Wed 19th Feb 2025C.V. Whitney Cup Semi Finals Today: Globalport vs Coca Cola & Pilot vs La Dolfina Tamera Plus USPA’s ‘American Rule’ to support American players
Today, Wednesday 19 February, The C.V. Whitney Cup Semi Finals will be played between Globalport vs Coca Cola (1pm local time) and Pilot vs La Dolfina Tamera (3pm local time) – you can watch all of the Gauntlet of Polo matches live here.
Last week also saw plenty of debuts for players with 6 goaler Lorenzo Chavanne making his mark on the field with Coca-Cola at just 18 years old; Ned Hine, Louis Hine, Nicolas Sivori and Gabriel Crespo all made their Gauntlet debuts; Santiago Llavallo made his first Gauntlet appearance as a substitute for La Dolfina/Catamount; Scott Wood and his Brookshire team made their Gauntlet of Polo debut and Nicolas Diaz Alberdi joined The Dutta Corp in his first Gauntlet appearance.
The C.V. Whitney Cup Semi Final Teams:
Globalport: Michael Romero, Lucas Diaz Alberdi, Santos Merlos & Barto Castagnola
Coca Cola: Gillian Johnston, Lorenzo Chavanne, Polito Pieres & Julian de Lusarreta
Pilot: Curtis Pilot, Cody Ellis, Matias Zavaleta & Facundo Pieres
La Dolfina Tamera: Alejandro Poma, Matt Coppola, Diego Cavanagh & Adolfo Cambiaso
While this year’s Gauntlet of Polo is in full swing, changes coming into effect as of 1 May 2025 will see changes to all USPA Events with changes to the “American Rule”. In an effort to support the increase of American polo players on tournament rosters, the High-Goal Committee and Rules Committee revised the rule in January 2023 which stated that a team with a non-playing sponsor must have at least two players who are both Registered Player Members (a Registered Player Member is a U.S. Citizen registered through an Active Member or Affiliate Member Club).
In order to support American players, the USPA have gone a stage further and updated this rule that benefits Registered Player Members of the USPA who plan to compete in USPA Outdoor Events with an upper handicap limit of sixteen (16) goals and above (“USPA Outdoor High-Level Events”) summarised below:
– American player: A Registered Player Member shall be U.S. citizens who are not known to the Association to be under suspension by the Hurlingham Polo Association (the “HPA”), the Association of Argentine Polo (the “AAP”), or the Federation of International Polo (“FIP”), and who are registered through an Active Member Club, Provisional Member Club, or Affiliate Member Club.
– Homegrown Player: a Registered Player Member as defined in the Association’s Constitution who provides the USPA with definitive proof that at least one of his or her biological parents is (or was) also a U.S. citizen shall be considered a Homegrown Player. A Registered Player Member as defined in the Association’s Constitution and By-Laws who provides the USPA with definitive proof that one of his or her adoptive parents is (or was) also a U.S. citizen shall also be considered a Homegrown Player, provided that he or she was adopted by that parent prior to reaching the age of ten (10) years old.
– Teams that use Homegrown Players in USPA Outdoor High-Level Events will receive the benefit of a one (1) goal credit toward the calculation of the team handicap for each Homegrown Player on the team other than the sponsor or designated sponsor; and
– The aggregate Homegrown Player credit available to any team will be limited to one (1) goal in USPA Outdoor Events with an upper handicap limit of sixteen (16) to twenty-one (21) goals, and to two (2) goals in USPA Outdoor Events with an upper handicap limit of twenty-two (22) goals or more.
1.f (the "American Rule") Effective on May 1, 2025:
(A) Each team in a USPA Event shall, excluding the player who is the sponsor if there is a playing sponsor, have a minimum of one American Player (as defined in paragraph B below), regardless of handicap level.
(B) Definition of "American Player." For the purposes of this rule, a Registered Player Member as defined in the Association's Constitution and By-Laws shall be considered an American Player and an Affiliate Player Member as defined in the Association's Constitution and By-Laws who is a Canadian citizen shall also be considered an American Player.
[Registered Player Members who can demonstrate that at least one parent was or is a U.S. citizen and must update their USPA Member registration to qualify as a Homegrown Player. To read more about the documents needed to qualify, please click here].
(C) A team sponsored by a non-playing sponsor (or sponsors) must have at least two players who are both American Players, and the designated sponsor shall be the player on the team who has the lowest handicap. If more than one player on such a team has the team's lowest handicap (i.e., there is a tie), the designated sponsor shall be the one of those tied players whose handicap was last raised on the earlier or earliest date.
(D) Unless the team already has two American Players, any substitute for a playing sponsor or a designated sponsor for all or part of any game must be either an immediate family member or an American Player and must satisfy all other substitution requirements in these USPA Outdoor Rules.
(E) In the Gauntlet of Polo only, any American Player, other than an immediate family member, who substitutes for a playing sponsor or a designated sponsor whose USPA Outdoor Handicap is less than 3 goals must be 21 years old or older.
(F) Definition of "Homegrown Player." For the purposes of this rule, a Registered Player Member as defined in the Association's Constitution who provides the USPA with definitive proof that at least one of his or her biological parents is (or was) also a U.S. citizen shall be considered a Homegrown Player. A Registered Player Member as defined in the Association's Constitution and By-Laws who provides the USPA with definitive proof that one of his or her adoptive parents is (or was) also a U.S. citizen shall also be considered a Homegrown Player, provided that he or she was adopted by that parent prior to reaching the age of ten (10) years old.
(G) Notwithstanding any other rule or tournament condition to the contrary, in USPA Events with an upper handicap limit of sixteen (16) goals or above, each team shall receive the benefit of a one (1) goal credit toward the calculation of its team handicap for each Homegrown Player (as defined in paragraph F above) on the team other than the sponsor or designated sponsor. Any such credit(s) will first be applied to bring the team within the handicap limits of the Event. Thereafter, any such credit(s) shall be added to any goal difference to be given that team by its opponent, whether the game is played on the handicap or on the flat. In USPA Events with an upper handicap limit of sixteen (16) to twenty-one (21) goals, the maximum number of such credits each team my receive is one (1). In USPA Events with an upper handicap limit of twenty-two (22) goals or more, the maximum number of such credits each team may receive is two (2).
(H) In USPA Events with an upper handicap limit of sixteen (16) goals or above, any substitute for a Homegrown Player for all or part of any game must also be a Homegrown Player in order for the team to receive, or continue to receive, the one (1) goal credit toward the calculation of its team handicap for the Homegrown Player for whom the substitution is made. Note: if the team qualifies for the maximum credit without including the Homegrown Player status of the player being substituted for, then the substitute for that player need not be a Homegrown Player.
Photograph: The C.V. Whitney Cup Semi Final Teams. By USPA
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