Brett Thoms
Pontiac May 21, 2022
Eighteen teams of three clashed with bikes and mallets on Saturday and Sunday in the Rumble Tube: The Danger Cable, a bike polo tournament held at the rink on the Quyon fairgrounds.
“It is basically three-on-three ball . . .
hockey on bikes,’’ said the organizer, Justin Matheson, who is from Ottawa. “The main rule is there is no touching the ground while in play.”
“There’s some body-on-body, bike-on-bike and mallet-on-mallet, but it’s all within reason because nobody wants to go to the hospital,” said Matheson.
The name of the tournament stems from its location, just in sight of the Quyon Ferry. The large Danger Cable warning on the side of the Quyon Ferry inspired the name of the event after it became a meme to the group during last year’s tournament.
Fifteen out of 54 players came from Ottawa, however participants came from all over Canada and the US to play in the tournament.
“Every major city in the world has a bike polo club,” said Matheson. “There’s zero discrimination in the sport. Any race, creed, gender, it doesn’t matter. Everyone’s welcome.”
Matheson said that Gavan’s Hotel was completely booked for the event and he let local businesses know to get ready for the influx of people into Quyon before the tournament. Most of the players camped on the site, just in front of the Ottawa River.
“It is most definitely an annual event. People keep hearing more about it and the venue. All these Americans come in and spread the word. And they’ll come back next year or send new people.”
