June 2020 Polo Players' Edition

Page 18

ASK AN UMPIRE

Rule 24 Right of Way is called differently in high- and low-goal polo

For Peter Alworth, far right, the best part of polo is playing with his three children, shown here.

This month Peter Alworth has a question. Peter grew up playing polo in Duluth, Minnesota, with his father and two brothers. He is currently rated 1 goal but back in day he was a 3-goal player. Peter most certainly uses his experience and mature-player trickery to advance his team during the summer season at the Twin City Polo Club. Of course, Peter loves the game of polo but what he enjoys most is playing with his three children, all of whom are well accomplished polo players in their own right. Fielding a full family team is an accomplishment close to his heart and a unique ability in today’s world. When Peter and the kids are not playing polo, they stay active during the winter months playing ice hockey. Peter is definitely a modern-day entrepreneur with old-school values, having started his own software company and running it successfully for over 10 years; starting and managing a bank for over 15 years; and now serving as the CFO of a manufacturing company—somebody has to pay for the polo in this family ! The Twin City Polo Club is located in Maple Plain, Minnesota. The season starts the first of May and the first tournament is Memorial Day weekend. The club plays without pause through September. 16 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N

When possible, 0-goal tournaments are run simultaneously to 4- or 6-goal tournaments. The club strives to include all club members in competition. Practices are a mix of skill levels. It is common to have a nine-chukker practice with three slower chukkers at the beginning. Sometimes the club will have two practice games going on at the same time. The club has an excellent polo school where many young kids have learned to play. It has held a NYTS tournament for the past seven years, since the beginning of the series. For the past two years, the club has hosted the Central Circuit Woman’s Tournament. Peter and Bob Bradley purchased the club 20 years ago from James Binger, who originally started polo there in the 1960s. The club now has three regulation polo fields and a stick-and-ball area. The club usually hosts six to eight teams for its tournaments and can accommodate all the visiting teams at the grounds. It also has arguably the best after-polo barbeques in the country! Peter’s question: When I watch high goal polo on livestream, it looks like there are many fouls that are not called. Is high-goal polo called differently than lower-goal polo, and if so, why?


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