REGIONAL PRESIDENT'S CUP
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Established in 1998 and reformatted in 2020, Regional President’s Cup tournaments held nationwide serve as qualifying tournaments for the National President’s Cup. Encouraging participation at the 4- to 8-goal level, the return of the original tournament format has brought together teams representing USPA Member Clubs around the country and restored the relationship between the two trophies. The 2023 National President’s Cup will be held at New Bridge Polo & Country Club (Aiken, South Carolina) at the height of the competitive fall season. The National President’s Cup gives priority entry to first and second place Regional President’s Cup teams.
This tournament will also serve as a qualifying tournament for the Florida Circuit 8-Goal Super-Series. Developed from the Florida Circuit 16-Goal Super-Series, the 8-goal version will encourage even more collaboration across the Florida Circuit. The 8-goal Super-Series will allow participants to experience the grandeur and prestige of competing at the National Polo Center - Wellington while also having the opportunity to enjoy playing in the comfort of their home club.
Much like the 16-Goal version, the series will be played across multiple clubs, with the championship final hosted by the National Polo Center - Wellington (NPC) on April 23, 2023. Participating clubs include The Villages Polo Club (The Villages, Florida), International Polo School (Wellington, Florida) and Port Mayaca Polo Club (Okeechobee, Florida). Learn more about the Super-Series here.
The Regional President's Cup hosted by International Polo School (IPS) will serve as the second qualifying leg of four prestigious national tournaments (Regional President's Cup at Port Mayaca Polo Club, Regional President's Cup at the Villages Polo Club, Association Cup) with each winning team moving on to the final event. Should a team win more than one qualifier, that team will automatically advance to the Florida Circuit 8-Goal Super-Series Championship. Claiming the Regional President's Cup qualifier at PMPC, Iconica has become the first team to qualify for the Championship.
To reinforce the idea that all participation is encouraged, players may compete in as many events as they would like on either the same team or on different teams. Yet, if a player triumphs in more than one event but on different teams, that player must choose which team he or she would like to compete with in the Florida Circuit 8-Goal Super-Series Championship and the other team may use a substitute. Qualifying teams must maintain at least two of their original members in order to play in the Championship.
Hosted and managed by IPS, the Regional President's Cup will feature ten competitive teams including, Fox Den/Novo Polo, TuffRider/Mint Eco Car Wash, Ash Blue, Marjing Polo, Highfields, Watch Out, Virginia Beach, Curator Polo, Bientina and Patagones each vying for the opportunity to join Iconica and advance to the Florida Circuit 8-Goal Super-Series Championship.
International Polo School will be taking advantage of the USPA's Tournament Support Program (TSP) for the Regional President's 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: Patagones' Benjamin Avendaño at International Polo School, in Wellington, Florida. ©Alex Pacheco
