UK End of Season Handicap Changes

On Thursday 19 September, the HPA released their 2019 End of Season handicap changes, we thought this piece from Polo Times magazine would be great to share with our British Polo Gin friends.

These changes come following the Vision for Polo consultation document, recently released by incoming Chairman Nick Wiles, discussing the future of our sport and the HPA’s plan for change over the next five years. We took an in-depth look at this document, as well as the ongoing handicap issue in the September issue of Polo Times, out now.
This time last year, controversy arose around the move from the HPA to alleviate the ‘bottleneck’ of -2 and -1 goal players, by, broadly speaking, moving all these lower handicapped players up a handicap and automatically moving all those who had played in the 8 goal Victor Ludorum series to 0 goals. It appears this year’s list sings from the same hymn sheet, with a good number of lower handicapped players rising in the rankings.

In Polo Times story from 20 September 2018 they spoke about the implementation of the new handicapping system. “Handicapping is a contentious issue and is certainly one that is well overdue for reform. The HPA’s guidelines (including that a player with a 1 goal handicap should be judged on being able solely to have a 50 percent chance of taking the ball from the halfway line to goal, with no specification of speed or marking) has been met with derision.” Over the 2019 season, clubs have been welcome to express their opinions of the new system to the HPA at any time.
For the full list of End of Season handicap changes (subject to ratification and effective from 1 January 2020), please click here.

Polo Times would be very interested to hear your views. Should you wish to share your opinions on the HPA handicaps changes with them,  contact Polo Times here now.

Photograph: http://www.imagesofpolo.com/

Content courtesy of Polo Times. http://www.polotimes.co.uk/