Slippery mallets
Neither rain, nor sleet nor frozen digits could stop Durango's bike polo contingency from making an impressive showing at last Saturday's Colorado Can Cup in Glenwood Springs.

When the mud settled and circulation returned, Durango's Ska Cans emerged only slightly less victorious than longtime rivals, Fort Collins' Bedazzled Beeotches. Last year's defending champions, Ska, made up of Lee Paustian, Alex Howard, and Annie and Chad Cheeney, lost 10-7 in a tit-for-tat late night battle royale.

"We went back and forth with the FC team but could never get in the lead. The game was tied four times and Durango held the lead twice," said Chad Cheeney. A second Durango team, sponsored by Velorution Cycles and made up of Danny Powers, Joey Ernst, Tony Cady and Garret Alexander, took third in a 10-6 win over Fort Collins' Horizontal Dropouts.

The Spring Colorado Can Cup is the first of two annual state tourneys that have been taking place since 2009. Durango has had four winning teams since the inaugural contest in Lyons in March 2009. The sport appears to be taking off, with Boulder, Lyons, Denver, Casper, Salt Lake , Flagstaff, Portland and Telluride all claiming teams. However, they could soon have competition. An assuredly small "bike hockey" crowd is sprouting up in Fort Collins, billing itself as "a more aggressive form of the somewhat obscure yet exciting sport of bike polo." No word on weather penalties are given for slashing your opponents' tires.

For the good, band and the ugly, see the pictures on Purango Dolo's website at http://durangopolo.wordpress.com/
 

Martians storm Denver
Polo players weren’t the only ones making a name for Durango last weekend. Several local schools took part in the  Destination Imagination state finals, held in Denver on April 14. Both Mountain Middle School and Riverview Elementary took second in their respective categories, earning a trip to the "Global Finals" in Knoxville, Tenn., May 23-26.

Middle and elementary teams from across the state converged on Metro State to compete in one of six themed competitions. Mountain Middle's "YE-D.I." team placed second in the "Assembly Required" contest while Riverview's "Golfballeopians" placed second in the "Hold It" realm.

Park Elementary's "Something Different" placed sixth in "Coming Attractions," as did Riverview's "Durango Martians." Durango Montessori and Animas Valley Elementary also competed, coming in 10th and 12th respectively in their categories. A shout out also goes to Pagosa Springs, which is sending teams to Knoxville as well.