hurlinghampolo.com
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O P I N I O N
Naturally the prospect of following on from
Stephen Hutchinson as chairman of the
Hurlingham Polo Association later this
year is something that is both an exciting
and a somewhat daunting prospect. As
a result, the last few months have been very
busy as we think through the challenges
faced by the sport today.
I read a very insightful interview
with Chip Campbell in
Hurlingham Polo
magazine earlier this year in which he
talked about his time as chairman of the
United States Polo Association. He discussed
the challenges he has faced in bringing
about changes in the USPA, managing
an all-volunteer committee-run organisation,
and the slow-paced decision making and
implementation process, all of which
make change difficult to achieve and the
antithesis of what most of us are used to
in our own businesses.
While so much of what Chip described
in the USPA is equally recognisable in the
HPA, as he properly observed, this is the
framework within which we have to work.
As a result, for me it is important to set out
a clear agenda for my tenure as chairman of
the HPA, to be accountable for its delivery
and to adopt Chip’s thesis of seeking to
leave it better than you found it.
It was with this in mind that we
produced the Vision for Polo consultation
document, earlier this summer, which
set out a longer-term plan for the sport
and our priorities for the next five years.
I was pleasantly surprised by the amount
of feedback and engagement throughout
the sport in response to this consultation
document. I have had many conversations
at the side of the ground over the summer,
in addition to the written comments, all of
which has been helpful in understanding the
range of views in the sport.
It is unlikely that we are going to be able
to accommodate every view and suggestion,
but we have listened and made significant
changes to the original draft as a result
of the process. We also have to be mindful
that there is concern about additional
rules and bureaucracy being imposed on
patrons and players by the HPA, and a desire
to see any new rules being introduced in
a measured and clear way.
A central theme from the feedback is
the reality of three different constituencies
within the sport today – high goal, victor
ludorum, polo at bigger clubs and regional
polo. Each of these constituencies have
different requirements to flourish and
may, in the future, require separate
committees to support their development.
There is little doubt that the overall
handicapping policy and tournament
conditions should provide the framework
for fair and competitive polo at all levels.
During the consultation process, these were
the areas with the most feedback and the
widest range of views. It’s clear at the
grass-roots level, there is a need for the
greatest flexibility in both, to encourage
newcomers to the sport, give them time to
develop and the opportunity to play safely
with experienced players. At the higher
levels we need to build on the significant
progress that has already been made in
establishing a more progressive, transparent
and fairer handicapping system, which
ensures players are moved up in handicap
more quickly and anomalies are addressed
without hesitation during the season.
This approach to handicapping,
combined with making changes to
tournament conditions and the composition
of teams, is also seeking to make both fairer
for all players and teams. There is no desire
in this approach to impose greater
restrictions, endanger the livelihood of
professional players or discourage patrons,
but it is important for the HPA to work
harder to make the sport fairer and support
the British game and its development.
I am already aware that one or two
clubs are not intending to adopt the HPA
tournament conditions for internal
tournaments. Of course this would be a pity,
but as often is the case in this sport there is
the challenge of ‘polotics’ and conflicting
agendas. I don’t think we can let this deter
us from seeking to be confident and bold in
proposing changes, which we believe are
consistent with a modern agenda and will
be to the benefit of the sport as a whole.
I believe handicapping policy and
tournament conditions will continue to be
ILLUSTRATION: DAVID YOUNG
The HPA’s soon-to-be chairman Nick Wiles explains his vision for shaping the future of the sport
A new era
