ASSOCIATION CUP
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Established in 1980, the Association Cup is a national 4-to 8-goal tournament. Hosted at Palm City Polo Club, LLC (Boynton Beach, Florida) in 2013 the tournament fell into a six-year hiatus. The classic tournament was reignited in 2020 by New Bridge Polo & Country Club in Aiken, South Carolina.
In 2021, LBL (Alison Patricelli, Jack Whitman, Alan Martinez, Trevor Niznik) entered the Association Cup final heavy favorites, as challengers SIG/Chukkers of Hope (Deep Singh, Malia Bryan, Matt Coppola, Willie Hartnett) rose from a field of nine competitive teams. Coppola accounted for all but one goal for SIG/Chukkers of Hope, but a balanced LBL leaned on strong play and eight goals from Martinez to claim the Association Cup 12-9. Read article here.
Making a lasting impression on the 2021 fall polo season at New Bridge Polo & Country Club with an 8-goal undefeated season, reigning Association Cup defending champions LBL will be back to defend their title alongside Team USPA alumna Kylie Sheehan, but will face a tough task against five teams vying for the title including Cummings Insurance, Hutchinson Farms, Skaneateles, Hardscrabble and Cooper H&S/Tipler Law.
New Bridge Polo & Country Club will be taking advantage of the USPA's Tournament Support Program (TSP) for the Association 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: 2021 Association Cup Champions: LBL- Jack Whitman, Alison Patricelli, Alan Martinez, Trevor Niznik. Pictured with Luke and Doug Patricelli Norrdin. ©Katie Roth
