It's been less than a month since action came to an end in Wellington, and even though there is a long time to go until any serious action returns, there is already excellent news for 2022. Firstly, a large group of patrons with fields available will put together a Polo Circuit to be played between January and April of next year. Secondly, the great Tim Gannon will be participating in the project.
“I’m the honorary chairman of the new Wellington Polo Tour 16-Goal League that I will run alongside Juan Olivera. We are bringing back all the greatness of the Outback League that was run maybe 10 years ago,” Gannon told CLICKPOLO USA. An essential man for the sport in the late 90s and early 2000s is therefore coming back to the sport. “I had great success and we are trying to repeat it by working with the USPA. We are going to be using various patrons' private fields.”
For Gannon and other founders of the League, the key is the level. "We'll be hosting a 16-Goal League. The foundation of Polo and how the high goal survives is through the 16-goal as a base for all of the high-goal teams. This is the heart of polo, developing young players and we’re very excited to bring it back. I have had great times and a lot of fun, this is one of the best ways to enjoy polo."
This is great news for American polo. The Wellington Polo Tour is born and Tim Gannon is returning to polo.
Gannon and Outback: synonyms for polo in the United States
Outback is synonym for polo in the United States. During the late 90s and early 2000s, Outback Polo Team managed to win five US Open Championships, the first team to achieve such a feat. Led by Tim Gannon, who has been an active polo player since 1992, the team was one of the greatest sponsors of the game in America. As a recognition, the United States Polo Association honored him in 1999 with the USPA Sponsor of the Year award for his contribution to polo.
After winning back-to-back US Opens in 1999 and 2000, Outback Polo Team won their third US Open Championship in a row in 2001, an achievement no other polo team has ever managed to replicate. However, Tim’s passion for polo surpassed the US as he played actively in England, Spain, Argentina, Dubai and Uruguay too.
Throughout the years, Outback Polo Team was represented by some of the best polo players in the world. Polo legend Adolfo Cambiaso may be the most important one, but other players such as Lolo Castagnola, Sebastián Merlos, Mike Azzaro and Julio Arellano also wore Outback's jersey. As Gannon was an early promoter of women’s polo, the late Sunny Hale also played for his team and won the US Open too.
In 2013, as a recognition for what he did for the sport during the past decades, he was inducted into the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame in Lake Worth, Florida. Tim passed his passion for polo to his son Chris, who is also a polo player and continues his fathers legacy.
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