On a mid-summer evening in an inner-city park, a group of polo players sit on the bleachers waiting for a ball hockey game to end.

The players – dressed in worn denim, faded t-shirts and ripped shorts – look nothing like the athletes one associates with polo, but there’s more than the attire that distinguishes this crew: it’s their ride. Instead of elephants or horses, these polo players mount two-wheeled steeds. The game is bike polo and for members of Toronto’s burgeoning League of Bike Polo, it’s an obsession.

“It’s rad. I wake up and think, ‘Yes! It’s bike polo day’,” says Maija Eliashevsky. She’s a cycle messenger, and despite already serving eight hours in the saddle, she’s pumped for a pick-up game.

Bike polo leagues are popping up in North America as well as in far-flung locales such as Tokyo, Stockholm and Santiago de Chile. The game, as it is played today, came to Toronto in 2005.

“I first saw bike polo played in New York City and I really wanted to introduce it to Toronto. In a few short years, it has really picked up speed,” says Navid Taslimi one of the league’s founding fathers.

The rising popularity of the sport is due to its simplicity. Bike polo can be played almost anywhere there is open concrete (ball hockey pads and tennis courts are ideal) and there are few rules.

The object of the game is to put the ball in the opposing team’s net. The three-player team that scores the most points during each 10 minute game is victorious.

To score, use your mallet – commonly fashioned out of an old ski pole and a short length of PVC tubing – to control the ball and project it into a net. But never touch the ground with your feet. Violate this rule and you must ride over to the sideline and “dab in” – touch the ground with your mallet – before resuming play. Otherwise the play is fast and loose; epic collisions are unavoidable.

The game has a reputation for sending novice players to the emergency room, but even though it is dangerous, it’s more often beautiful. “It’s a good thing there is a hospital close by,” quips Taslimi gesturing at Toronto Western Hospital looming in the background.

David Hamidi was hooked on the sport after watching a game during the Cycle Messenger World Championships in 2008, hosted in Toronto. “Playing polo makes you a better rider. You become much more responsive. It’s just like hockey or basketball: you’re running and playing zone defense, except you’re on a bike.”

The ball hockey game ends and the polo players commandeer the court. Two teams line up at opposing ends, someone on the sideline cries, “1, 2, 3, polo!” and the players ride hard towards a rubber ball placed on the face-off circle.

Far into the night, the teams compete for bragging rights, but the victors won’t gloat for long. Since the Toronto League of Bike Polo hosts four pick-up games every week, a rematch is inevitable.

To learn more about the game and to check out game times and locations go to bikepolo.ca