ALLIED SERVICES CUP
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Hosted exclusively by Texas Military Polo Club (Poteet, Texas), the Allied Services Cup is a national 3- to 5-goal arena competition which allows participants to accrue individual points towards National Arena Amateur Cup (NAAC) standings.
Participants in the Allied Services Cup must have served in the military of any country in order to participate, whether currently in active duty, retired or honorable discharge. However, if there is an insufficient number of players meeting that criterion, a military family member of any country can then participate. Led by the Armed Forces Committee, the Allied Services Cup aims to maximize participation and include military family members in the event.
In 2022, Patton Legacy Sports (Lauren Sterr, Karl Hilberg, Ariel Mancebo) clashed against Polo InterActive (Jose Velez, Javier Insua, Nadir Khan). Uniting offensive forces early on, Patton Legacy Sports got off to an early lead, but Polo InterActive's forceful second half featured Insua leading a valiant comeback effort. As the clock ticked towards the final horn, Mancebo nailed a final two-point shot to secure Patton Legacy Sports the triumphant 15-11 victory. Read article here.
This year's edition will field four teams with notable military representatives and family members vying for the Allied Services Cup. Patton Legacy Sports will return to defend their title, while 2022 finalists Jose Velez unites with Marcus Murphy and James Glew for Polo InterActive and Nadir Khan joining Scuderia SA, with Williams Polo rounding out the competition.
Texas Military Polo Club will be taking advantage of the USPA's Tournament Support Program (TSP) for the Allied Services Cup, which provides eligible USPA Member Clubs with waived tournament fees, trophies or trophy reimbursements up to $1,200, one professional umpire and $2,500 in prize money at no extra cost.
The USPA originally created the Tournament Stimulus Package (TSP) to help member clubs host USPA events when the United States was emerging from the first wave of the COVID-19 crisis. The USPA wanted to continue to support member clubs with TSP benefits in 2022. Therefore, it extended and expanded TSP under a new name - the Tournament Support Program. Each USPA Member Club can obtain TSP benefits for two USPA events, with the option of a third under specific circumstances.
Photo: 2022 Allied Services Cup Champions: Patton Legacy Sports - Ariel Mancebo, Lauren Sterr, Karl Hilberg. ©David Murrell.