History of Polo

This is a relatively new sport, it has only been around for 160 years, but supposedly back in the XVI century in India a very similar sport was already being played. The origins of polo can be searched for in the Indian state of Manipur, between 300 A.C, when it was known by Sagol Kangjei. Some also claim to that its origins are Persian, and that it was called Pulu, between 525 A.C. Throughout the years it expanded to countries like Tibet, China, India and Japan, where a special form of polo took place; it was called dakyu in the VIII century. It then became very popular in India in the XVI century.

The modern story of Polo seems to begin during the decade of 1850, when some British officials destined to India learned to play it there. The first polo club of the modern age was called the Cachar Club, founded in Assam in 1859. It was first played in England in the year 1869, by officials of the cavalry of the Tenth Hussars. In the United States it was first played in the year of 1876.

Until 1880, Polo was played under a roof, from then on it was also played outside as well, this last one becoming the most common method. Every decision there is about Polo is managed by the Hurlingham Polo Association, which has governed this sport since the first day and until today, it has its main offices in London, England. Their first match was played in 1874 and they wrote a book of rules, made especially for England, in 1875.

Polo was included in the Olympic games of 1900, 1908, 1920, 1924 and 1936. In 1989 the first world championship took place. The Champion Cup was the first British tournament, which was played from 1876 to 1939. In 1956 British Open Championship, replaced the Champion Cup, and it is played every year to get the Cowdray Park Gold Cup, at Cowdray Park, Midhurst, Sussex. The first International match between England and the United States took place in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1886. The most prestigious trophy there is; is probably the American Cup between the United States and Argentina, which was first celebrated in 1928 and it has been won by Argentina most of the times.

Polo

A sport in which two contrary teams, formed by four players each, try to get a small wooden ball or plastic ball into the other team?s goal, by hitting it with a wooden stick from on top of a horse. The object of the game is to get as many goals as possible to beat the other team. Each team has to do this in four periods of time called ?Chukkas? made of 7.5 minutes each.

Polo is played outside and inside as well, but the rules vary depending where it?s played. For example, a normal match played outside is made out of six ?Chukkas? and a match played inside is made out of only four ?Chukkas?. The field must be of a maximum of 275 meters and no less than 230 meters in length. As for the width it should not be more than 180 meters if it?s opened and 146 meters if it has wood on the sides. There is also a required space out of the field so that fans never come any danger.

A sport usually played by royalty or very high society people. This is because of the cost of horses and the cost to maintain them, which is the cost of food, medicine and place to live. Some of these horses can reach $30000 dollars in value, before adding all the food and other expenses. The matches are very elegant and are always filled with important people and sometimes even celebrities. That is why the people who have polo for a hobby not only enjoy playing and watching the sport, but also take advantage of establishing or making new business contacts and business decisions at every match. It is worth mentioning that until a few recent year polo was categorized as ?social events?.

Playing this sport requires years and years of training for the jockey and the horse. This is one of the world?s most difficult sports to master, since it is very hard to control an animal that is so large and powerful. In my opinion, I admire this sport, since I find the compatibility that some jockeys and horses reach truly amazing. They have to coordinate so well, so that in a match they appear to be one.

Polo Equipment

A sport played either inside or outdoors. When playing outdoors, the field size must be as follows: 274.3 meters in length by 146.3 to 182.9 meters in width. The goals consist of two posts at a distance of 7.3 meters from each other; they are placed at the end line of the field. When polo is played indoors it is usually played in a large arena or horse stable. The size of this field varies, depending on the space available, although 91.5 in length by 45.1 meters are considered to be the ideal measures.

The ball that is used when playing outdoors, which originally was made out of wood, is now made out of plastic, and its size is about 7.6 and 8.9 centimeters in diameter and it weighs between 99 and 127.5 grams. The ball used to play indoors, is well inflated and covered with leather, and it has a diameter of 4.5 centimeters.

The maze used to hit the ball, has its head made out of wood and a very fine and flexible shaft made out of bamboo or graffiti, it has a length of 199 to 137 centimeters.

The protecting gear is formed by a helmet, knee pads and some bands for the horse?s legs. Falls from a horse can be very dangerous and it is always pure logic to protect your head and at least a few others of your body parts. The horses use bands on their legs, first of all to protect them a little more from any injury that could happen to them and this way the teams can identify other teammates if the team is playing with all the same colored bands.

To have a well trained polo horse, it takes many years and the horse and the rider must be in constant training so that they can reach a state of total control and become one. Most of the time these horses are purebred and are trained by professionals who make this job a little easier for the rider and player later on. The horse is probably the most influential part of a polo team; in other words you could say that, whichever team has the better horses is more likely to beat the other team.

Polo Rules

Polo is a sport played on horses; two teams formed by four players each, which try to take a small ball into the other team?s goal with a wooden stick from on top of a horse. The object of the game is obviously to make more goals than the other team.

A polo match can be played either outdoors or indoors, but the rules vary depending on where it is played. When played outdoors the teams are formed by four players, while playing indoors only has three players.

The match is divided into periods of time called ?Chukkas?, each made out of seven minutes and thirty seconds. A normal outdoor match is formed by six ?Chukkas?, while when the matches played indoors are only formed by four ?Chukkas?. When playing an International game, there can be up to eight ?Chukkas?. When the ?Chukkas? end, and if the match is still tied, then there will be extra ?Chukkas? played in sudden death style, this is that, the team who scores first wins.

Players have a rating or handicap, based on their abilities and value to the team. The largest the handicap that a player has, the better that player is considered to be. Matches are usually played based on the handicap of each team member. The best handicap is ten, which is what the best players in the world have; only fifty five players in history, have obtained a handicap of ten. A good player has a handicap of five, there for a good team has a handicap of twenty or more. In the history of polo there have been only two matches between two teams with a handicap of forty, which means that all of the players in both of the teams had a handicap of ten.

The polo field must be between some specific measures, established by the Hurlingham Polo Association. When played outside the field must measure between 274.3 in length by 182 in width. When played indoors, the proper field size should be 91.5 meters in length by 45.1 meters in width.

Polo is a very complex game, learning to play it takes years of practicing and achieving a handicap of ten seems almost impossible.

Water Polo

An aquatic sport played in a pool, which consists of two teams, made out of seven players each, trying to get a ball into the other teams? goal with their hands.

The pool must measure thirty meters in length, a width of twenty meters and a profundity of no less than one meter with eighty centimeters. The goals, which are placed at both ends of the pool, emerge ninety centimeters from the water and there is a three meter space between each post.

All seven members of each team must wear two swimsuits, one on top of the other. They must also wear a helmet that attaches to their chin and has plastic protectors for the ears.

Some basic rules of water polo are the following: the matches have a length of twenty minutes in real game time, divided into four periods of five minutes each, with a two minute break in between every period. The ball may be held with only one hand, but not with both, and it must not be hit with a closed fist, except by the goalies. Other penalties that may occur are: contact with opponent team members that do not have possession of the ball, you may not submerge or keep the ball under the water, you may not shoot water at opponents face, a team may not have possession of the ball without shooting for goal for more than thirty seconds, etc.

Ordinary penalties are penalized by giving possession of the ball to the opponent team, wherever the penalty was committed. More serious penalties are penalized by taking the player who committed it, out of the game for a period of time, or by giving a penalty shot to the opponent team if the penalty was committed inside the goal area.

The history of water polo as we know it today dates back to 1885 and was practiced first in the United Kingdom. Since the year of 1900, it has been considered an Olympic sport for male contestants. The first world championship took place in 1973 at Belgrado. Oriental Europe players are considered to be the highest quality players in the world, for all their victories in world championships.