March 28, 2024

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Historic 2022 U.S. Open Polo Championship Caps Season with Record Attendance

| 4/29/2022

WELLINGTON – The 2022 U.S. Open Polo Championship has closed out its season in Wellington, the “Winter Equestrian Capital of the World”, with record attendance at the International Polo Club and watched by millions more viewers on ESPN.

The United States Polo Association (USPA), celebrated the 118th U.S. Open, the last game of the season in the United States, with an eye on an even more globally-significant event for the sport this fall when the XII Federation of International Polo (FIP) World Polo Championship is held in Wellington, Oct. 26-Nov. 6. The event will be just the second time the international contest has been held in the United States in its history.

The April 24, U.S. Open Polo Championship is one of the most historic tournaments in the nation and has been enjoying increasing popularity with the growth of the U.S. Polo Assn., the official brand of the nonprofit governing body of the sport. In a unique structure in sports business and for a sport governing body founded in 1890, the apparel brand – sold in 1,200 stores and retail outlets in 194 countries – supports the sport and its expanding reach through collegiate and media partnerships.

The polo brand is ranked the fifth largest sports licensor in License Global magazine's 2020 list of "Top 150 Global Licensors," following brands such as the National Football League, the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball, but ahead of NASCAR and professional wrestling.

“This year the U.S. Open Polo Championship had the largest number of team entries in its history, which really demonstrates how much growth we have seen across the sport in recent years,” said Stewart Armstrong, chairman of the USPA. “The ability to broadcast top tournaments like this on ESPN is not only great for the sport itself but also widens our overall audience to generate new fans in the U.S. and around the world.”

Led by Argentine 10-goaler Facundo Pieres, team Pilot won its second title in four years with an 11-6 victory over team La Elina. The final game was live-streamed exclusively on Global Polo TV (GPTV) and later broadcast on ESPN. The game is available On Demand at ESPN.com.

The championship is the third leg of the 2022 Gauntlet of Polo series, which consists of three tournaments played at IPC: the C.V. Whitney Cup, the USPA Gold Cup and the U.S. Open Polo Championship. In addition to the more than $200,000 in prize money awarded during the Gauntlet season, U.S. Polo Assn. has donated a total of $15,000 to the finalists’ charities of choice including the Polo Players Support Group, Polo Museum, Replay Polo, ELS for Autism Foundation, and Polo Pony Rescue.

“U.S. Polo Assn is proud to partner with the USPA, the International Polo Club and The Palm Beaches to bring polo to as many fans as possible in Palm Beach County, and through our new and outstanding partnership with ESPN,” said J. Michael Prince, president and CEO of USPA Global Licensing Inc., the for-profit subsidiary which manages the U.S. Polo Assn. brand.

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