Argentina
Asociación Argentina de Polo: Handicap changes for next season
There will still be two 40-handicap teams in Argentina. Agustín Merlos now a 9-handicap player. Two players are risen to that handicap figure
By Ramón Casares, Wildlife Photography
Yet another high-handicap season has come to an end in Argentina, and like each year, the Board of Directors of the Asociación Argentina de Polo held a meeting with the purpose of evaluating the players, so as to define their valorizations for the 2010 season.
Among the more noted rises, the mentioned Board decided that David Stirling (Jr.), of the Indios Chapaleufú II team, and Hilario Ulloa, of Chapa Uno Hope Funds, are to rise from 8 in their handicaps to 9, while Alejandro Novillo Astrada, the El Paraíso back, will now be a 8-handicap player. Another of the players who took part in the Abierto Argentino, and who improved his handicap rating is Frederick Mannix (Jr.), a forward of the Alegría Air France team, as he was risen from 6 to 7.
The most notable reduction in handicap figures is that of Agustín Merlos, Pilará Piaget’s number one, who will no longer be a 10-handicap player, as he will have 9 as his handicap next season. Apart from this, there will continue to be two 40-handicap teams, just like nowadays: La Dolfina Peugeot and Ellerstina Etiqueta Negra. Apart from the eight players of these two foursomes, only Miguel Novillo Astrada (La Aguada Tupungato Winelands) and Marcos Heguy (Pilará) will also have double-digit handicaps.
There were a total of 309 handicap changes, of which 261 corresponded to rises, and 48 to decreases. The following is the list of the new valorizations, corresponding to the members of the teams that played the recent Abierto Argentino, which was won by the La Dolfina Peugeot team:
La Dolfina Peugeot
Adolfo Cambiaso (Jr.) 10
Lucas Monteverde (Jr.) 10
Mariano Aguerre 10
Bartolomé Castagnola 10
Total 40
Ellerstina Etiqueta Negra
Facundo Pieres 10
Gonzalo Pieres (Jr.) 10
Pablo Mac Donough 10
Juan Martín Nero 10
Total 40
La Aguada Tupungato Winelands
Javier Novillo Astrada 09
Eduardo Novillo Astrada (Jr.) 09
Miguel Novillo Astrada 10
Ignacio Novillo Astrada 09
Total 37
Pilará Piaget
Agustín Merlos 09
Santiago Chavanne 08
Sebastián Merlos 09
Marcos Heguy 10
Total 36
Chapa Uno Hope Funds
Bautista Heguy 09
Hilario Ulloa 09
Alejandro Díaz Alberdi 08
Francisco de Narváez (Jr.) 09
Total 35
Indios Chapaleufú II
Alberto Heguy (Jr.) 08
Ignacio Heguy 09
David Stirling (h.) 09
Eduardo Heguy 09
Total 35
Alegría Air France
Frederick Mannix (Jr.) 07
Francisco Bensadón 08
Juan Ignacio Merlos 09
Luke Tomlinson 08
Total 32
El Paraíso
Guillermo Caset (Jr.) 08
Ignacio Toccalino 08
Mariano González 08
Alejandro Novillo Astrada 08
Total 32
Comments
Luis Wetzler
jan.07 - 19:10hs
It is not fair that Agustin Merlos should be downgraded to 9, Pilara had played very well and he was one of the best, they didn't win any tournament of the Triple Crown but they were excellent. Was a shame that nobody commented the awful final that we have with Boudou giving a penalty to Dolfina for a non existent foul of Pablo Mac Donough, even Cambiaso agreed that this is correct and all the people there, but Luis Lalor and the AAP board has a very old fashion and even unfair approach to what polo means today.