Portsmouth, RI (May 27, 2016) – The spirit of the Olympic Movement will roll into Portsmouth as Newport Polo hosts preseason tryouts for its Interscholastic Polo Team, in celebration of Olympic Day. Newport Polo will host official Olympic Day events every Friday at 4pm in June, with Preseason & Tryouts for new players to join its nationally recognized Interscholastic Polo program. Boys & girls in grades 8-12 with riding skills are invited to participate in a series of instructional classes of intro level polo instruction for approximately 2 hours every Friday in June. The course will promote the values of the modern Olympic Movement through introductory skills classes for participants to learn and try a new sport:
4pm June 3
4pm June 10
4pm June 17
4pm June 24
Team selection & training will continue through the summer months, and competition will commence in autumn in United States Polo Association games and tournaments against rival interscholastic teams in the Northeast region, with opportunities to advance to national competition. Capacity is limited. For registration, please contact Newport Polo by email agnes@nptpolo.com.
“Newport Polo is proud to support the Olympic Movement and encourage children to lead healthy, active lives,” adds Dan Keating, Founder and President of Newport Polo. Keating is a former US national men’s luge team competitor.
Newport Polo’s Olympic Day event is coordinated with the US Olympic Committee, representing Rhode Island among more than 2,000 events taking place nationwide during the month of June, supporting Olympic values and participation in sport. These events, designed to engage youth and promote the ideals of the Olympic movement, feature athlete appearances and interactive learning experiences.
Around the world, more than 160 countries take part in the annual celebration. Olympic Day, created in 1948 to commemorate the birth of the modern Olympic Games, focuses on the Olympic values and ideals such as fair play, perseverance, respect and sportsmanship. The sport of polo is a former olympic sport, from 1900 – 1936.
Newport Polo’s certified instructors include world champion John Wigdahl and Dan Keating, and certified umpire and former national interscholastic player Minnie Keating. Lesson horses are of the finest thoroughbred caliber & training, and professional grade polo equipment is provided.
America’s oldest polo club is still at the forefront of introducing the 3,000 year-old sport to new players. Newport Polo, reputed as a leading instructional polo program by the United States Polo Association (USPA. Its Interscholastic Polo program of more than 20 years, develops new, competitive players each season with proven essentials to jumpstart their passion to play.
Interscholastic Polo is governed by the USPA. Competition includes matches against regional rivals to qualify for regional tournaments, to advance to the national championship. Girls teams and Open (boys or co-ed) teams compete in separate brackets; players must be in grades 8-12 with satisfactory progress in school. The USPA offers a Varsity Letter program for players that meet the requirements.