Ask an Umpire

Rule 25

The spirit of the rule is to keep the game moving

By Dana Fortugno

Years ago, there was 6-goal player named Jimmy Bachman. He was known as the King of Low-Goal Polo. I sat next to him on a plane once when I was in college and we got a chance to chat about—what else—polo. His focus was winning, and he did lots of it. It really was something, considering he worked within what seemed to be a modest budget. Aside from being a very accomplished horseman, Jimmy figured out a way to wins games within the rules. It worked. It was no fun for anyone on the field, but he won. His signature play was to stop with the ball and

walk it all the way to goal (sometimes half the field). If a defender went to him, he would speed up and then pull the ball to the right and stop again and walk with the ball, over and over and over.

Does any of this sound familiar? Everyone thinks Cambiaso invented this move, but it was Jimmy who was doing it when Cambiaso was still in grade school. The difference between the two is that Cambiaso had a much larger budget, better horses and used his team to block defenders. Both won all the time but kept the ball to themselves most of the time.

No thanks, not my style, but these two fellas and all those who copy them are the reason for the Delay of Game rule (this is just my opinion and I may be incorrect). The good news is that you can have your own opinion (if you play polo, you already have one, I have no doubt).

When play stopped and games were reduced to a walk, nobody liked it. It became so bad, the USPA had to do something about it for the sake of polo. Most players like polo to be open and running, with the entire team participating.

At first, the rule was that once the player slowed down, was not being ridden off or battling for the ball with a defender and was defended by a defender who was within two horse lengths, the player had five seconds to run with ball or hit away. The umpire would give a courtesy yell of “use it” after three seconds had elapsed. The “use it” was supposed to be temporary until the players got used to this new rule. Then, the one tap limitation was added to the rule a couple years later, meaning you could not tap the ball more than one time during the five seconds. That’s the rule we have now. We still say “use it” years later because most players still do not understand the rule.

There are a few issues umpires struggle with when enforcing this rule: • What is a tap (does dragging the ball four feet count as a tap or two taps or more)? • What if the player can turn the ball to the left with two taps faster than the umpires can say

“use it”? • When exactly is the player no longer being ridden off (when the horses are touching or do we need to see more significant contact)? • Some players do not want to hear “use it” because they say it distracts them. • After the slow down, the turn to the left, the one tap, and “use it” what if the ball falls in a hole? • After the slow down, the turn to the left, the one tap, and “use it” what if hitting the ball means hitting into a defender’s horse who just cleared the right of way or is clearing? • Is this rule enforceable in all levels the same way or should we consider the fact that a 10-goal

Rule 25—Stopping on the ball

c. Delay of Game: A player in possession of the ball, marked by approximately 2 horse lengths or less by an opposing player, must keep moving if he or she is neither being blocked nor ridden off and therefore has the freedom to continue along the Right of Way. Should the player in possession of the ball either stop or reduce his or her speed to a walk, he or she may tap the ball only once and thereafter he or she (or any member of his or her team) must, within 5 seconds, either hit away or run with the ball. An infraction of this rule will result in a penalty against the team in possession of the ball.

*Only a portion of Rule 25 is listed. To read the entire rule, go to uspolo.org*

player can turn the ball to the left several times faster than a 2-goal player can?

We have already turned to the Rules Committee for guidance on these issues, and all these things are now being discussed so we can have a solution soon. Remember, the Rules Committee is responsible for interpreting the rules as well as writing them, not the umpires. The umpires just enforce the rules. If you don’t like a rule, email the Rules Committee members, not the umpires.

Perhaps a simplification of the rule is the solution. Perhaps we need another piece to the puzzle in place to solve the issues, but again, that’s up to the Rules Committee. For now, just know that if you hear the umpire yell, “use it” then your next play needs to be to run with the ball or make a hit-away play. After you use it, you must keep making a positive play. In other words, you cannot run for two strides then slow down again immediately. You need to keep playing polo without stopping the game all the time. If you do that, you should not get a whistle. The intention of the rule is obvious: keep moving with the ball. For some players, that seems to be a challenge of great proportions (at all levels).

When we have these issues with a rule, we always turn to the spirit of the rule and keep that in mind while enforcing the rule. Of course, the spirit of this rule is to keep the game moving. Once the Rules Committee members have ironed out the issues, then we will follow their guidance to solve the problems with this rule. If there is any change in the rule or how it will be enforced, we will post it in the video rule book section of the website. Alternatively, if you have the patience, wait for the new rule book and look for the bold face print, which indicates all new portions that have been added. •