All Things Being Equal: Spatiotemporal Differences between Open and Women’s 16-Goal Polo

Polo is an equestrian team sport, consisting of Open and Women’s only handicapping systems. As cumulative player handicap increases in Open Polo, distance covered, average speeds and high intensity work performed per chukka also increase. These activities may differ in terms of distribution of, and their affect upon, match outcome in Women’s Polo, and thus have implications for equine preparation and management. This study aimed to quantify spatiotemporal differences between Open and Women’s Polo when matched for handicap and assess their affect upon chukka and match outcome using a prospective cohort design. Distance, speed and high intensity activity data were collected via player worn global positioning system (GPS) units during 16-goal Open and Women’s Polo tournaments. Notational analysis quantified chukka duration and chukka and game outcomes. Between group differences were assessed by independent samples t-tests, and two factor mixed effects ANOVA for within group analyses. Between group differences were analysed using an independent samples t-test with alpha defined a priori as p<0.05. Open and Women’s Polo differed by a small to large extent (ES: 0.54 – 1.81) for all spatiotemporal metrics. In Open Polo, players covered moderately more distance (429.0m; 238.9m to 619.0m), with small to large increases in high intensity activities performed in games won. Whereas in Women’s Polo, moderately higher maximum speeds were attained in games won (17.13 km/h; 11.86 km/h to 22.40 km/h) and a small increase in accelerations performed (5.1; 0.2 to 10.0). Open and Women’s Polo, when matched for handicap, present with small to large spatiotemporal differences that are likely of practical significance, and influence game outcome differently between codes. These differences do not necessarily mean that Polo ponies need to be trained differently for each code.