United States Polo Association (USPA) prepares for U.S. polo’s jump into television in 2012
December 6, 2011 (Wellington, Fla.) – The U.S. Polo Association (USPA), the national governing body for the sport of polo, will cap off an exciting 2011 season by presenting the Argentine Open Final on ESPN 3 this Friday, December 9 at 2:00 p.m. EST and the game starts at 2:45. The prestigious event will culminate the famed “Triple Crown” of polo in Argentina, following the Hurlingham Finals and Tortugas Open, and provide fans with an exciting finish to a year that has seen impressive growth and expanding interest in the sport.
The USPA has witnessed and supported polo’s promising development among new players and fans in America and will use this presentation as preparation before broadcasting U.S. polo events during its own Triple Crown taking place in Wellington, Fla. Starting in March 2012, ESPN 3 will showcase the championship matches of the famed USPA C.V. Whitney and USPA Gold Cup. Capping off the triple threat, ESPN 2 will televise America’s most prestigious polo event, the USPA U.S Open Polo Championship slated for April 22, featuring top polo powerhouses from the U.S. and beyond.
“Polo is expanding across the globe and we’re happy to bring action from the polo fields of the world’s biggest events into the homes of our players and fans here in the U.S.,” said Peter Rizzo, executive director of the U.S. Polo Association. “The power to broadcast on ESPN is a tremendous tool for our sport and it will be great to showcase the sport’s U.S. growth by airing our country’s premier polo events in the 2012 polo season.”
The resurgence of America’s oldest pastime can be attributed its budding talent being honed by new cost-effective training centers, a flourishing Interscholastic/Intercollegiate polo program and specialty platforms like Work to Ride targeted to help at-risk kids. The organization’s premier Team USPA development program has also been extremely influential in mentoring and training young U.S. men and women players and recently sent several players to compete with the U.S. national team in the 2011 FIP World Championships in Argentina.
Polo is also gaining a larger following in the U.S. through increased exposure by sporting and entertainment networks. With a visit from Great Britain’s Royal Couple, on-screen cameos in Hollywood films, guest appearances in television programs likeConan and Revenge and a host of high-profile tournaments held coast to coast from New York to Santa Barbara, U.S. polo is ready to increase the numbers of interested spectators , as well as attract new players to the sport.
The USPA encourages polo players, fans and the merely curious to click on http://espn.go.com/watchespn/index/_/id/319776to catch all the action live on December 9. For more information on polo in the U.S., or to get in on the action and schedule a lesson, visit www.uspolo.org.