{"id":18521,"date":"2016-01-24T21:02:27","date_gmt":"2016-01-24T21:02:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pyranha.com\/blog\/?p=18521"},"modified":"2016-01-24T22:20:27","modified_gmt":"2016-01-24T22:20:27","slug":"this-girl-cant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pyranha.com\/blog\/this-girl-cant\/","title":{"rendered":"This Girl Can’t"},"content":{"rendered":"

Like the unwanted youngest sibling, canoe polo does not get enough love here. But as Pyranha and their sister brand Revenge (http:\/\/www.revengepolo.com\/<\/a>) have recently supported a protest against rule\u00a0changes to the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) \u00a0canoe polo championships, I’m going to spread the love.<\/span><\/p>\n

As you may know, BUCS\u00a0have dictated that BUCS canoe polo, the highlight of the student season, will not have an open league this year. It will instead have a men\u2019s league, and a ladies league, and ne\u2019er the twain shall meet. This was announced in October without consultation or explanation. A short explanation was eventually published, and a couple of days ago BUCS announced a weird hybrid open league open to mixed teams from universities who do not enter a ladies\u2019 team.<\/p>\n

I think it will be obvious to anyone with any awareness of polo that this decision was made by people who lack exactly that. University of London Canoe Polo have written two excellent open letters to BUCS explaining all the damage these changes will do. You can see them <\/span>here<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>. More clubs have signed these open letters than are regularly able to attend BUCS polo, and British Canoe Polo has recently confirmed its opposition to the rule change. Boycott of BUCS polo is now firmly on the cards. I won\u2019t repeat any of what\u2019s been said about why the rule change is bad, but I want to try to explain why we feel forced to boycott because of it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"12485834_1007639639306200_6832419306329979523_o<\/a>

Thanks to UoL Canoe Polo for this image<\/p><\/div>\n

I love BUCS polo. Not because I stand even the most furiously optimistic hope of impressing on the field, or because I fancy dress to impress. (My duo polo game is pretty strong though.) It\u2019s unreasonably cold, – but let God bring shame upon your house should you dare put on a cag – my tent sucks, and everybody there seems to be much better at polo than me. \u00a0But it\u2019s BUCS. Somehow, the cold, the losing endlessly, losing everybody at the party, is worth it. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And so we work hard for it – I write this with extremities still frosty from a \u201cnice for the time of year\u201d training session in the Bristol docks. Logistical problems have to be solved, the SU begged for money, teams put together, hype publicised\u2026 But it\u2019s BUCS. It\u2019s worth it.<\/span><\/p>\n

So when the rules are suddenly changed without any appreciation of the controversy this would cause, I\u2019m upset. When these rules exclude my friends from playing the best polo, and me from playing the best opponents, I\u2019m upset. When BUCS respond to sustained protest with the slenderest of replies, I\u2019m upset. When BUCS use Student Unions to tell canoe clubs to shut up and remove their protest material, I\u2019m upset. When they claim to improve participation by making it much harder for women to play polo, I\u2019m upset. When they claim to be motivated by student feedback, but push through changes which everyone hates, I\u2019m upset.<\/span><\/p>\n

I love BUCS polo, but BUCS does not love me. Student polo players across the country put in so much to be able to do their best at the tournament. But when they complain about rules preventing them from doing that, they\u2019ve been told to shut up and take what they get. I don\u2019t want to compete in any competition run like this. And this is why University of Bristol, along with many other canoe clubs, might not be going to BUCS this year. For once, it\u2019s not worth it.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you also oppose changes to BUCS polo\u2019s open league, please use social media to show your support, using the hashtags #takeastand and #thisgirlcant. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Like the unwanted youngest sibling, canoe polo does not get enough love here. But as Pyranha and their sister brand Revenge (http:\/\/www.revengepolo.com\/) have recently supported a protest against rule\u00a0changes to the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) \u00a0canoe polo championships, I’m going to spread the love. As you may know, BUCS\u00a0have dictated that BUCS canoe … <\/p>\n

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