It was very cool of Sound Transit to build an entire light rail station dedicated to serving the Judkins Park bike polo grounds.
On Sunday, with the crowds finally calm after Saturday’s crush-capacity opening day, my 2nd grader and I took our time to explore along the 2 Line at our own pace. We stopped at Judkins Park Station, then walked over to Café Weekend next to the Bikery. Which reminds me, did you know the Bikery has affordable bikes for sale? You can get a fully-functional bicycle that will last many years for the cost of 40 or so gallons of gasoline. That’s less than two tank fills for a Ford F-150 grocery assault vehicle.
After a lovely lunch, we walked back toward to the 23rd Ave entrance to the station and saw that some folks were playing bike polo in Judkins Park. She loves hockey and she loves bikes, so she was fascinated by bike polo. We sat in the bleachers, and I explained the rules. We also talked about how it was modeled on a game played with horses, but that the modern version was created in Seattle. We also talked about the bikes they were riding and why they were set up that way.
We also talked about how bike polo players got organized about 15 years ago to convince Seattle Parks to allow alternate uses for certain tennis courts, including the ones at Judkins and Cal Anderson Parks. Since then, several other sports have flourished in these court spaces, including street hockey, futsal and skateboarding. The boards were first constructed as temporary features for tournaments, but are now permanent.
The Judkins Park courts have long been something of a hidden gem, but now it is among the best-served sports facilities via transit anywhere in Seattle. It’s mere steps from the 23rd Ave entrance. I wonder if this will lead to a new surge in interest in the sport. Polo has already gained one new 8-year-old fan via the 2-Line.