5 minute read
The sky's the limit
AAP president, Delfi n Uranga outlines his bold, inspiring vision for the long-term growth of Argentine polo, and how the country can share its knowledge with the world
ILLUSTRATION: PETER JAMES FIELD
As an Argentinean, polo has always been an important part of me. Indeed, it has made me who I am today – the family I have created, the friends I’ve made and the values I teach every day to my children.
Th is beautiful sport is more than a sport to me. It has taught me that hard work, respect and perseverance underpin success in every project. And, four years since we fi rst arrived at the AAP with the amazing team we’ve formed with Eduardo, I strongly believe that the sky is the limit for our dreams for the Association.
For me, the AAP is like my second home. My grandfather, Carlos played the fi rst game and scored the fi rst goal on the iconic Field Number 2 at Palermo, and my father Marcos was president between 1983 and 1987. But even though I was made president of the AACCP in 2012, I achieved a lifetime dream when I became AAP president last May.
Our vision for polo is bold and engaging. We believe that the industry polo represents in Argentina needs to be deployed all around the world, leveraging all the knowledge and expertise our ecosystem has created. We aim to position Argentine polo as an iconic example of sporting excellence, a skilled workforce and exemplary content development and experience creation around the sport. We need to work tirelessly every day to get more partners, attract more fans and develop more players, in safer conditions. Th is is our mantra.
Over the past few years, we have built the fundamentals for a long-term growth plan. We have worked hard to redefi ne our identity and our values; broken old paradigms in pursuit of industry Masters 0 to 40 goals; the fi rst Women’s
Polo World Cup for 2022 as well as the
Presidents Cup 2021 that will be played in the same venues as the Triple Crown in
December 2021; plus Th e Polo Champions
League for April 2022, bringing all international champions of the main 14-16 goal tournaments to play in Palermo. • Redefi ne safety standards and invest in the safety elements of performance – the safety of our players and ponies are the most important thing for us. • Develop diff erent polo formats – several initiatives have been gaining interest recently, such as indoor, bike and e-Wheels. We need to create conditions to test and grow every format. • Embrace and boost women’s and kids’ participation as a strong engine for getting families into the sport again.
Women and kids are one of the fastest growing segments for polo in Argentina.
development, and fi nally arrived at a plan that involves all the Argentine polo ecosystem, and can be summarised thus: • Boost the Argentine Triple Crown of
Polo as one of the main assets in the sport all around the world. • Develop a digitisation process around the AAP organisation – we need to learn fast to grow fast. • Deploy the Argentine polo industry around the world; developing strong relationships and bonds with the other main polo associations is a must. • Deep dive on learning and education, and polo content creation – a Polo University is one of the most important plans for the
AAP in the coming years. • Relaunch international competition at all levels for kids, women and men, building international calendars and formats to make this possible, such as the Women’s
Nations Cup 22 goals; Palermo Women’s
Opposite: Delfi n Uranga. Th is page: Winners of the Arena Polo Grand Prix 2021. From left : Carlos Menéndez Behety, Delfi n Uranga and Eduardo Novillo Astrada
Th e 1992 World Cup in Santiago, Chile. From left : Pepe Araya, Cristian Guevara, Daniel Gonzalez, Delfi n Uranga, Ignacio Tillous, Marcos di Paola, Pancho Bensadon, Jose Rivas, Patricio Garrahan
Th e 2020-2021 pandemic challenged us to redefi ne the way we work and generate business around polo. A strong process of professionalisation was necessary for us, and crisis became opportunity as new business units started to grow quickly.
Argentina is the country with the most high-goal polo professionals in the world. Th is amazing knowledge led us to think about democratising polo learning, providing more and better tools and content to everyone around the world. Supported by new technologies and innovative teaching methods, Polo University was launched in August 2020 as the fi rst large-scale teaching platform. Today, with more than 4,000 unique users, the AAP continues promoting the sport, producing more skilled polo players around the world to form and nourish the game in the future.
On the other hand, the absence of spectators at massive events allowed us to improve and relaunch the AAP Live website and create a totally new polo experience for broadcasting matches, that proved the game could be produced and distributed in many creative and innovative ways.
Th e AAP Live platform, with its technology and broadcasting features, is one of a kind, as you can change the camera view live with three diff erent options; ‘chat’ with other spectators, and comment and interact with polls and widgets. Last year we broadcast more than 50 games from the Argentine polo high-goal season, and we expect to broadcast over 60 games this year, including the most important women’s and kids’ tournaments of the season.
When I was a kid, I remember having two or three guests from abroad living in our house – it was ‘open door’ every season. My father was the founder of the FIP, and he believed polo was about creating a fraternity of friends and nations. I share his vision.
I believe that polo will have a bright future as long as all the stakeholders around the world work together to make polo grow every day. I also believe that we all have a unique opportunity to put polo on the highest sporting pedestal, and for the game to become an Olympic sport again.
More players, more fans, more partners, more safety. Let me invite you to share our dream. Believe me, the sky is the limit.
