Chapter 1 ­ Getting Started

Let's take stock of where the club is right now. Does it exist? What is the "official status" with the:

I. USPA
A. Paid membership dues for club (paying annual dues prior to Jan 1 entitles clubs to a substantial discount).
B. Submitting paperwork in a timely manner
C. Respond to inquiries for membership and competitions
D. Individual student membership fees @ $25 per person is a bargain

II. School
a. What Department does the club fall into
1. Agricultural Business
2. Recreational
3. On or off campus
4. Status of relationship with administration (Good relations are imperative.)
5. Fees due for what and when
6. List of expectations and obligations

b. Funding
1. What is available from the school
2. What organizations exist outside of school to assist
3. What are the requirements
4. What is the timeline
5. What is the budget
6. Is this club or outside foundation set up for tax free donations
7. What Scholarships and Grants are available

c. Administration
1. Who are the contacts, phone and e-mail addresses
a) Advisor
b) Department Heads
c) Major Fund Raisers

2. Other clubs to work with
a) Equestrian
b) Rodeo
c) Hunter/jumper
d) Any others

III. Polo Club
1. Officers
2. Duties and Timeline
3. Returning Students
4. "Rushing" new recruits
5. Training facilities
a) Horses
b) Tack
c) Transport
6. Budgets
7. Fund Raising Opportunities
8. Alumni Association
9. Backing Foundations
10. Wish List
11. Competitions and Awards
12. Calendar
13. Additional Insurance and Liability Concerns

Once the above questions have been answered and documented, you have a much better idea on where to go and how to get there.

Communications

A key element is timely communication and e-mail, and for those that have it, is by far the most effective. Every time you e-mail someone, you can cc or "carbon copy" everyone else that might be even slightly interested. Some e-mail software allows Blind Carbon Copy so that you can send someone a copy without their name appearing on the address line, or return to the original message and forward a copy to the recipient. The beauty of all that communication is knowledge and knowledge is power. It keeps the administration aware that you are busy at work and what is going on within the club. It also keeps your backers and sponsors informed on your club and projects. That in turn will make life easier when asking someone for something you truly need, and you find that they are already "up to speed."

For those without e-mail: Faxing is the next best thing and finally Snail Mail (less time and cost effective) is better than nothing. When compiling contact information, remember to also get the fax and cell or pager numbers. For the technology challenged (not YOU, of course), make sure you have a complete profile on how to reach people, and keep your lines of communications open, by whatever methods are available. You can't disenfranchise people because they don't have the latest computer available or the knowledge on how to download and unzip those pesky zip files.

Web sites

Web Pages are easy to establish initially but need to be regularly maintained. Consider recruiting some of your brightest "nerd" friends to be members of the club but the club members must assist in keeping your web page(s) updated.

USPA Pacific Coast Circuit Website at www.PCCPolo.com contains a list of clubs within their circuit, including collegiate clubs. The PCC Governor has mandated a web site for every club in his circuit. There is a place to keep current information, including membership rosters, channels for communicating, and photos of the most recent events including a schedule for the year and a map on how to get to each location. It is up to each club, to provide the information to keep the site current. If you have your own web site, it can then be hot linked to all the other appropriate sites.

Still, even if a web site is available and even if the members take seriously their responsibility to keep the information current, be reminded that this is not a case of "Build it, and they will come." Polo web sites are not visited by millions of viewers, so to encourage even occasional visitors, plus providing a useful tool to members, you must keep the site current, interesting, informative, and full of photos. It is a tremendous marketing tool, especially when talking to sponsors about visibility.

Sharing the Load

Officers and members of the club need to think about what duties need to be performed and the timeline involved in order to be effective. There's no need for anyone to burn out so it's important to be realistic about who is doing how much and that the workload is balanced out. Life's duties still have to be attended to, outside of polo, so be realistic with each of the officer's duties and who is going to be around next summer, or next year.

The financial load is also to be considered so for those that are "financially challenged". Some potential members might hesitate to join because they simply cannot carry the extra financial burden. Every consideration should be made to include all interested students; even those whom might prefer to make their contribution through "sweat equity" where they have more time and energy than money. Make sure every consideration is made to include everyone!

And while we're on that subject, let's take it a step further. Successful polo clubs are run like a business. If they're not successful, they don't last and those that do are viable businesses. Since you're in school to learn how to survive in the "Real World", let's think of running your club like a business as well. That means you can have more than polo players in the club. The administration of the club may have some members that might not want to play polo. (Although for most people around for any length of time may eventually want to try a little stick and ball at some point or other, and then you've really got them.) You certainly want to make it fun for everyone especially entry-level inquiries with riding lessons and the "fun stuff".

Polo clubs are made up of managers, secretaries, marketing and advertising people, catering, agronomists, veterinarians, grooms, farriers, coaches, etc. Nowhere does it say that you can only be a polo club member if you muck stalls, feed and exercise horses, or clean tack. Those things absolutely have to be done, but not by the same people all of the time! The club also has to pay its bills, attend administrative meetings, and generally meet all of the other requirements of a successful club on or off campus. Just for a moment, let's try:

Thinking Outside of the Box

Let's say you want to develop or expand your club membership. Be receptive to ideas on how to bolster your roster. For example, for nominal membership fees you could develop a category of Associate or Social Memberships. New members that all pay dues because they like the social aspects, or someone wanting to do a Senior Project by running a web site or an accounting project of how to budget a successful polo club for a year, or write a paper on how to grow special grasses for a polo field.

Look at the other organizations on campus to see where partnering efforts could be a Win Win! Borrow ideas from successful campaigns or join in with other successful clubs in common areas such as travel to competitions, sponsorships, and fund raising efforts. When the membership expands, with more people involved, the work load can be disseminated, the ideas multiply, the administration is satisfied, alumni become involved, parents are thrilled to see your accomplishments and subsequently successful events begin to transpire. No idea is too different for consideration. If the club is not dynamic and growing, it will be on the decline. So consider the options.

Mentoring Program

A coordinator is assigned by the Governor's Office to assist with mentoring the club, communicating with the administration, organizing an alumni committee and/or fund raising foundations, and interfacing with other polo clubs and coordinators. The idea of this program was conceived so as to help stabilize the polo club contacts and archive the information throughout the year through periods of waxing and waning by the club's membership and status with the administration. A job description follows that goes into greater detail. The Governor's administration basically mentors the coordinators and the coordinators mentor the club officers and members. Hopefully, this will keep everyone on the same page, with a high level of performance, energy, and realistic expectations.

Table of Contents| Forward | Chapter 1: Getting Started | Chapter 2: Contacts | Chapter 3: Fund Raising & Help | Chapter 4: Mentoring Coordinator | Chapter 5: Marketing ProgramChapter 6: Safety Around Horses | Chapter 7: Riding Preparations | Chapter 8: Code of Conduct | Chapter 9: Sample By Laws | Chapter 10: Summer Horse Lease | Chapter 11: CoChair-Member Duties | Chapter 12: CoChair - Team Duties | Chapter 13: Public Relations Chair | Chapter 14: Horse Manager Duties | Chapter 15: Horse Donation Program |Attachment Sample -Handbook By Sue Sally Hale