NEWS

A mix of 11 new and seasoned Intercollegiate/Interscholastic (I/I) Tournament Managers made the trip to the USPA Polo Development offices in Aiken, South Carolina, to participate in the first annual I/I Manager’s Bootcamp on October 21-23. Participants were introduced to their fellow managers over lunch at local favorite Magnolia’s Cafe and wasted no time swapping polo stories. After lunch, the group began their time in the office learning about all of Polo Development’s programs, presented by PD LLC staff, in order to become better stewards of the USPA. Certification Administrator Jess Downey gave a special presentation to acquaint attendees with the Certified Polo Instructor Program and PoloSkilz 2.0. I/I staff then walked the managers through the I/I Tournament Conditions and Arena Rules changes, as well as, talked through a mock team meeting. A Crocodile Open (field day for polo players) and BBQ with PD staff and the Young Industry Polo Professional (YIPP) participants closed out the evening.

Saturday was filled with activities outside of the office, including the keynote speaker of the weekend, Yvonne Agnello-Adams. Ms. Adams focused her training for the group on personality types, how to communicate effectively with different personalities, and management of conflict situations. The talk equipped all of the attendees with new strategies on how to handle conflict in the office and out in the field. The group then headed out to the Team USPA barn for the afternoon to stretch their legs. Director of Club Development Justin Powers gave a talk about the use of swing analytics to both groups, explaining how technology is impacting the way instructors are able to show players their swing and make adjustments to improve. I/I staff walked the managers through the pre-tournament vet check scenario and discussed how to handle equine injuries. Head Instructor Liz Holson concluded the day with a discussion about body condition scoring and how high and low scoring horses are affected by continuous work. The participants were then able to get their hands on horses at the barn in order to get first-hand experience with body scoring horses.

Sunday was reserved for more time in the office to cover the split string format and procedures. In addition, the managers participated in CDC Online Heads Up Concussion training. The final session of the weekend was a role playing exercise where the managers were tasked with solving real problems that had popped up in past year’s tournaments.

The I/I staff would like to thank the entire USPA Polo Development Staff for their help throughout the weekend and Yvonne Agnello-Adams for traveling in for the Saturday training session.