USPA-Just do it!

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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.

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