POLO MANAGER’S REPORT
“GUARDS POLO CLUB SHOULD HAVE A MODEL IN PLACE FOR GUYS WHO HAVEN’T QUITE GOT ENOUGH MONEY TO PLAY, BUT WHO LOVE IT”
continuing to analyse the umpires,” revealed Antony. “We have had a confidential scoring system in place since the end of the 2016 season. The team captains or polo managers score the umpires anonymously after every game on a score of 1 – 10. Once the umpires have overseen 10 matches – eight-goal tournaments and above – we average out the scores and put it against the umpire’s name. Only Kym [Lake] and myself see each match score to ensure anonymity, but it immediately highlights who is below par. The HPA has now adopted our system – they only receive the anonymous data.” The best players in the world, combined with a more open style of play – introduced by Guards Polo Club in 2016 – sees the pro umpires come into their own over the Cartier Queen’s Cup tournament. So how are the entries looking so far? “It’s a bit early to say,” said Antony cautiously, “but I am hoping for more teams than last year. Bob Jornayvaz’s Valiente is hopefully coming back, Andrey Borodin’s Park Place is playing high-goal for the first time and Les Lions are back in with Max Gottschalk, which is great news. Much of the conversation in last year’s
Polo Manager’s Report was on the visa crisis. Antony is fairly upbeat about the situation this year, singling out the Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA) for some praise. “It is the same rules as last year and well done to the HPA for getting that over the line in time. It worked last year – you either have your visa or you don’t. Frankly, if you are coming to the UK to do business, you should abide by the same rules as everyone else. “When I started playing 30 years ago,
everyone was coming here to play – Brazilians, New Zealanders, Argentines, Indians, Australians. But if you look at the stats for the Indian Empire last year there
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were 56 players; 14 were patrons and 10 of them were British, three or four from other countries and the rest were Argentine with European or Argentine passports. More than 50% of the tournament was made up of Argentine players. “We need to get players from all countries
playing – that is really important for the future of our sport. I think the visa rules should be very simple. If you are in the top X% of your country’s players, then you should be allowed into the UK to play at any level from 12-goal upwards. We want to be a centre of the best.” Although Antony was complimentary about the HPA with regard to the visas, he is not so happy about the increasing number of smaller, affiliated clubs. “I think it is too easy to get provisional affiliation and it is diluting the sport,” he said. “Competitions are easier but have less value – the tournament doesn’t matter. Guards and Cowdray only remain the aspirational clubs thanks to their tournaments.” This brings Antony on to the subject of how Guards Polo Club can support the Club’s younger players who have grown out of schools and university polo and are “no longer funded by Mum & Dad”. “We already have some great initiatives, not least the excellent support from John Collins and his Talacrest Young Player of the Year Award,” said Antony, “but I think the time is now right for the Club to be
looking at having 20 or 30 Club horses which you can play if you are a member,” he said. “These ponies would be ideal for those keen, young players who are maybe working in London, but cannot afford to keep horses but do play two or three games a week for x amount of money. We should have a model in place for those players who haven’t quite got enough money to play, but who love it. It used to be the Army that provided the Club’s ponies and a critical mass of players – that is where a lot of the young guys went. It was also a good way of letting off steam. “It would benefit the Club as it gives you people to play against. You cannot let people in for free, but we do need a critical mass of players. Getting new people in – be they players or sponsors – is fundamental to the future of our sport. We have some strong tournaments for the younger generation – I think there will be 10 entries for the schools’ Copenhagen Cup tournament – and so we need to be the Club of choice for these players as they get older too.” Of course, Antony is aware that much of the Club’s reputation lies in the dedicated team that are based at Smith’s Lawn all year. “My life is made so much easier thanks to Tara {Smith] and Kym and the huge team behind the scenes that turn out rain or shine. Their ability to cope under pressure – essential in June when we seem to run a seven-day-a-week operation – ensures that our patrons only have to stress about a winning strategy. Meanwhile Peter Svoboda and his grounds and treading in teams are regularly the heroes of the hour, delivering match-ready grounds in all weathers and putting up with my last-minute ground changes with a smile!” Appropriately, Antony was then called
away to discuss the grounds development plan, a project he, like our President, will be keeping a close eye on.
GUARDS POLO CLUB OFFICIAL YEARBOOK 2018
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