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@mrkawasaki
As some of will know, we've been preparing an organisation to foster the growth of polo in Manchester, with an emphasis on beginners. We've built it out of much of the work I did for the 'MHPA' discussions and interviews at the back end of the summer, for which I make no apology - I wasn't prepared to let it go to waste!
I want to be completely clear about our intentions and direction, as I'm not interested in fostering any lingering bad politics and don't want any conflict between any individuals or 'MHPA' of the future.
We plan to grow slowly out of the Chorlton Park Saturday morning sessions, which, as those of you who have tried them will know, are deliberately built around the raw beginner. Our aim is to get beginners to a safe and competent level of play so that they can then progress - first to open Manchester Sundays and then to open Manchester team/competitive Thursdays and on to tourneys. Note that we are not 'claiming' those sessions as 'ours'.
Going forward, we'd be more than happy if the existing Manchester players want to join, become members and play an active part - whether that be in coaching or in organising. We hope to attract and retain new players and help them form into new teams, which will then go on to national tournaments. We also expect to organise smaller tournaments in the spring and autumn, again based around beginners teams, possibly using the Bench Minor-style approach - check the calendar section for our possible ideas.
There you will also see sketched in dates for other Manchester polo events - should a Manchester collective organise any other, bigger tourneys, we'll be on-hand to help if required - again, and I stress this, without necessarily 'owning' the event.
FInally, I'd like to say I'm sorry I couldn't facilitate the MHPA concept through to maturity this year. I hope that the senior players are able to respect or even play a part of the approach we're taking in South Manchester and recognise that we all ultimately need more players playing to survive!
Neil, Lewis and Stevo
South Manchester Organisers
www.mcrpolo.org