July 2021 Polo Players' Edition- Rule 22

Rule 22

How to re-enter the field on dead-ball plays

By Dana Fortugno

This month the famous Leitner twins have a question. If you don’t know who they are, get ready for a fun surprise. They are 17-year-old twins who not only play polo, they are really good at it. Robyn and Reagan live in Lexington, South Carolina, but they train and play in Aiken, South Carolina. I umpired a NYTS tournament a few years ago in Alabama and met both of them. It was a little confusing at first, then as I got to know them better, it was still confusing.

These two had an interesting introduction to polo. I asked them how they got started and they explained that they had participated in the Extreme Mustang Makeover when it first came to Jacksonville, Florida, in 2016. Katherine Thomas, a new friend, asked if they could trailer a horse she bought at the Makeover to Aiken, which was not far from their home. After trailering the horse for Katherine, she invited them to watch a Sunday polo game. They soon began helping at Whitney Field on Sundays by giving out wristbands and seating people. Soon after, they began playing polo and taking lessons with the Aiken Youth kids, and the rest is history!

Reagan Leitner on Mia.

Yes, the rest is history. These two have been steadily improving since then. They have a nice classic style of play; they hit and run and use back shots to pass to their teammates. It’s a treat to see.

Although they enjoy playing at New Bridge Polo Club in Aiken (newbridgepolo.com), they claim Aiken Polo Club as their home club. Aiken’s Whitney Field is renown for its rich history as the oldest continuously played field in North America (aikenpolo.org). Both clubs have spring and fall seasons and play up to 12-goal polo.

Reagan Leitner.

As if their appearance as twins isn’t enough, they have the exact same ratings. They are rated 0 in outdoor polo, 2 in women’s outdoor polo, 1 in the arena and 4 in women’s arena. Before taking up polo as their sole sport, they used to barrel race. They plan to stay in polo for the long term, playing and training horses. Their favorite part of polo is working hard with their teammates and getting better. There is no doubt these two will be around to inspire the rest of us for many years to come.

Rule 22—How Play is Resumed

… If a member of the defending team is off the field when the Umpire calls “Play” and the ball is hit or hit at, he or she may enter the field behind the hitter but may not make a play until he or she passes a teammate who was properly positioned when the ball was hit or hit at. A violation of this procedure will result in a penalty against the defending team. If all four players on the defending team are off the field when the Umpire calls “Play”, and the ball is hit or hit at they may each enter the field behind the hitter but no player on that team may make a play until play is interrupted and resumed. If any such player makes a play, a Penalty 2 shall be awarded to the other team. *Only a portion of Rule 22 is listed. To read the entire rule, go to uspolo.org*

Robyn Leitner.

The twin’s question: “We get the concept of offsides but how exactly does it work in polo?”

Offsides in polo is explained in Outdoor Rule 22—How Play is Resumed. As you know, the concept is simple: it is unfair to the properly lined-up team on a dead ball play (hit or throw-in) for an opponent to be in a place where they are not allowed to be when the hit or throw-in happens, or enter the field in a place where they are not allowed to have been when the dead ball play happened. The remedy is also simple: that opponent must pass a teammate that was lined up properly on the dead ball play before they can make a play.

Let’s talk about that. Offsides is only on dead ball plays, meaning when the ball is not already in play, for example, on a free hit, a penalty shot or a throwin. Once the ball goes dead again (play stops for any reason) then the previous offsides is erased if it wasn’t already erased by the offender passing one of his or her teammates during live play. Of course, that teammate must have been lined up properly on the dead ball play.

Another way to say it would be that if you can’t be in a certain spot when the ball is hit or the throw-in happens then you can’t enter the field in that spot after the ball is hit or the throw-in happens. You can fix that by passing one of your players who was properly positioned when the ball was hit or the throw-in happened.

Robyn Leitner on Kachina

The most common practical examples are leaving the field when the other team is taking a knock-in or when a throw-in happens. Let’s talk about each one. of those. First, you leave the field and the other team is knocking in. You return to the field following the hitter. Well, you are not allowed to line up behind the hitter on the knock-in, right? You must line up behind the 30-yard line in front of the hitter. If you are closer than 30 yards, that is a foul and the other team gets a center hit but, if you come on the field after they hit, there is no foul unless you make a play (any play) before passing your teammate who was properly behind the 30-yard line when the other team took the knock in.

In Diagram 1, the yellow player off the field will be offsides if he enters the field behind the red hitter after the red hits. It is no big deal unless yellow makes a play before passing a teammate who was behind the 30-yard line when the red team hit. If your team is hitting a knock-in, you can be anywhere when they hit, so no offsides for you wherever you enter the field. I may have lost you. If so, no worries. Let me discuss a throw-in and I may get you back.

Let’s say we have a throw-in at the center of the field. After scoring on the south end of the field, the yellow team lines up on the south side of the line-up and the red team lines up on the north side. All yellow players must be lined up or positioned on the south half of the field for the throw-on (north for the red team). As long as any yellow player is on or enters the field on the south half of the field, they are fine because they could have done that at and during the throw-in but they cannot enter or be on the north half of the field at or during the throw-in because they would not be on the correct side of the throw-in and thus lined up improperly (see Diagram 2). If a member of the yellow team leaves the field to change horses or grab a new mallet, for instance, they just need to pass a teammate who was on the south side of the field when the ball was thrown-in and before they can make a play, otherwise they are offsides.

What happens when a player is offsides and makes a play while they are still offsides? It is a foul, just like any other foul. The ball placement will still depend on the same factors surrounding the foul that are taken into consideration for any foul.

If you still can’t grasp it and all else fails, just pass a teammate when you enter the field and you will always be fine. Alternatively, just roll the dice and hope you are on sides (that’s seems to be what most players do anyway).

Another way to say it would be that if you can’t be in a certain spot when the ball is hit or the throw-in happens then you can’t enter the field in that spot after the ball is hit or the throw-in happens. You can fix that by passing one of your players who was properly positioned when the ball was hit or the throw-in happened.