U S PA B U L L E T I N
Are You NOCSAE Compliant? As of May 1, USPA members must wear NOCSAEcompliant helmets in all actual outdoor and arena polo games at USPA member clubs, not just USPA events. The USPA Rules Committee has learned some USPA members and some USPA member clubs mistakenly believe that NOCSAE-compliant helmets need only be worn in USPA events. That is a misconception. NOCSAE-compliant helmets must be worn in all actual outdoor and arena polo games (not including practice games) at USPA member clubs, not just USPA events and not just games umpired by USPA professional umpires, but all actual games. These rules apply to you unless you qualify for one of the existing variances and you have signed the applicable USPA waiver and acknowledgment. USPA Outdoor Rule 4a and USPA Arena Rule3a(2) each state, “[n]o player may participate in any USPA Event or Club Event in anything other than a proper uniform, including a protective helmet with a chin strap, which must be worn in the appropriate manner specified by the manufacturer of the helmet. ... Effective May 1, 2021, the protective helmet required by this rule for players must be certified to meet the NOCSAE ND050 Standard Performance Specification for Newly Manufactured Polo Helmets.” The terms “USPA Event” and “Club Event” are each defined in Part I of the USPA Tournament Conditions, and these definitions make clear that every actual polo game is either a club event or a USPA event. The USPA Rules and Tournament Conditions apply to all USPA members and at all USPA member clubs. And both USPA Outdoor Rule 11b and USPA Arena Rule 1d state, “no USPA Member Club or Host Tournament Committee may adopt any variance” from the rules requiring NOCSAE-compliant helmets. USPA members and USPA member clubs each agree annually to comply with all USPA rules and policies. Thus, if you are a USPA member, you must wear a NOCSAE-compliant helmet in all actual polo games, both outdoor and arena. And if you run a USPA member club, you must require your players to wear NOCSAE-compliant helmets in all actual polo games, both outdoor and arena. As of Oct. 1, there will be only three USPAapproved variances from the NOCSAE-compliant helmet rules. Casablanca and Charles Owen have assured the USPA that all existing orders for NOCSAE6 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N
compliant helmets will be filled by Oct. 1. For that reason, the USPA Executive Committee has decided to terminate all existing variances from USPA Outdoor Rule 4.a and USPA Arena Rule 3.a(2)—the NOCSAE-compliant helmet rules, which took effect on May 1—except for the three variances set out below, which are now in effect and will remain in effect: First, any new member who joined the USPA for the first time on or after May 1, or who rejoined the USPA on or after that date following an absence of at least two years, and who does not possess a NOCSAE-compliant helmet, may nevertheless participate in a USPA event or club event using a protective helmet that is not a NOCSAE-compliant helmet, if he or she provides definitive proof that on a date within 30 days of joining or re-joining the USPA but no more than six months previously, he or she ordered a NOCSAE-compliant helmet, which has not yet been delivered, provided that each such affected USPA member first executes in writing (a) a waiver of liability in favor of the USPA and its member clubs for any claims that might arise from the use of a helmet that is not a NOCSAE-compliant helmet, and (b) an acknowledgment that this variance will expire as to him or her when the NOCSAE-compliant helmet he or she has ordered is delivered. Second, any USPA member who can demonstrate that he or she does in fact possess a NOCSAEcompliant helmet that has been damaged, and who provides definitive proof that he or she has ordered another NOCSAE-compliant helmet no more than six months previously, which has not yet been delivered, may nevertheless participate in a USPA event or club event using a protective helmet that is not a NOCSAE-compliant helmet, provided that each such affected USPA member first executes in writing (a) a waiver of liability in favor of the USPA and its member clubs for any claims that might arise from the use of a helmet that is not a NOCSAE-compliant helmet, and (b) an acknowledgment that the variance will expire as to him or her when the NOCSAE-compliant helmet he or she has ordered is delivered. (Note: this variance can be applied when a NOCSAE-compliant helmet is damaged during a game to allow the USPA member to finish the game in a non-compliant helmet, provided that each such affected USPA member (1) agrees to promptly provide after the game proof of purchase for a new NOCSAE-compliant helmet, and (2) executes in writing (a) a waiver of liability in favor of the USPA
