The Polo Press

Real polo journalism is practically non-existent in the sport. There are several reasons for this. It starts with the fact that polo is not a popular sport. The major ‘ball sports’ and F1 have established their success through accessibility and longevity. Although the game we know has been around since the 1850s it’s only in the last 30 years that efforts have been made to raise awareness of the sport to the general public.

Those efforts have failed on several levels as the result of misdirection and a misunderstanding on how to expose a game with complicated rules to a new audience. Polo teams change team members on a seasonal basis which leads to confusion for potential followers. In most of the world it’s a pro-am sport and the elitist image of polo is its own worst enemy. That is a tremendous disadvantage.

Polo media comes in three different categories:  Photographers, social media and live steamers. Photographers post their work on social media or sell photos to teams and players. There is an over saturation of social media posts and many lack originality and creativity whether it’s by an individual, a club or an association. Livestreaming has only had limited success due to the lack of a reliable schedule which includes different time zones, conflicting starting times and the caliber of a watchable product.

The professionalism of livestream needs to be addressed in order to grow an audience of dependable followers. Right now, ESPN, Pololine TV and PoloCam are the primary leaders in free streaming. The ‘pay per view’ USPA effort needs improvement on several levels. The solution is complicated. If only one major media outlet covered all the high goal tournaments worldwide with an ‘on-demand’ format the road to success would be much clearer. 

Sports journalism is supposed to be the watchdog that demands real credibility focused on accountability and integrity. The dark cloud over polo is the unvoiced expectation that governs behavior by the polo press.  Case in point I have been blocked by the USPA on their social media platforms for over five years. No sport is above criticism, and no association should have the unrealistic expectation that they can control the press. There is very little independent thinking within the polo press. Player interviews are lacking in tough questions. There is no investigative reporting out of fear of losing your press credentials. Where is the honest open dialog from the polo press about the real inside issues affecting the sport?

The future of all sports relies on forward thinking, creative, leadership that’s not afraid of changing with the times, honoring the integrity in the press and demonstrating the ability to understand the importance of sustainable growth in the high-tech communications world.

How to fix it? You could take the path of the USPA and throw money at it. That’s already happened, and the results are obvious. There are no real polo playing celebrities recognized by the general public. Is anyone watching outside of the established polo community? After spending millions of dollars to promote their live streaming they still don’t have a major following and the failure to grow the game with more players and more clubs has not succeeded. How could it with constant management turnover and lack of vision? 

Polo politics has stagnated the growth of the American game and throttled the polo press.