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polo’s new wave Australia’s picturesque Gold Coast was the location for the inaugural Polo by the Sea, reports Janek Gazecki
Australia is a land of permanent summer. That is, at any time of year, you can find weather, somewhere in the country, that falls into the broad definition of summer, regardless of what the calendar season would otherwise imply. And so, when the temperature in our southern states eventually calls for an additional T-shirt and the swapping of thongs (flip-flops) for Ugg boots, it is time to shift polo focus to the north. This is partly why Polo Enterprises Australia, the creators of the hugely successful Polo in the City series, forged plans to develop Polo by the Sea. While Polo in the City focuses on the corporate community in Australian capital cities, Polo by the Sea targets regional cities, and in
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particular, seaside towns and holiday destinations. Polo by the Sea is, in a sense, intended as a tourist attraction – a means of extracting southerners from their impending hibernation for one last ‘summer bash’. Working closely with the Gold Coast Council, the Mayor Tom Tate, Gold Coast Tourism, local hotels and Virgin airlines, Polo by the Sea ran a public relations, television, print and radio campaign, declaring boldly that they were ‘bringing summer back for a day’. It was clearly a catchphrase designed to pique the interest of New South Welshmen, Victorians and South Australians, who viewed advertising images of beach, bikinis and prevailing sunshine with some degree of envy.
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The location, Doug Jennings Park, a sandy peninsula that hosts hotels, a yacht club and a Sea World and serves as a launch pad for recreational anglers and surfers, constituted a spectacular location with international appeal. The event, held on 1 June 2013, attracted a solid crowd, with the ‘invite-only’ VIP Marquee sold out and the popular Polo Lounge brimming with younger revellers, who, champagne and Pimm’s in hand, gracefully swayed to the tunes of a capable DJ and live band in between games without spilling a drop. As with Polo in the City, Polo by the Sea is played on a smaller field, despite the fact that there is often the option to play on a larger field.
