Tackeria’s Herbie Pennell Cup win last Sunday, December 31, marked the start of an intense 2018 season, which will see the best polo played in countries around the world: Argentina, USA, England, Spain, Dubai, and the Dominican Republic, to name a few. The World Polo Tour hosts the most outstanding tournaments of the international circuit, and as per the last thirteen years, continues to form a ranking of players, both profesional and amateur.
The latest developments of the WPT are the following:
Tournaments which enter the circuit:
-Dubai Polo Challenge Cup: The last 18 goal tournament of the Dubai season, held at Al Habtoor Polo Resort & Club.
-Coronation Cup: This traditional tournament, a key fixture of the English season, will form part of the WPT point system for the first time.
-Deauville Silver Cup: This 16 goal tournament makes a comeback into the ranking thanks to the focus the French Federation of Polo have put on the French Triple Crown.
-FIP European Championship: The 8 goal tournament will be played at Villa a Sesta and will come to an end on September 30. This will be the first FIP tournament to enter the WPT ranking, mostly due to the success of the World Cup hosted in Sydney, Australia, in October 2017.
But perhaps the most significant piece of news for the 2018 WPT season is the introduction of a women’s WPT. The year 2017 was a spectacular year for women’s polo, and saw the first Women’s Open Championship. England also hosted a circuit of several high goal tournaments with great success. There will be an article explaining how the women’s WPT will work on Pololine shortly.
Changes in the point system:
The growth of eight tournaments can be seen reflected in the change of points for the WPT ranking:
-Indian Empire Shield (18 goals), Guards Polo Club.
-Challenge Cup (18 goals), Cowdray Park Polo Club.
-Sotogrande Silver Cup, medium goal (14 goals), Santa Maria Polo Club.
-Cote d’Azur Cup & Open du Soleil (both 18 goals), Saint Tropez Polo Club.
-Duke of Wellington Cup, (last 18 goal of the English season), Guards Polo Club.
-Thai Polo Cup Argentina (14 goals), one of the most important patron based tournaments of the Argentine season.
-Polo Challenge Silver Cup, Dominican Republic.
Lastly, it is worth recalling a couple of the rules which relate to the World Polo Tour system:
-On December 31, each player’s total points are halved, and they begin the year with that new score.
-Every player that enters the ranking for the first time does so with ten points for each goal of handicap they have at that moment.