President Initial Address and Report of Annual General Membership Meeting
Dear APA Members,
I am honored to be serving as your president for the next two years. I am committed to creating opportunities for all ages and abilities to experience the world on a polocrosse field abroad or at home. I am dedicated to developing a strong positive culture built on a foundation of value added rules and regulations to allow our sport to grow and thrive. We spend countless hours and dollars to enjoy our sport, our horses and our community, and I want the value to match the cost. I set out our priorities to focus our efforts and accomplish these things through the lenses of Community, Sportsmanship, and Horsemanship.
Community
The most common reason people love Polocrosse is because of the community we get to enjoy on and off the field. Community is built off of trust and communication and therefore it is a top priority to improve the transparency and communication among clubs, members, and the board to make that a reality. Being a small community means it is even more important to maintain fair rules and administrative execution that leads to a positive culture. Every member of our community is important and should feel empowered to actively participate in our organization at all levels.
Sportsmanship
We are not only sportsmen in the saddle but anytime we represent and promote our sport. Umpiring, coaching, volunteering or representing abroad, our members must strive to embody sportsmanship. We cannot operate the organization and do what we love without volunteers. Our coaches and umpires need to be continually developed to improve the quality and level of our play, which makes the game more fun anyway. A positive culture is maintained when individuals are committed to embodying sportsmanship.
Horsemanship
Our horses are the center of our sport. We must make efforts to expand our collective horse pool starting at the club and individual level to bring more horses into the sport. At the national level, we will continue to make goals and develop programs to increase opportunities to bring along more horses. Education on horsemanship topics to improve the care of our equestrian athletes in addition to taking animal welfare concerns into consideration to make our sport welcoming and enjoyable to the public is vital to the growth of our sport. We owe it to our horses to continue to educate ourselves so that they can enjoy the sport as much as we do.
Annual General Membership Meeting
At the Annual General Membership Meeting Feb 1-2, 2025 in Raleigh, NC your board of directors and committee chairs and members discussed the organization’s purpose, and how our strengths and weaknesses are playing into how we operate and where we can improve. A big question we wanted to answer is “What does an APA membership get you?” The answer is organized, safe, nationally and internationally recognized Polocrosse opportunities. Without the organization of the APA and its board of directors and committee chairs, we would not be able to host the events we do on a national and international level. There are costs for administrative work to maintain a website, rulebook, umpires, international squads, insurance, national clinics, finances etc. and thus we have memberships. Your membership shows commitment and support of our sport to uphold the priorities of Community, Sportsmanship, and Horsemanship.
Are we perfect as an organization? No, and that’s where the power of volunteering comes in. Get involved so that we can make more opportunities come to fruition and enhance our operations. Our members are our greatest asset, but we need to organize our efforts at a national level so we can all play together and agree on how we play the game, all while keeping our players and horses safe. We have a strong foundational community of hardworking passionate players and volunteers, and I thank you for all your efforts. If you want to know how you can get involved with the APA Board and Committees, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me via email, use the WhatsApp Community, Facebook, Instagram, or ask your local club leadership!
Play on!
Virginia Carpenter Covert
President – American Polocrosse Association
