South American playoffs for the second Arena Polo World Cup

The second Arena Polo World Cup is due to be played in the United States, co-hosted by Roseland Polo Club in Crozet, Virginia, and Virginia Polo Inc., in October. Argentina, Perú and Uruguay are set to play the South American playoffs at La Carona Polo Club, set in Capilla del Señor, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, through May 15-17, co hosted by the Federation of International Polo (FIP) and the Argentine Association of Polo (AAP).

 

The first game will take place on Thursday May 15, between Argentina and Uruguay. Perú will make their debut on the following day, against the loser of the first match. The winner of the playoff will qualify to the Arena Polo World Cup.

 

Gonzalo Azuemendi, Argentina’s coach, named the players: Andrés Lariguet, Francisco Crotto, Juan Falabella, Miguel Lagos Mármol, Damián Mondaca and Napoleón Bourdieu.

 

2nd. ARENA POLO WORLD CUP – SOUTH AMERICAN PLAYOFFS – TEAMS

Argentina: Andrés Lariguet 5, Francisco Crotto 5, Juan Falabella 5, Miguel Lagos Mármol 4, Damián Mondaca 1, Napoleón Bourdieu 1.

Perú: Santiago Casartelli 4, Conrado Puigrefagut 4, Marcelo Cilloniz 3, Iago Masías Parraud 2.

Uruguay: Mauricio Sánchez 5, José M. G. de Boismenu 4, Federico Arocena 3, Bautista de Castro 3, Federico Stirling 3, Justino Lestido 3, Aparicio Oddo 3, Alejandro Stirling 1.

 

The main rules of arena polo are as follows:

  • A regulation game will be played with four chukkas, six minutes long and 30 extra seconds after the first bell.
  • Handicap differences are leveled by adding goals to the team with the lower handicap. 
  • There won’t be ties, that means every game will have a winner.
  • There is no side change after each goal, only at the start of each chukker.
  • The referee will indicate a goal by raising their hand without stopping play.
  • The defending team resumes play after each goal, while the attacking team must stand 10 yards away. 
  • Various penalties may be called for fouls, including the 25-yard penalty, 15-yard penalty, and penalty 1 (goal + 25-yard penalty). 

 

The teams participating the the Arena Polo World Cup will present lineups between 10-12 goals (arena polo); in addition, players can have a grass handicap of -1 to 4, with a bonus of 1 gola added for the arena contest.