reffing stands and tables, should be provided. The NAH Events Team will work closely with the host club to outline responsibilities and requirements and help supervise and assist in organizing the tournament.

How to Apply

We feel that with a year under their belts the NAH Events Team has the ability to support any club in North America to take on hosting the 2023 NAHBPC and we encourage you to submit a bid. Interested hosts should consider how else they would fundraise for the NAHBPC in conjunction with NAH funds. Bids and questions should be submitted via email to (events@nahardcourt.com) with the documents provided here.

For any questions regarding the competitive portion of the event, please contact Mark Aseltine directly at mark@nahardcourt.com.

For any questions about the general running of the event, please contact Seema Choudhary directly at events@nahardcourt.com.

 

2022-23 NAH Tournament Season Timeline

Dear NAH community, 

In a recent survey, we collected your feedback  for the 2022 – 2023 NAH competitive season  schedule leading up to the 2023 WHBPC in France. We also met with and gathered input from the Regional Representatives. With your and the Regional Reps feedback, we’ve selected Option A, which includes the following schedule:

  • NAH Regional Qualifiers will be held between Sept. 1 – Oct. 31, 2022.
  • The NAHBPC will take place between April 15 – June 15, 2023. 

Overall survey and Regional Rep feedback 

  • Most players preferred Option A (Qualifiers in the fall of 2022 and NAHBPC in the spring of 2023) because it gives players and clubs time to get back in shape, to practice, to get organized after more than a year away from competitive polo due to Covid, and to help grow new players’ skills and get them excited about playing in their Region’s qualifier in the fall. 
  • However, some players from Regions with snow were concerned that Option A — which would host the NAHBPC in spring— won’t give them enough time to practice or compete before they attempt to qualify for the Championship. Because of these concerns, we have extended the window for hosting the NAHBPC into mid-June, pending a search for a venue.

Next Steps

We will work with the Regional Reps to schedule Qualifier dates and locations for 2022 and to find a host city for the 2023 NAHBPC.

If your club is interested in hosting the NAHBPC in late Spring of 2023, please reach out to Mark (mark@nahardcourt.com) to discuss the possibility and to have any of your questions answered.

Coming up in the next month(s), we will send information regarding the following items:

  • Regional allocation for the qualifiers to gain entry to the NAHBPC. 
  • More detail on how NAH plans to prioritize in-region teams and players for their local qualifier. 
  • We will make an official call for bids to host the NAHBPC in spring 2023. 
  • We will announce dates and locations for regional qualifiers as they become available. 

It’s a very exciting time for bike polo in North America and we hope to be able to host many successful and exciting events this year and beyond. Most importantly,we can’t wait to see you all on the court!

For any questions regarding the NAH competitive series including the NAHBPC, please contact Mark Aseltine directly at mark@nahardcourt.com.

For questions regarding your Regional Qualifier please reach out to your rep directly here: https://www.nahardcourt.com/clubs/

2020 NAH Season Update

Dear NAH community,

Like many of you, we are closely following COVID-19 developments. We are continuing to monitor the latest advice from our federal health agencies. Currently, the state of affairs is such that we are advising all of our regional reps to press pause on 2020 Regional Qualifier tournament planning. We are also strongly encouraging anyone hosting a tournament in the coming months to follow all guidelines put in place by your local or federal governing bodies. It is critical that we all do our part to help our health system to function as best it possibly can. This means avoiding all unnecessary contact with others.

Furthermore, we were informed last week that the WHBPC 2021, which was scheduled to be held in July 2021, will now be taking place in October 2021. This of course significantly impacts the schedule NAH announced on March 10th.

The NAH Executive team is working to reconfigure the 2020 and 2021 tournament season schedules given the concerns and information outlined above. We will be in close contact with your Regional Reps to work out how we would like to move forward in the coming months. Please stay tuned and most importantly stay safe.

The NAH Executive Team

2020-2021 NAH Competitive Series

🚨Please see our updated post about the upcoming season and COVID-19


This year we find ourselves in a unique position. For the first time ever we have significant advanced notice of the next World Hardcourt Bike Polo Championship (WHBPC): it will be held in July 2021. With that knowledge, we are able to preplan two full seasons of NAH tournaments.

2020 Regional Qualifiers will be the qualification grounds for the 2020 North American Bike Polo Championship (NAHBPC) which in turn will be the qualification grounds for the 2021 WHBPC. This will ensure that all qualified teams have adequate time to raise funds, plan their trip, and collect any travel documents required for travel to Europe.

In spring 2021 we will, as usual, host our Regional Qualifiers. The 2021 Qualifiers will be the qualification grounds for the 2021 NAHBPC. The 2021 NAHBPC will take place after the 2021 WHBPC and will not be a qualification grounds for the 2021 WHBPC*. As in other years where we have not had a WHBPC to qualify for, the NAHBPC will be the climax of the 2021 season in North America.

Timeline

Tournament Dates Year
Regional Qualifier ‘20 April-July 2020
NAHBPC ‘20 Sep-Nov 2020
Regional Qualifier ‘21 April-June 2021
WHBPC ‘21 July 2021
NAHBPC ‘21 Aug-Oct 2021

*These decisions were made with Regional Rep support and after consideration of the scheduling logistics for this year and 2021 season. Logistically, we cannot use the 2021 Regional Qualifiers and 2021 NAHBPC to qualify teams for the WHBPC because there will not be enough time to host all required tournaments. In addition, this schedule provides qualified teams a greater chance of attending the 2021 WHBPC in Europe by providing them with enough time to get needed travel visas, arrange travel, request time off work, raise funds, etc.

For any questions regarding the NAH competitive series, please contact Mark Aseltine directly at mark@nahardcourt.com.