Bob Puetz takes position with the USPA:
Bob Puetz who is the manager of the San Diego Polo Club has taken a new position with the USPA as Director of Services. He will be taking Ed Armstrong’s position. Bob was previously a professional polo player and manager of the Empire Polo Club. In addition, he was manager of the Santa Barbara Polo Club. It will be good to have a voice from the Pacific Circuit in the USPA administration. He and Marci are planning to move to Florida but will visit California clubs regularly.
Polo Goes to the Big Apple:
The USPA licensee for the United States has opened a USPA clothes store in Times Square, New York City. In conjunction with the US Polo Association they have leased on a long term basis one of the large bill boards. Over a million people a day visit Times Square so this will create good exposure for the sport of polo.
U.S. Polo Assn. Store in New York.
USPA Youth Clinics and Consulting:
Justin Powers (USPA National Development Coordinator) , Liz Holson (USPA Youth Polo Instructor Director), Scott Walker (USPA Marketing LLC) and Jessica Downey (USPA Club Development, LLC) have been in the desert to meet with polo club directors to work on a strategic plan to grow polo in the Pacific Coast Circuit. In addition, they put on a two day youth polo seminar at Empire Polo Club.
Umpiring:
Rick Sears (USPA Umpire LLC) is in the desert for the winter season working with the umpires at Eldorado Polo Club and Empire Polo Club to improve the quality of the umpiring. This was very high on the member’s annual survey and the USPA is allotting additional funds and personnel to increase the number of certified umpires and to improve on the quality of the umpiring.
Charlie Muldoon (Executive Director, USPA Umpire LLC) and Rick put on a Friday night seminar with the assistance of Santiago Trotz and other professionals. It was attended by over 100 polo players.
You can now take the Outdoor or Arena Umpire written test online. Access it through the USPA website.
The Pacific Circuit was allotted $32,170.00 which is the highest of any circuit. Scott reports that we not only utilized our allotment but we able to draw from other circuits that didn’t use their full allotment. If you have any questions contact Scott Walker.
Delegate’s Meeting:
The Pacific Circuit Delegates Meeting will be held at 9 AM on Sunday, March 30, 2014. That afternoon there will be lots of Finals polo at Empire and Eldorado Polo Clubs. At the meeting there will be a short seminar on the California overtime laws and how to avoid unanticipated consequences.
PDI:
There were 75 applications for PDI reimbursement funds totaling $675,000. The budget is $375,000 which will increase by $25,000 next year. The committee has submitted their findings to the USPA administration for final review. The applicants should be notified of the results soon.
Sanctioned Tournaments:
The Pacific Circuit does not have its share of sanctioned tournaments because our clubs have not applied for the sanctioning. A new policy has been instituted so that instead of receiving USPA trophies the tournament committee can request trophy reimbursement money which they can use to purchase more creative trophies. If your club is hosting a tournament consider having it sanctioned by the USPA. It’s an easy process. In addition, it increases the presteige of the Pacific Circuit.
Circuit spotLIGHT Slideshow:
This year the USPA will again be creating a slide show of the polo activities in the Pacific Coast Circuit. The Slide Show is available to the clubs for marketing and entertainment. It also runs on the Pacific Coast Circuit website.
Polo on TV:
This year the U.S. Open and the C.V. Whitney Finals will be televised on NBC, nationwide. They were very happy with the results of their telecast last year and are moving it up to NBC’s regular channel. In addition, the Pacific Open will be televised on NBC Sports. Scott Walker is on the board of the USPA Marketing LL. For the first time, drones with cameras will be used for the benefit of the umpires and include in the telecast. At the last USPA meeting we got to see video developed by the drones. It will give the telecasts a whole new look at polo.
Patrick Uretz to England:
Patrick Uretz will be joining Tommy Biddle and Wil Tankard to represent the United States in London for the USPA representing the United States in a World Youth Tournament. Each year the United States and England face off in the arena trading off the hosing responsibilities. The last game was at Empire Polo Club and the United States won handily
New Zealand:
Hank Uretz just returned from New Zealand where he competed with the US Polo Training Foundation in a polo tournament with teams from high schools in that country.
Member Survey:
Thanks to everyone who participated in the USPA member survey. Participation in this survey by Pacific Circuit members is important because the results are guidelines for future USPA programs. We might as well support the programs we like and make suggestions for new programs that will help us grow polo. Attached are the results from this year’s survey.
Pacific Circuit Strategic Planning:
Scott Walker, Eric Monk, Heather Perkins, Russ Sheldon, Susan Harris, Beka Segion, Chris Collins, Sr and Chris Collins Jr. met with Justin Powers, Kris Bower and Amanda Snow of the USPA in San Diego to work on strategic planning for our Pacific Circuit. We had a complete review of all USPA programs available to the clubs and came up with some good ideas on how to build polo in our region.
Barron’s Article:
Attached is a letter from Jim Rossi of the Marketing LLC with links to several magazine articles and a video that are very attractive to polo. They were developed by the USPA staff and can be used in your club’s marketing material.
See you on the field,
Denny Geiler, Governor
USPA sign/billboard above the store.