ARC Polo - Polo Words to remember

ARC POLO

POLO - WORDS TO REMEMBER

The Chukker:

Also called the period. Internationally there are six chukkers in a polo game and four in Arena polo. Each normal polo chukker lasts for 7 minutes with a thirty-second overtime. If in these thirty minutes the ball rolls out of play, hits the sideboards or the umpires blow the whistle the chukker is deemed to be over. There is no over time at the end of the last chukker. In case the results are the same an extra chukker is played.

The Mallet:

The mallet, which is also, the polo stick is made from bamboo shoot and the head from either the bamboo root or a hard wood as maple. The sticks vary in length from 49 to 53 inches as required by the players and are very flexible in comparison to other sticks.

The Nearside Shot This is the shot taken on the left side of the horse	The Offside Shot This is the shot taken on the right side of the horse
The Nearside Backhand Shot	The Offside Backhand Shot

The Neck Shot:

This is the shot taken hitting the ball from under the horse's neck from either left or right side.

A Bump:

A player can ride into another player to spoil his shot. The angle taken to do so should not be sharp or near 90 degrees. Factually the faster the horse moves the smaller the angle should get.

The Goal:

At all times whenever the ball crosses the line between the two goal posts is considered as a goal scored. This is regardless of the horse or mallet causing the ball to go through the goal line. The teams change side in scoring the goals in order to get equal benefit of wind and turf / ground conditions.

The Handicap:

All payers registered to play the game of polo are rated on a scale -2 to 10 the higher rating always being the better. The team, handicap is said to be the sum total rating of its players and in handicapped matches the team with a higher handicap gives the difference in the rating to the opponents team.

The Hook:

One player can spoil the opponent's shot by placing his mallet in the way of the opponent's strike. A cross hook (when the player reaches over his opponents 's horse in an attempt to hook or hooking across the opponents ponies legs is considered to be a foul hook.