POLO+10 is proud to have been an exclusive partner of the Central European Polo Association (CEPA) for a long time.
The Central European Polo Association, better known as CEPA, was established by Czechoslovakian polo player Ulrich Ferdinand Kinsky in 1929 in Vienna. It served as the governing body for Polo Clubs in Central Europe, disseminating information from the British Hurlingham Polo Association.
Due to the political situation and the rise of Nazi Germany, CEPA lasted only until August 1st, 1939, when it was abolished by the NS Partei in Vienna.
For almost 70 years, CEPA did not exist. However, when Baron Richard Drasche from Polo Club Schloss Ebreichsdorf in Austria embarked on a mission to reunite polo with former Eastern European countries, including the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Romania, he revived the Association with Uwe Zimmerman and Maria Dominowski in 2008.
As each country established its own national association, CEPA became redundant. Therefore, it was restructured with a new plan and mission and handed over to someone new. Jan Zavázal, certified HPA Coach, together with Sylvia Strube and Veronika Svobodova from La Republica Polo Club in Prague took over CEPA with a plan to create a tournament calendar for Central Eastern Europe. This aims to spread information about events happening in central Europe as well as in the former Soviet states, where polo has been growing since the early 1990s.
In addition, CEPA holds a history that began in the Habsburg monarchy, a legacy that should not be forgotten. CEPA continues to publish this precious history, which is still not 100% complete, as the historical facts of the individual countries are a part of
its journey.
CEPA also disseminates Rule Updates from the Hurlingham Polo Association, as it is the respected rule book in Central Europe. Last but not least, a youth program is in place. The aim is to give young people a chance to get involved in this sport by integrating them into the polo society. The mission here is to establish connections with Polo Clubs around the globe and offer job positions for young talents who wish to travel the world by
working in Polo.
This comes with a new brand identity and website which were introduced to represent a modern look for modern times. CEPA welcomes tournament organizers to publish their tournaments.
Text and Photography by CEPA
