Federation of International Polo in crisis as Big 3 pull out
Saturday, 31 October 2009 08:45
The three largest national polo associations, representing well over half of the world’s amateur and professional players, have resigned their membership of the Federation of International Polo (FIP).
The Asociación Argentina de Polo (AAP) withdrew from the international federation on 26 October 2009, followed on 27 October by the US Polo Association (USPA) and the Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA), governing body of the sport in the UK and Ireland.
In what insiders say is a conflict between the "Big 3" and the President of FIP, the situation has escalated quickly, ahead of the FIP General Assembly that is scheduled for 23rd November 2009 in Buenos Aires.
The Hurlingham Polo Association issued a press release stating:
“It is with the deepest regret that we three associations have resigned from the FIP,” said a spokesman speaking on behalf of the three. “We believe strongly in the concept of a global body to represent the sport of polo in international forums, but we have been disappointed by the unwillingness of the current president to take on board or even discuss the concerns of ourselves and others. The polo world is a small one so it is sad day for the game and we will now have to look at how best we can continue to help expand the game in the many countries where it is now played or might be introduced.”
The HPA traces its ancestry back to the 1875 Polo Committee of London’s Hurlingham Club and currently has 24 affiliated countries playing under HPA rules. The USPA, under chairman Thomas Biddle of Aiken, South Carolina, was founded in 1890. The AAP, under president Luis Lalor, had its beginnings in 1892. The FIP was formed much later, in 1982, to promote the growth of polo worldwide and foster cooperation between all the autonomous national associations.
Between them these three biggest former stakeholders in the FIP have just over 9,000 registered members, compared with less than 7,500 in the other approximately 50 polo-playing countries that are members of the FIP.
FIP, through the efforts of its President Patrick Guerrand-Hermes, has pushed to have polo reinstated to the Olympic Games and has established closer ties with the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI), the world's governing body of equestrian sports. However the need to comply by the International Olympic Committee's WADA testing rules for athletes, and the FEI's strict rules on horse doping have been seen as sticking points with the Big 3.
A joint letter was sent to the President on 27th August 2009 outlining their concerns. They say no response was received, despite three written reminders. Their actions in pulling out of FIP was futher explained in an e-mail sent out on Thursday 29th October by the Hurlingham Polo Association to their worldwide affiliates. It states:
"After the utmost consideration and deliberations, it was decided with great reluctance to call for a special meeting of the Council of Administration as provided in the By-Laws (Article 15.2), and also to put forward an agenda for the forthcoming General Assembly as prescribed under Article 25.5 of the Statutes and By-Laws and to regrettably include a motion of no confidence in the incumbent President, Patrick Guerrand-Hermes. The votes being in accordance with By Laws 16.1 were as follows: 8 for the motion, 1 did not respond to the summons, 1 wished to discuss the matter further and 1 against the motion. However, despite this vote, the President claimed the vote to be incorrect or illegal and refused to allow the staff at the FIP office to send out the approved agenda for the General Assembly of November 23,against the wishes of the participating members of the Council of Administration.
FIP is recognised by the International Olympic Committee as the world's governing body of polo. The AAP, USPA and HPA have not yet stated an intention to form a rival federation.
