What are the rules of the sport of polo?

Polo has six innings of seven and a half minutes each, with a three-minute break between innings and a five-minute intermission.

Four players from each team ride side by side with the other team to form a confrontation, the ball is placed on the center line of the field of play, just waiting for the umpire's order, they will ride their horses, swinging and striking, and fight!

Basic Rules

Because polo matches are relatively intense and dangerous, most of the rules are designed to protect the safety of the players and their horses. Here is a brief introduction to some of the more important rules of the game:

1. Dribbling Route

During the game, the referee mainly relies on the dribbling route and the player's right to attack to penalize. Dribbling route refers to the trajectory of the ball after it is struck.

2. Players' Right to Attack

The right to attack means that the player who has struck the ball has the right to chase the ball along the dribbling path to strike the ball again. Whoever hits the ball last has the right of offense.

The rules of the game state that an opposing player may not cross the dribble path in front of an attacking player in order to intervene in the attack or to knock him off the dribble path. However, side-by-side blocking or interference with a club is permitted provided the attacking player is not blocked; a charge at an angle of less than 45 degrees is not considered a foul. The point of contact is limited to the horse's hips and shoulders, and an intentional collision between players is considered a violation.

3. A player may not intentionally touch another player or his mount with his club. The right hand holding of the cue ball is the rule in the game.

4. Each polo horse may participate in a maximum of two games in a match.

Pause Rules

The match bell will signal a time-out in the following situations:

1. Fouls.

2. A person or horse falls or is injured.

3. Harness equipment is disconnected, a player's helmet is knocked off, and the ball rolls out of bounds. However, play continues when a player changes horses during play, and when a club is broken and replaced.

Players

Modern outdoor polo is played with eight players, four per pair. The players' jerseys are numbered 1, 2, 3 and 4 in that order. Generally speaking, the number one is the main goal scorer; the number two player is required to hit the ball accurately and is mainly responsible for organizing the attack, passing the ball to the number one to score, but also can score their own goal; the number three player is generally stronger, in the obstruction of the other side pass at the same time but also back to his teammates, so it must be both offensive and defensive; the number four player is the organization of the field defenders, mainly through the use of clubs to interfere with the opposing players to shoot to score. For experienced players, these are just some basic tactics and strategies. Of course, in a specific game, each player's role should be replaced when necessary to ensure that the opportunity to score is accurately grasped!

Ranking Ties

Ranking ties, also known as handicaps, are a scoring system first introduced to polo by H?L. Herbert, the first president of the United States Polo Association (USPA), designed to give each team an equal chance of winning. The Champions League mostly used this system for matches, and by 1910, England and India had also begun to adopt it in their competitions.

Prior to the tournament, players are ranked according to their previous results, with scores ranging from 0 for first-timers to 10 for top players. Then, the registrations of each team's players are added up separately, with the team with the lower registration score receiving priority for a certain number of match points. Alternatively, the two teams are made to play with equal rank score sums. Based on the rank score sums of the teams, polo matches are divided into three levels: low, medium and high.

Indoor Polo

In recent years, indoor polo has grown in popularity. The playing field is smaller than outdoor polo, measuring 300 by 150 feet