RULES OF POLO

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 18, 5 February 1937, Page 12

RULES OF POLO

' ' Chukkah. '

Origin of the Game; How it is PUyed HAWKE'S BAY'S RECORD

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Is view of the Hawke'q Polo Club's tournament to |i9I4 " next month and the intereqt this, mmt is areugiqg amqng thq ^lbr lic, a short description qf t|.e and present rules qf fU| eaeciting game will probabljr hf el valtte tq many reqderp. Polo is of Oriental origin aqd pf high antiquity. Indeed, it has beep cjaimed that it can he traced hack tq fi0() B."p. Holo was first played by Europeaqs fp 1&63, in Calcutta, whither it had .beqn by whq had be^n tjonpd at Cachar? in Ass.am> whqre pqio' has been played since time immembriai by the ,hill tribe pf Manipur|sn Since flf J rsasy polo clubs bave been qtarted iq Britain and, since 1876, in Axnericg^ as well as the British cqlqpie|, Tfie principal British club, wb|ob" makeg tfiq rqles of the gamg, i'g §t Purbqgbaip^ bfar London. The game is played q» bqrseback and cajls for a ^}igh 4$greg qf skill and daring, both in rider and mpunt, and qs the duration of plqy jn % match is uiually beyeq periftds of ejght minutes eqch, wftb iuterffli f| tbree minutes after pacb period, it cqq be seen that it ajsp cqlls fo| a hig% degrpe of fitness. The field ef play measures 300 yardf iq length by W yards, and pl,ay started by tbfi qmpirg thrp'wiug t|g bqll, which is made >£ wood, betweeq tfie oppoteing teams, who arg lingd pqsitiOn and opponent to mark. Th| bf fpur, and each man has a definitq positiqn apd oppqnat to mark. Thq gamq if played %% tefrifiq Sgffdj aqd cqnseqqently aecideqt? are nqt infrg? quent. Goals are seored by hitting tfiq ball between goal-.posti which " a|f eight yards apart. Bjdjug-o# m CPPP5 nent is ajlowed, and thip js. aq qrt in ifipelf. Th.era f§ np ft#Ts|dq sj|fo aij^ tfiis tends fo make the game qvqq faster. There are yarious p.enalties, but tqq principal iqfringgmefit is cro^sing a player who is on the line of the bajU The penalty in this pqge i| q frff hit at the, b|31 a ;sppt 66 yardp, irqp. the goql-line of the side foulihg qppq* site the centre qf the goal. This, description if necqssarily fhor-t, bqt polo is a game easy to follow and thrilling to wateh. The sigbt. of eight i perfectly-trained hqrseg galleplug at full speed, yet uude.r perfect * controj, while the players strike the hall with apparent egse aqequptg fqr tfeq trqmcn* dbus pepular-ity this ggine is e^qyjng with the public to-day. Thp principal ©yent in the polo ^rorld in New Zeqland is tfie qpnual cqntest for the Savile Cup. . This cup was presented in 1889 by 'Captain Savile, to b® played fxr annually by the polo elubs in N©w Zealand qpder tfie fqllowing conditions:— 1. That it shall be played for under Hurlingham rules. 2. That- the competition each year should fake, place at one centre. 3. That the Imperial Services should have the right to enter a team each year. FoIq plqyerf thrqughqut New Zealand are greatly indebted' to Captain Savile/ as there is no doubt that the jnstitution pf these competitions helped to basten the formation of the New Zealand Polo Association. Iu next Friday's jssue of this paper qn aqcqunt. qf th,e aiferent Sayile Cup tournaments will be given, togethee with reminiscences of these §vents. Hawke 's Bay holds a wonderful Tecord at this tournament, having held the cup no fewer than 13 times from 1907. " «