World bike polo champion has strong tie to Aiken

Bill Matheson grew up with the sport of polo literally in his backyard. As a young teen, Matheson's grandparents, at the encouragement of his uncle, a former member of the Yale polo team, donated 25 acres of land in Long Island, N.Y., to the Polo Training Foundation.

However, it wasn't until 1971 that Matheson swung his fist polo mallet while visiting his uncle in Arizona. Matheson immediately fell in love with the game.

His love of polo grew when, that same year, he attended a clinic held by the Polo Training Foundation on his grandparent's donated land. Wanting to take up the sport, he realized that his parents did not own any polo ponies. At the suggestion of a friend of the family, Milton Carothers, he decided to play bike polo instead.

Matheson formed a team consisting of players from around his community. After initially losing in a tournament in the Hamptons by one goal, the team began to dominate the local bike polo scene, winning the same tournament for three consecutive years.

Now, a two-time world bike polo champion (once as a part of the 2003 Canadian team and as a part of the 2004 United States team), Matheson still plays the sport today in Aiken with Carothers and has traveled all over the world to places such as India, Great Britain and France to take part in tournaments.

While Matheson may have helped to stimulate the bike polo scene in Aiken, the game itself has a strong tie in Aiken dating back to 1916 with the founding of Aiken Preparatory School when Mrs. Hitchcock introduced bike polo as a part of the athletic program.

What exactly is bike polo? Still under the ESPN radar, bike polo developed as an affordable, more accessible alternative to the costly game of polo. It combines the elements of low impact cycling, the hand-eye coordination necessary in racket sports and the camaraderie found in team sports. Matheson considers it "exercise without realizing it and much more entertaining than riding a stationary bike."

Anyone can play the game. All that is needed is a bike, a helmet, a bike polo mallet and ball, a field and seven other people who want to play. The game itself consists of a 30 minute match with four 7.5 minute quarters or "chukkers." The objective is simple - to score as many goals as possible between the opponent's goal posts. With no goalies, the game moves at a fast pace.

The Bike Polo League in Aiken practices most days around 7 p.m. at Powderhouse Polo Field. To learn more about the league, e-mail bikepolo@bellsouth.net.

Though at first the game may be challenging with the new skills needed to play combined with the balance required to stay on the bike, the game can become a lifetime hobby, as it has has for Matheson.