Beach polo is a team

sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

and close variant of

arena polo Arena polo is a fast-paced version of polo played outdoors on an enclosed all-weather surface, or in an indoor arena.{{cite web, title=Arena Polo , url=http://www.us-polo.org/new_08/arena_polo.htm , access-date=2010-01-06 , url-status=dead , archiv ...

Game play

A game of beach polo consists of two three-player teams as opposed to the usual four-player teams in field polo. A game consists of four seven-minute periods of play, called ''chukkers''. The game is played in an enclosed sand arena with sideboards of approximately four feet in height, designed to keep the ball in play. Depending on playing areas available, some of the playing arenas have enclosed ends while others allow for 20 yards of run out room for the horses, past the end line, and utilize standing goal posts. Two

umpires An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...

are suggested for tournament play which may be stationed outside the arena to officiate the game. Penalties are called and resulting free hits are awarded to the fouled party. Traditional polo ponies are used with players changing horses following each chukker. Unlike the hard plastic ball used in field polo, beach polo employs a leather or rubber inflated ball no less than 12.5 inches in circumference. Other equipment employed is the same as that used in field or arena polo.

History

Reto Gaudenzi and Rashid Al Habtoor have been credited with the creation of the game in 2004 in Dubai, followed by the Miami Beach Polo World Cup in the

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in 2005 which also was created by Reto Gaudenzi and his son Tito. Reto Gaudenzi is also the inventor of Snow Polo that initiated in 1985 on the frozen lake of St. Moritz. Additional

tournaments A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

matches have arisen in

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, Australia,

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, China, Colombia,

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and

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. The most notable event of this kind continues to take place annually in Miami Beach. Having featured some of the best international polo players include Argentine 10-goaler Gonzalo Pieres, 8-goaler Alejandro Novillo Astrada, Mexico's late Carlos Gracida (9), USA's 9-goaler Nic Roldan amongst many more. This event is organized by Tito Gaudenzi and Melissa Ganzi to this day. The island of

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(off the coast of Normandy, France) staged its first beach polo tournament in September 2012 while New Zealand staged a tournament in December 2013, and Croatia created their first beach polo event in 2016.

External links

* https://www.miamipolocup.com * https://www.twilightbeachpolo.com.au/ * https://web.archive.org/web/20161001183323/http://bondibeachpolo.com/ * http://www.beachpolocup.com * http://www.internationalbeachpoloassociation.com * http://www.watergatebay.co.uk/polo/ * http://www.southwestpolo.com/

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beach Polo Polo polo Sports originating in Australia