POLO Why bold moves to change polo rules could backfire
There are changes afoot from the international Polo Association in the handicapping system for the high goal next year. But are they really necessary and will they actually affect the sport in a positive or adverse way?
The plan under discussion is to reduce the two middle players, potentially, to 16 or 17 goals. And Stephen Hutchinson, chairman of the HPA, outlined briefly what the HPA are planning.
“We’ve discussed what may or may not be done for next year and that was a range of things from putting a limit on the two middle players, sorting out the handicapping issues, and some possible rule changes,” Hutchinson told Telegraph Sport.
David Woodd, chief executive of the HPA, was also asked about the subject, and in particular relating to James Beim, the England captain. Beim has been reduced in handicap this year.
“He was handicapped on his play this year. The consensus was he hasn’t had the greatest season. He’s had a bad year.,” he said.
“The big issue for us is you can’t put everybody down. So there’s got to be somewhere in the middle where you start to say yes, he’s a very good six and he’s a very bad six and he’s a good seven and he’s a bad seven and so on. It’s around the seven and the sixes and the fives where you’ll end up with some very good ones and some not so good ones. I’m afraid they have to take their chances.
“We have tried to make it easier to put together a competitive team to take on (Adolfo) Cambiaso and Facundo (Pieres), who are very good, by bringing down the nines. I think we only left one person on nine. And make the eights really competitive, leaving some guys who are really good on seven, and having some good sixes.”
Although the HPA are claiming that the changes will not be draconian, the burning issue is where does this leave high polo next season if the middle two players are limited to 16 or 17 goals ?
The whole interpretation of the rules by the umpires has done quite a lot to make the game better. Everybody feels the same way. The handicapping has been done in a reasonably stringent manner as it should be. We need to handicap everyone in a realistic fashion.”
The idea is that they will be limiting the number of goals in the middle in order to encourage more people, more patrons, to compete in the high goal.
One supposes that the HPA are trying to get more English players playing - and more high goal teams - but will that really be the case ?
By reducing those “middle two” it appears that the HPA are attempting to get more people to make teams because it will be easier and potentially cheaper to operate.
But perhaps they are not taking into account that teams like La Indiana, although it was a balanced team, and was hugely successful in reaching the two main high goal finals, is not the sort of team that was paid for out of loose change. Patron Michael Bickford put the quartet, himself included, together at great expense.
A huge budget will still be required for any decent foursome competing with the big two or three teams.
If you look worldwide, at present, at the type of commercial polo that is, the likes of Sotogrande in August in Spain and in the high goal in the USA, this season compared very favourably. There were 13 teams in the Gold Cup, and 12 teams in the Queens Cup.
That’s far more than anyone else has got in other parts of the world. And over half of the teams in England this summer had two ‘big’ players.
Time will tell on this, but these are bold moves which may just backfire.