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BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – The Bellingham area has become a hub for world class mountain biking over the past 20 years, with riders traveling far and wide to experience Galbraith Mountain and other famed trails in proximity.
For the better part of 20 years, Brett Lott has set his roots in this community. He helps operate a Bellingham-based nonprofit called “Incite Cycles” which funds local cycling events, including the emerging sport of bike polo.
Bike polo is a 3v3 stick and ball game that plays similarly to traditional polo, which is played on horseback. According to the North American Hardcourt Bike Polo Association, there are close to 200 clubs across North America.
According to Lott, Bellingham Bike Polo has existed twice before its current iteration, with players rotating through Bellingham since the late 1990s. Lott was introduced to the sport three years back through a friend and was immediately hooked. In 2022, he was driving north to practice with a club in Vancouver before helping create a club in Bellingham.
“I started recruiting people because I got a lot of joy out of it,” Lott said.
Lott’s goal was to grow the community of bike polo players as much as he could. Starting in April 2023, riders would meet at an elementary school to practice every week. Lott, along with other volunteers, would bring equipment like goals and loaner bikes to the practice area.
“I started removing the deterrence, the most common one is like, ‘Oh, I don’t have a bike or don’t have gear,'” Lott said. “So, I started putting together loaner bikes.”
In 2024, Lott and other members of the club wrote a grant proposal to the City of Bellingham. A few months later, the city provided a shipping container to house the gear used by the club to make it easier for Lott and the rest of the members to practice each week.
Working alongside the Downtown Bellingham Partnership, the Lott moved their weekly practices into a secluded section of the Commercial Street Parking Garage.
“The box is huge,” Lott said. “They invested in us, since they sacrificed one parking spot for it to use.”
Since moving the club to the downtown area, Lott says the club has continued to grow.
“[Bike polo] works in Bellingham because there is a bike community which is substantial in various forms of bikes. People like funky stuff, as well as like being a part of the community.” Brett Lott
Recently, Bellingham Bike Polo hosted a tournament at their downtown Bellingham practice space. A record 29 teams signed up to play from around the U.S. to compete. Only 16 teams were selected through a lottery system.
Lott says only four of the 16 teams were local, with others traveling from Austin, Salt Lake City, Anchorage, White Horse and the Yukon.
Looking ahead, Lott is wanting to stay in their practice spot in downtown Bellingham for a while longer and grow the sport in town with both players and spectators.
For more information about Bellingham Bike Polo, head to its website at bellinghambikepolo.com.
We are Whatcom is a weekly column featuring Whatcom County residents making a positive impact on the community. To submit a Whatcom County resident to be featured, click here.