Like competitors in so many sports, polo players have had to work out ways in which they can carry on playing safely in the midst of the Cornavirus pandemic. The good news is that it appears to be manageable.
The Economic Times in India has outline how the Amateur Riders Club (ARC) in Mumbai managed to play out their season.
Speaking to ET Panache, ARC president Shyam Mehta said: “It was challenging to hold the tournaments with the restrictions but the response has been overwhelming.”
With the season having initially been put on hold in March 2020 as the virus spread, Mr Mehta and his colleagues had several key challenges to overcome to get the competition on again.
Firstly, there was the challenge of getting horses and riders back into shape, which was managed through a combination of special diets and the setting up of practice sessions.
A second issue was to get the grounds ready. As ever, the Indian surfaces had been softened over the summer by monsoon rains, but unlike a normal year it was harder to get the fertiliser and manpower to get the grounds ready.
The other two big challenges involved the difficulties of getting permits to overcome travel restrictions. Permits were needed to get horses to Mumbai from other parts of India, while many overseas players were unable to travel from countries such as the UK and Argentina, meaning local replacements had to be found.
To all this was added precautions such as playing without spectators, the use of masks and sanitiser, and temporary rule changes reducing physical contact.
Britons keen to play polo thus summer will have noted the recent UK government roadmap out of lockdown, which could lead to the holy grail of all restrictions being lifted on June 21st if everything goes to plan.
However, even if it doesn’t quite work out, it seems it is still possible for the sport to be played in safe conditions.
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