Have you ever wondered why communication can sometimes be so difficult? No matter what’s happening in polo, it just seems so far away and vague. Why is this? We can talk to aerospace crews when they go to the moon, more specifically the space station, everyday, yet we cannot seem to keep up on what is going on in the polo community next door.
Our own association is slow to connect with the masses and we are approximately 3500 members. Why is it so difficult to communicate with the member community?
Why do you think communication is such a problem? We are not kept informed on what is going on in polo at the administrative level. As Members of the association are we not paying for this service? Is the job of the Association to keep members informed on important issue related to our industry? We have message boards where Mike and Gorda seem to know everything and they are making an effort to keep everyone informed. This is a problem as we do not really know who they are or if they have accurate information. Sometimes we know it is accurate, but this information needs to come from the Association itself.
There should also be more representation in the Associations or on their committees from the core of our sponsor population. There are some sponsors who don’t want to be involved in the USPA or in the related committees, but there are others who do want to be involved or at least have their opinions and input considered. The sponsors are the individuals who make our sport what it is today. Their voice is important and their knowledge and business experience can be very helpful to our sport. The USPA and the industry in general needs to open up the communication channels and let the sponsor’s voices be heard and their ideas considered.
There are as many complaints in polo about the umpires as you can have in any sport, no matter where polo is being played. Did you know that the AA certified umpires are earning about 90,000 + a year in addition to a other benefits? How many pros can say the same? Why is this information not out there in the polo community to generate more interest in the umpiring certification programs? We could blame it on poor communication. Maybe we could have a truckload of people trying to get certified as polo umpires if they knew they could earn a good salary as an umpire. Not only is the salary good, but you get to work in some of the most beautiful places in the World. The weather is always nice and the sun is almost always shining where polo is being played.
There is a new rule coming into effect soon, it is called the Foreign Player Rule. The Foreign Player Rule: Starting Jan 1, 2010 every team in a USPA event having a rating of 22-goals or less will be required to have a U.S. citizen in addition to the sponsor. The sponsor can have any citizenship. The reason it won’t take effect for a year is to hear input from the membership.) This rule was created to protect and improve U.S. Polo. It is similar to a rule they already implement in England. England has approximately 20 players under 30 years of age who are rated 6-goals. In the U.S. we have approximately 20 players at 6-goals and born in the U.S.A., but will we learn from their mistakes? The Argentines some how all came up with Euro passports, so they can qualify to play. The same will happen here if the rule is not handled well. Canada is under the USPA’s leadership, so we need to see if this rule includes Canadian and U.S. citizens, or just U.S. citizens.
We need press releases and someone designated to write and distribute them for the industry. Releases that would cover polo issues and relevant news from top to bottom and include all levels. How much would it cost? Lets find out. We need leadership and we need to improve communication within the industry. We have the Internet, cell phones, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and a number of other tools to help us communicate in a very efficient, cost-effective and timely manner. Lets start using the technology that is available to us and we can make change.
See ya.