Polo Season opens in Palm Beach County on Sunday
WELLINGTON — The polo season, highlighted by the 26-goal World Polo League at Grand Champions Polo Club and Gauntlet of Polo Series at National Polo Center, opens Sunday at NPC with the Continental Cup.
The tournament is the start of the NPC 16-Goal Championship, formerly the Florida Circuit 16-Goal Super Series won last year by Iconica.
The 16-Goal Championship consists of four qualifying tournaments: Jan. 11-28 Joe Barry Memorial; Jan. 26-Feb. 24 Ylvisaker Cup; Feb. 23-March 16 Iglehart Cup; and March 15-April 6 Outback Cup. Each winning team advances to the April 10-14 NPC 16-Goal final.
In addition to the 16-goal, the USPA and NPC will host the Gauntlet of Polo Series that features the Feb. 9-25 $50,000 C.V. Whitney Cup; Feb. 23-March 24 $50,000 USPA Gold Cup; March 22-April 21 $100,000 U.S. Open; Feb. 3-18 Women's U.S. Open; and April 12-21 National President’s Cup.
Father and son 10-goalers Adolfo and Poroto Cambiaso, Facundo Pieres, Hilario Ulloa and newly minted 10-goaler Hope Arellano head the player lineup at NPC.
The National Polo Center, which upgraded its fields and facilities, now has six regulation fields after restoring Field Two to a grass field with an electronic scoreboard from the previous arena.
Another season highlight is the Polo Players Support Group U.S. Polo Association 40-Goal Polo Challenge at NPC on Feb. 17 featuring top-rated players. The PPSG helps members who have suffered serious injury or illness.
Grand Champions Polo Club, with 11 world-class fields, is the nation's largest club. Its six-, eight-, 12- and 16-goal leagues, along with the weekly Polo School Women's League, begin in January.
The 26-goal World Polo League, the only 26-goal polo played outside of Argentina, begins in February and features the Feb. 6-25 All-Star Challenge Tournament; Feb. 22-March 10 Founders Cup; March 6-23 Palm Beach Open; and March 20-April 13 Triple Crown of Polo. The WPL moves to the sands of Miami Beach for the April 19-21 Beach Polo World Cup.
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The WPL was created by club owners Marc and Melissa Ganzi to fill a void left when the USPA announced it was lowering high-goal polo to 18-22 to attract more players and would not have 26-goal polo.
The WPL has attracted a star-studded lineup with 10-goaler Pablo MacDonough, the MVP of this year's Argentine Open. MacDonough will be joined by La Natividad teammate Jeta Castagnola, the top scorer of the Argentine Open with 38.
La Natividad won the 130th Argentine Open with a 13-10 win over La Dolfina Saudi, led by Adolfo and Poroto Cambiaso. La Dolfina Saudi teammate and 10-goaler Juan Martin Nero will also compete in the WPL along with Alejandro Novillo Astrada, former 10-goaler Gonzalito Pieres and hometown favorite Nic Roldan, the second-highest-ranked American player rated at 8 goals.
Grand Champions will host four other high goal tournaments: Feb. 1-11 Sterling Cup; Feb. 1-March 31 USPA Butler Handicap; Feb. 7-24 $100,000 World Cup; and Feb. 27-March 10 Santa Rita Abierto in addition to the WCT Finals and several Polo Training Foundation junior tournaments.Select NPC tournaments will be livestreamed at www.uspolo.org and USPA social media channels. Grand Champions is the only USPA club that will livestream its entire 2024 schedule on CTV Sports, formerly ChukkerTV.
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NPC 16-goal championship Continental Cup
Sunday, 10 a.m. - Patagones vs. Catamount; 3 p.m. - LaFe/Dazos vs. Forbes PlunkettNational Polo Center, 3667 120th Avenue South, Wellington.General admission green seat tickets, box seats and tailgate tickets are available. For information visit www.nationalpolocenter.com , uspolo.org or call 561-895-5052.
Grand Champions Polo Club
All league play begins early January; World Polo League opens Feb. 6.13444 Southfields Road, Wellington.Admission and parking are free except for special events.
All tournaments livestreamed by CTV Sports
For information, visit www.gcpolo.com or check out the club's new app.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: World Polo League, Gauntlet of Polo Series set for 2024 season
