USPA “Leadership” Get off Your Asses and Do Something

I have been watching some of the online polo blogs lately and have been both encouraged that so many people are participating in discussions about the future of the game and potential projects they feel are important to the future of polo. 

Aside from Polonut, however, I am disappointed that not more members of the "leadership" of the USPA take the opportunity to participate in the dialogue.  Who knows, they might learn something.

It was noted on one of the message boards that the USPA/PTF officers are aware of these blogs, even read them from time to time, but don’t care to interact.  I find that lack of action unconscionable.  These people are supposed to be representing the membership, yet prefer not to speak to the individual members.

On polobarn the other week, a discussion arouse around the creation of a polo training center or polo academy.  Some of the responses were all over the board, but that is exactly the sort of constructive brainstorming that is needed in polo.  The USPA’s position is to stand back and offer some token assistance.  Hell, if that’s all they’re going to do, get rid of them and replace them with some people who will lead not just watch safely from the sidelines.

Polonut (no offense intended by this) pointed out after a number of days that the USPA had been discussing sugh a plan for some time.  I am sure that it was meant as a confirmation of the thought process that was being displayed on the message board, but it alarmed to to think that the USPA could have created the same thought process some time ago and decided that it was either a bad idea or an unworkable one.  Most importantly might be the fact that the USPA never shared that thought process with its membership.

An earlier posting on this same message board pointed out that the proposal for a "polo academy" was trotted out in the very same forum over a year ago, but it has taken until now-a point where angry and frustrated association members are up in arms-to get the "leadership" to make mention of their academy plans.

"I invented the microwave oven, but they already had it." is a line from a movie that illustrates how easy it is to suggest that every time the membership comes up with an idea or suggestion, the leadership "already had that idea".

Well that’s just fine.  If you already had the idea why in the hell haven’t you done anything with it.

I’ve been involved in polo for a good many years and am disappointed to see the erosion of the leadership dissipate to a point where the ship is sinking and all they want to do is offer you towels.

USPA, get off your collective asses and do something!

Polo Canada Faces Problems Too

In light of the recent criticism of the USPA, and reflecting on the Association’s meetings two weeks ago and the fact that no information on those meetings have yet been released it would be easy to wade back in to a confrontation with the mimes who are in charge of disbursing information for the USPA, and we will.  But let’s take a look to the North before we go after the USPA again.

The Canadian FIP team is returning after suffering three straight losses in the World Cup competition (remember, Canada beat the United States to go), and members of Polo Canada are asking for answers. 

I found it interesting, however, that while discussing the perceived failures of the Canadian team in Mexico a number of bigger, more important issues emerged on the message board of the website thepolopost.com that are threatening to rock the very bedrock of the Canadian Polo Association.

There is a concern about the fact that the Canadian Polo Association has no constitution, and appears to be selecting and electing its officers from a small group of cronies who pay little or no attention to the members of the 17 clubs and purported 280 members.

There is a movement to create a new mission statement and create a constitution committee that will write a governing document for the association that will insure democratic representation.

Granted, it may be a microcosm of the USPA, given its limited membership, but it is suffering the same woes that US players deal with on an annual basis. 

The "leadership" is non-representative of the membership.  There has been no appreciable growth in over 30 years.  The officers seem to be self appointed and re-elect themselves.  The efforts of the PTFC (Polo Training Foundation Canada) have created no growth at all.

If you go to the website and make your way to the message board, click General Chat where you will want to select "Time to reflect or a call to action?"

There you will read the concerns of Canadian polo players over the direction of their association and the future of polo in Canada.

The Canadians, however, seem poised for either major reform or a revolution of sorts that will return the Association to the membership, wresting it from the control of their own "good ole boy" network.

It certainly is something to consider, eh?

Successful Leadership

I recently read a passage on the Message Board website for ThePoloPost.com that said "The essence of successful leadership is transparency and accountability."  I read a post on the Message Board of The PoloZone regarding the APHA that took a dozen posts to conclude that there is a wealth of misinformation floating around the polo community.  It’s time that the books were opened up.  It’s time that the truth is shared with the membership of the USPA.  It is time that the current administration evolved into a semblence of successful leadership.  It is time that the USPA and the PTF became transparent and accountable.

Any thoughts on this?

USPA-You’re on Notice

It has been over ten days since the USPA met in Florida and aside from posting the new handicaps, there is no news as to what it attempted or what it accomplished.  We are watching a revolving door of leadership that has been pre-selected to perpetuate this downward spiral that the USPA has been traveling on for many years.  It’s time to organize and get rid of this shortsighted leadership that the association has been saddled with for too long.  It is time to turn to younger leadership, leadership that is in touch with new members and the needs of the membership. 

There has been talk for too many years about the future of the USPA, and now as we are floundering in yesterday’s future it is time we called this archaic leadership on its hollow promises.

Tell us USPA, what did you accomplish in your meetings?  Or are you too above the membership to share its “future” with it?

One of the many complaints the members have with the association is its lack of communication.  It seems that they continue to illustrate their shortcomings with indignant indifference.

People, it is time to draft a new mission statement for the USPA, it is time to ask why there is only one member on the Constitution Committee and why nothing is being done to address the abysmal umpiring that continues to be justified.  There are so many issues the USPA needs to address, maybe that’s why they haven’t issued any reports on what they accomplished-there are too many issues with which to deal and they’re not up to the task.  I challenged you to lead or get out of the way, now it is time to organize the membership to replace you and better design the process that will address our problems and allow the memberships voices to be heard.

USPA, you have been asked to respond and have failed to do so.  It is time for you to realize that you are not the USPA, the membership is.  USPA, you’re on notice.  Start packing.

USPA-Report Card

It’s been over a week since the USPA held its meetings in Florida. There were nearly two-dozen committees and numerous executive meetings that gathered to chart the future of the association.
Since the USPA has built such an impressive record for itself secreting information and failing to accomplish goals it has set for itself for decades, I was just wondering how many of you out there have any expectations or opinions of how the meetings went.
I expect none of you will ever hear of the budget overrun or the inability of the association to account for reported “misplaced” PDI funds.
We have been talking about accountability in government and in businesses, shouldn’t we expect the same thing for the association?
STOP allowing people who are incapable of leading lead! It is time the association members-one at a time if that is what it takes-organized and demanded that the leadership either take control or accept the responsibility poor management. They can’t have it both ways.

FIP Keeps Polo a Secret

It has been a few days since the FIP World Championships got underway.  The much-heralded international organization takes credit for pressing polo’s place in future Olympics (don’t hold your breath, it isn’t going to happen) and striving to standarize the rules of polo, internationally.

Aside from staging their “Ambassador Cups” for themselves around the globe, as an excuse for them to puff up their sense of self importance, this outfit does nothing more than put on World Championships every three years (more or less, it seems that they can’t even get that done on a regular basis).

Now, this “very important” international body who espouses their dedication to promoting the game have managed to keep the results of the matches being played in Mexico a complete mystery to the outside world.

Where are the results?  Why can’t someone manage to post them on the tournament site, on the FIP site?

The FIP is going to return polo to the Olympics and expose the game to millions of people all over the world?  Give me a break they can’t even manage to report the results of their “much heralded” world championship to the polo community itself.

Well done, FIP.  You’ve managed to elevate your level of incompetence to a new level.

Grow the Game-A Comment

I just received this as a comment.  I felt that it souldn’t be buried beneath a week-old post so I offer it to you.

 

The game of polo in this country (and the rest of the world) is a free market "economy" backhander - whether you and I like it or not.  If anyone is "stunting" the growth of your young players it is all of us, the collective "U.S. polo community" - sorry but that includes you, me, the PTF, the USPA, etc.  We all have a hand in it…and we all need to change it.   

Pointing the finger at one country for their current dominance of the sport is not really fair either.  How do you think Europeans or Argentines think when we send our failed Divison I and II college basketball players to steal professional jobs in their home country professional leagues?  They don’t like it.  There are certain sports where we dominate as a nation and others where we do not.  We are not the dominate nation in producing professional polo players…right now. 

I have two kids and how do I get them excited to want to excell and play polo at the highest level?  Chances are I cannot, unless there is a catalyst in how we develop the players.  The Argentine Polo Community builds an environment for success and it starts with their governing body of polo.  They get the high schools to play against each other and create an environment where the kids want to go and compete and win…with a series of great tournaments that last weeks and months. 

Our comparbale experience you might ask?  A one day tournament in Wellington and maybe one in Santa Barbara?   How can my kids or others see that as a rallying point?  Dale S is on the right issue, there is no central rallying point for the development of our players, as they have nothing to aim for…we need to change that. 

Well I am not one for "polo protectionism" or polo affirmative action…those are all cop-outs in my view.  We (yes, that collective we again, we are all in this together - not letting you off the hook here) are all smarter than that and can come forth with better ideas.  We have plenty of kids playing and seeing the game, but how do we keep developing them in a sport where foreigners are dominating the landscape?  Well, look at other international sports business models as an example…looking at the US Socceer Federation or the USSA (United States Ski Assoc.).  Each of these bodies had similar crisis’ in their sports and they developed a long range plan and set forth goals.  We need to do the same…today we have a top 10 World Cup Soccer team and players from the US playing in the highest European Leagues and this year for the first time in over 20+ years a US male and female won Skiing’s coveted World Cup Overall Titles, much to Austria and Suisse’s shagrin…create a goal,
have a vision, be patient and stick to the plan, the results will follow. 

I think we need to create an environment where we give our younger players a chance to succeed and learn together, like what other sports have done here in the U.S., without the pressure of producing tomorrow.  None of this will happen overnight.  We need a ten (10) year plan for producing 4-new US 10-Goalers - so when we have a 40 goal match, one side is all stars and bars!  They are out there folks, we just need the strucuture and the plan.  The FIP Team is a great place to start.  What young kid wouldnt want to be named to the US National Team?  I knew growing up as a ski racer that was my goal - make the US Team.  You dont think that Santi Torres, Matt Copola, Tommie Collingwood, or Hank Uretz doesnt want that honor?  Well right now they dont, because we havent shown them the path or the rewards to what comes with that hard work…we need to show them a path and give them a goal.  Why cant the US National Team have an "A" Team and a "B" Team.  The "A" represents us in test
matches and plays the Argentine Open with US Corporate Sponsorship, the "B" Team is our "Development Team" and plays at the FIP Level and is focused on the younger players.  We create the US Polo Team, we brand it, give it seperate management, with a real mission, coaches and fundraising…it can be done.  The teams should train together at least once a year for 2 months in one common area (like Wellington or Indio), where they focus on playing the best polo among themsleves, develop their strings, train together, have the younger players live otgether, etc.  The invited players would have all expenses paid and would not have to worry about their next job, rather focus on moving to the next level in their game in either the spring and/or fall when the larger leagues are not in full gear (some these folks need the paying jobs and candidly a venue to showcase their skills).  The plan to get this done is not a hard one, but it does need to be its own organization and shold not have to
answer to politics - it needs to answer to a higher calling of developing our best players in this country - into the best players in the world.  I hope we can all answer this call…

USPA ACTION LIST

The USPA Chairman’s Cocktail Reception is scheduled for tomorrow night, Wednesday, April 16, at the Museum of Polo in Lake Worth, Florida.

Delegates will be plied with alcoholic beverages and spin in order to lull them into a false sense of well-being.  The fact of the matter is that the USPA is in trouble and each and every responsible delegate will ask the officers and management what is being done to correct the current situation!

For decades, the membership has been stagnant.  An artificial spike was created under former Executive Director Cummings when he recruited grooms to join the association for insurance benefits.  Smoke and mirrors.  There was no real increase in playing members, but we were told that the membership increased-and in fact by numbers, truthfully, it did.  The problem is, the playing membership did not increase.  We ended up selling insurance, not polo.

It is time you asked how the association blew its budget, why the committees are not responsible for producing any results, why the marketing committee has no budget, what the long range plans ARE, why we change the rules EVERY year, why polo matches are now lasting two hours, what charging every foreign member an additional $50 accomplished, why the size of the USPA office staff has increased while the membership has not, why the US no longer participates in international competition (Camacho Cup, Westchester Cup), why our FIP team did so poorly after practicing as a team in Florida all last winter, when the Nominating Committee is going to bring some young blood into the hierarchy, where the Properties money is going and what the long-range plans are for those funds, and if it is true that Chuck Weaver offered PTF or USPA financial incentives to delegates’ clubs if they voted for him for president.

Lots of questions to choose from, or you can make up your own laundry list of complaints or unmet expectations, but now is the time to let the USPA “leadership” know that you’re fed up with the way it is being run and you want CHANGES .

Now the ball is in YOUR court.  You (Delegates) can either decide to sip your cocktails and watch the Open and take your souvenirs home with you, OR, you can decide to make a difference.  REMEMBER what your job is this week.  It is not to see how many shrimp you can eat or how well you can still drink.  It is not only to represent your club to the best of your ability, but also to look after the best interests of the USPA.  It is time to step up and be counted.  It’s character check time.  It’s YOUR time.

Save American High-Goal Polo

In case no one is watching, Argentina is in the process of using a slight of hand move to replace its top tier of professionals in the United States with a second or third tier of players as they continue to promote their Argentine Polo Tour.
The effort, and a good one I might add, is designed to grow the economy in Argentina while allowing their top professionals to be able to spend more time at home.
A great number of European patrons (keep in mind the current strength of European currency in comparison to the US dollar) are scrambling to go to Argentina for the opportunity to play with some of the best players in the game and enjoy a friendly economy as well.
Developments in Pilar and Lobos are offering luxurious settings for polo and vacation homes whose income will allow its players to earn a substantial income without having to leave home.
But if you think for one moment that they are going to give up the ground they have gained in the US over the last twenty years, you’re wrong.
They will continue to send their players to America to stem the growth of our own players. They will continue to stunt the growth of aspiring young players in America so that we will continue to rely on the Argentines for our high-goal polo.
It’s time to remap the future of high-goal polo in America in an effort to protect and grow our own players.

USPA-Just do it!

I continue to hear complaints about the lack of leadership within the USPA.  People are asking questions as to how much money is being raised by Properties and where it is going.  Rumors get started because there is no dissemination of information to the general membership and there has significant growth in either membership or membership retention.

We continue to hear that "the future is in our youth", a practice that has been practiced for over twenty years, yet there is no tracking system in place to see if this is indeed true, and if it is what the cost per future player is.

There are talks of forming another polo association because tthis one isn’t responsive to its members-doesn’t that bother anyone at the USPA?  What actions it it taking to address these concerns?

The state of our international polo is at an all-time low.  We haven’t considered competing for the Cup of the Americas (after all, we could only field a 35-goal team, competitive enough for the Argentine Open, no?), haven’t looked at playing Mexico for the Cup of the Americas and are still smarting from the beating we were given by the Canadias in FIP competition.

As the rules are changed to fit into the "international scheme of things", and then changed again (the extra 30 seconds per chukker) so that they won’t, high goal action begins in Florida with many of the players unaware of the rule after the first two games!

We are given "vanilla" figures that would like us to believe that there are no other budgets floating around and that there are no extra "expense accounts" that might gobble up funds, and then are told that there is a budget shortfall and yet no one is responsible, and our ever-growing staff can’t seem to fix it.

As I review the number of meetings that are scheduled to be held in Florida this spring I can only hope that the delegates and governors don’t use their trips to engage in cocktail parties and celebrations of deeds undone.   would like to think that they will behave responsibly and properly represent their clubs and members.  I would like to think that they would ask questions of the USPA management and expect answers.

The USPA lists a staff of eight people on its headquarters staff and yet there has been no significant growth in membership over the last 30 years-when there was an office staff of two.

The USPA continue to subsidize a magazine that has a limited circulation (remembering that every member of the Association gets a copy-even if there are several members in the same household) and appears resigned to maintain the same editorial bent without feeling any need to either grow or increase its circulation through expanded editorial coverage.

The USPA has something in the neighborhood of twenty committees, yet I am at a loss as to explain what most of them do. 

I think it’s time for the management of the USPA to act responsibly and explain why we need such a large headquarter staff, and give us a job description for each of them.  Then their positions and compensations can be properly assessed and we can see if, indeed, we are spending money wisely, and if there is a need and a purpose for these employees.

There was a Long Range Planning committee that was organized nearly ten years ago, and I believe, the Association hired an outside group to question our members (33% of which leave each year) in an effort to see what they want from the Association.  The only thing that I am aware of that came out of these efforts were the restructuring of the constitution-which ended up further embedding the lame leadership and succession that we now "enjoy".

Nothing is being done to insure the growth of US polo as we see the Argentine professionals take the places of US players.  Tiger Kneece is in Aiken, Tommy Biddle and Kris Kampsen are watching the Open from the sidelines while a number of foreign players take their places.

The USPA’s answer-charge foreign players an additional $50 for their membership-that should do it!

It is time that the "leadership" of the USPA shows its ability to take control of its own destiny and responsibly react to the questions of its membership.  It is time for the USPA to explain to its membership just how much money is being generated by Properties and where it is going.  It is time for the USPA to explain why it needs such a large staff when membership has been stagnant for decades.  It is time for the USPA Rules Chairman to explain why, if the additional 30 seconds per chukker were added to coincide with the rest f the polo-playing world, a change was made that would keep it from coinciding with the majority of international rules.  It is time for Players Edition to explain what its future plans are to get the publication to stand on its own (hell, the world is full of stand-alone polo publications like Polo Times, Hurlingham, PQinternational, Polo Asia, etc.).

It is time the USPA acted responsibly and answered questions to its membership.  USPA, it’s time to inform the membership and act responsibly.  You’re going to be taking center stage in just a few days, let’s see if you are capable of leading this association.