NEWS

Story courtesy of CLICKPOLOUSA.

After completing two of the three tournaments of GAUNTLET OF POLO®, it is now a good time to ask David Cummings, President and CEO of Global Polo Entertainment, a for-profit, wholly-owned subsidiary of USPA Global Licensing and Incorporated, for his opinion on its success. The organization's aim is to build a Pinnacle Sports property and manage, market and promote the inaugural tournament series, GAUNTLET OF POLO®.

Why was GAUNTLET OF POLO® important to create and how has it gone?

“The Gauntlet was created to consistently build momentum in public awareness and value for the three most prestigious polo tournaments in the United States. Our core mission is to provide something bigger and better for the teams to compete in. GAUNTLET OF POLO® represents a series that is more than bragging rights, but a prize of a million dollars and recognition for the strategic planning, athletic ability, horsemanship and dedication of the teams. Over the past two months, we’ve received positive feedback from players and experienced an increase in attendance and viewership. We want fans to recognize the athleticism of the horses and players and leave having been as amazed by polo as every other polo enthusiast."

Tell us more about the progress of the Gauntlet.

“We are pleased that IPC has extended member benefits, for the first time, to all players participating in the tournament series. We continue to look for ways to elevate the experience for the team owners and the players by providing better viewing areas, complimentary tickets to Sunday polo and building strategic alliances with Palm Beach County. For the first time, USPA/USPAGL and the Palm Beach County Sports Commission have partnered to educate South Florida communities as to the economic impact that polo has on the county.”

Please describe the Gauntlet’s broadcasting strategy.

“This will be the first time the U.S. Open Polo Championship® Final will have the largest television distribution available with 266 million households in 65 countries and 20 languages. We are airing the CaptiveOne U.S. Open Polo Championship® on CBS Sports on Sunday, April 28 at 2pm ET and again on Eurosport and DSport on Monday, April 29, covering Europe, India and Asia Pacific. We are also exploring distribution in South America, but the live stream of all the games can still be viewed globally on USPA Polo Network on uspolo.org, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The strategy behind the broadcast of the game is to really show the most spectacular plays of the game and educate the non-polo fan about the game. We hope that by televising polo and including the social activities at the fieldside we will attract more people. We are also building a historical library of professional photos and video content for future promotion of players, and teams. We want to tell their story on and off the field.”

Will you have any specific news for the U.S. Open Polo Championship?

“As we complete each tournament, we continue to add new things to professionalize the game. We are working collaboratively to elevate the award ceremonies and recently introduced a signature drink called ‘The Gauntlet.’ Kicking off our advertising campaign with a well-attended media day in January, we have since been executing against a strategic advertising schedule. In addition, we are counting down the days to unveil the new Gauntlet trophy.”