Apr 30, 2018 8:47 PM
Earlier this fall, the United States Polo Association® (USPA), the official governing body of the sport of polo in the United States, awarded its 2018 USPA Board of Governors and Annual Member Meeting to Oak Brook Polo Club in Oak Brook, Illinois, and the Chicagoland polo community.
The annual Board of Governors and Annual Member Meetings will be held from Wednesday, September 19 to Saturday, September 22, 2018, at the Hyatt Lodge on McDonald’s Corporate Campus in Oak Brook, Illinois. The USPA Fall Meetings are one of two annual meetings held every year. The USPA Spring Meetings are held in Wellington, Florida, prior to the U.S. Open Polo Championship® every April, while the USPA Fall Meetings are held in different polo communities throughout the U.S.
“We are honored to be hosting the 2018 USPA Board of Governors and Annual Member Meeting at Oak Brook Polo Club next year," said USPA CEO Bob Puetz. "I grew up and learned to play polo in the Chicago area, and enjoyed playing polo professionally at Oak Brook Polo Club for over a decade. I am thrilled with the progress Oak Brook and the other local Member Clubs have made towards making the Chicago area a prominent location for American polo once again, and look forward to sharing this great venue with Board Members, Club Delegates, guests and staff.”
The USPA Board of Governors, Committees, Subsidiary Boards, Club Delegates, Members and Staff will gather to hold a variety of meetings, discussions and presentations to review the progress and health of the sport throughout the United States and abroad, as well as debate and vote on key issues and policies affecting the game of polo.
The hosting of the 2018 USPA Fall Meetings corresponds with Oak Brook Polo Club’s 40th Anniversary since the last U.S. Open Polo Championship was held in Oak Brook, Illinois, in 1978 between teams Abercrombie & Kent and Tulsa. In honor of this history, the Oak Brook Polo Club in coordination with the USPA, is working on a hosting U.S. Open Alumni Match on Sunday, September 23, 2018, on Oak Brook Polo’s Prince of Wales Field located at 2606 York Road in Oak Brook, Illinois to close out the 2018 Season. Players and sponsors interested in participating should contact Oak Brook Polo Club’s Managing Director, Daniel O’Leary via email doleary@oakbrookpoloclub.com or phone (312) 448-4693.
“We are honored and thrilled to be awarded these meetings,” said Jim Drury, President of the Oak Brook Polo Club. “It our objective to work with the Village of Oak Brook to heighten the visibility and excitement of polo in Oak Brook and once again become a national and international polo destination. These meetings are an example of our recent success and gives us the platform to re-introduce Oak Brook as a competitive polo market in the Mid-West.”
The Oak Brook Polo Club was home to U.S. Open Polo Championship for over two decades from 1954 to 1978, making it the home of elite professional polo in the United States. In those 22 years, the Oak Brook Polo Club won six U.S. Open Polo Championships (1960, ’64, ’65, ’67, ’71 and ’73).
To learn more about the Oak Brook Polo Club, please visit www.oakbrookpoloclub.com
Effective Date: Saturday, May 16, 2020
The suspension of USPA Tournaments and Events will be lifted for USPA Member Clubs in locales where hosting polo matches and tournaments is permitted under applicable state and local laws, executive orders and similar decrees. The USPA Member Clubs in these locales are encouraged to follow all such requirements of their state and local authorities with respect to polo operations. In addition, we also encourage all USPA Member Clubs to take the precautions recommended by the CDC. We are preparing a detailed list of best practices for USPA Member Clubs as they return to hosting USPA Tournaments and Events and plan to circulate these guidelines within the next week. We will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation closely and will notify you if we determine a different course of action is necessary.
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