Bike polo in Cape Girardeau

It's a clash of two teams, racing and shoving, knocking a ball with mallets to one end of the court or the other. It might look like chaos, but like any other sport, bike polo has rules and players, who are in it for the fun as much as for the love of the game.

Cape Girardeau's bike polo club has been around for several years, but its current incarnation got started about three years ago, in 2015, said Ashley Toombs, one of the club's members.

Toombs said she knew one of the group's members, Bradley Phillips, an assistant professor in the polytechnic studies department at Southeast Missouri State University -- she took a course from him.

They play hard court polo, Toombs said, which is more popular around the country than playing on grass.

"It's more streamlined, with more finesse," Toombs said of hard-court play. "It's less brutal."

Justin White, right, reaches to hit the ball as Ashley Toombs, center left, trails behind during a pick-up game Thursday at the Arena Park tennis courts in Cape Girardeau.BEN MATTHEWS

People can play rough if they want to, she said, but that isn't how it has to be.

For Toombs, the best part is having fun with like-minded people she might not have met if not for the sport.

"For me, it's thrilling to be involved in a sport," she said, adding she's not really a "sportsy person."

As a kid, she had bikes, she said, but had gotten out of it for a long time.

"I got my first bike as an adult four years ago," she said, adding that she'd bought it from a kid in a garage.

Ashley Toombs, center, handles the ball during a pick-up game Thursday, June 7, 2018, at the Arena Park tennis courts in Cape Girardeau.BEN MATTHEWS ~ bmatthews@semissourian.com

As soon as she got that bike, she said, a world of possibilities opened up for her: could she go long distances, maybe explore other aspects of biking?

And she said she's learned some basic maintenance and repair skills that she didn't really expect to pick up.

"When you're playing bike polo, you do break a lot of things," she said.

Some of the club's members are really into fixing their bikes themselves, even building bikes, she said, and "it does feel nice to pick up little things, like changing the tube in a tire."

She continued, "I think that's another beauty of just trying new things. There's a whole wealth of knowledge out there. It takes a little bit of passion, the desire to ride a bike, and it can lead you to all these other things. You can build, replace a tire, even pick up a sport like bike polo. There's a whole community out there."

Polo balls are placed on ice during a pick-up game.BEN MATTHEWS

As for the club itself, Toombs said there are probably between 12 and 20 regulars who are out practicing, scrimmaging just about every week.

The club meets about twice a week formally, but many members of the group get together for Friday night rides or other informal pickups.

"It's the most beautiful part of the club," she said.

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

A sticker from Cape Girardeau Bike Polo Ladies Take Over night sits wedged in the spokes of a bicycle.BEN MATTHEWS