Ellerstina takes Polo Open 14-13 vs. La Dolfina.

A majestic performance by the Pieres Bros., Facundo and Gonzalo, and man of the match Juan Martin Nero, helped Ellerstina take the coveted Triple Crown, the first team to do so since 2003.

The 117th final of the Argentine Polo Open at the Campo Argentino de Polo in Palermo, Buenos Aires saw Ellerstina beat La Dolfina 14-13. It also meant Adolfo Cambiaso, considered the greatest Polo player of all times, was left trophy-less. 


The lead changed throughout the match and coming into the final chukkas everything seemed to show it was heading for an extra chukka being tied 13-13 with little time to go. However Facundo Pieres scored the decisive final goal with a perfectly hit 30-yard penalty. It was the first time in six years this tournament was not decided with a supplementary chukka.

Although La Dolfina did everything they could to get a goal back, Ellerstina’s resilient defence and Juan Martin Nero’s controlling of Adolfo Cambiaso made it impossible for them to come back into the game. Cambiaso, La Dolfina’s highest goal-scorer, could only score seven goals in the final, marking this his worst tally in a Palermo final. Gonzalo Pieres was also very important for the champions. He fought hard and won the duel in the midfield and added six goals to the score-line, helping Ellerstina win the match. 

It was another typical December day at the Polo grounds for the crowds: heat, hats and high class galore, but not another typical day for Ellerstina, who can feel very proud of themselves after achieving what many have not.

Chukka by chukka: First chukka: Ellerstina 2- La Dolfina 3; Second: Ellerstina 5- La Dolfina 4; Third: Ellerstina 7- La Dolfina 5; Fourth: Ellerstina 7-La Dolfina 7; Fifth: Ellerstina 8 – La Dolfina 10; Sixth: Ellerstina 12- La Dolfina 10; Seventh: Ellerstina 13 – La Dolfina 13; Eighth: Ellerstina 14 – La Dolfina 13.
Ellerstina scorers: Facundo Pieres (6), Gonzalo Pieres(5), Pablo Mac Donough (1), Juan Martín Nero (2)
La Dolfina scorers: Adolfo Cambiaso (7), David Stirling (5), Bartolomé Castagnola (1).

International Olympic Committee Social Media Guidelines

The Olympic Games have started using social media platforms as a means of communicating with their audience, supporters and athletes. However, there are certain rules and guidelines that must be taken into account. Here is a short article on whether athletes should be allowed to use social media platforms during the Games.

Social media, blogging and the internet as a whole has grown amazingly over the past years. The 21^st century has seen the uproar of social media, being Facebook, Twitter and other platforms. Each and every one of these platforms can be used for research purposes, journalistic purposes or just for mere fun. They are used by the general public, politicians, sport figures, entertainment icons. Fame brings followers and these followers await the latest news from their adored “players”.

As pointed out in the “IOC Social Media, Blogging and Internet Guidelines”, (IOC_Social_Media_Blogging_and_Internet_Guidelines-English.pdf) the IOC encourages Participants to post comments on social media platforms and tweet during the Olympic Games, and it is entirely acceptable for any Participant to do a personal posting, blog or tweet. However there are a number of rules and guidelines that they must comply, they must always be dignified and in good taste, and should not be discriminatory, offensive, hateful, defamatory or otherwise illegal and shall not contain vulgar or obscene words or images, and finally must always conform to the Olympic spirit and main principles of Olympism: Friendship, excellence and respect.

The main problem is Freedom of Speech and how free one can be. The athletes, who are constantly in the public eye, are people we look up to, peers that have moral and ethical values for following youngsters, consequently they must be very careful how and what they post. The tone of a tweet is difficult to determine, sarcasm can be understood as disrespect therefore rules are essential.

Athletes must continue their professional behaviour on and off the field of play. Thus, allowing athletes to criticize other athletes and referees, give personal or political opinions on social media may be very harmful to a mega-event, seen by billions worldwide, that stands by respect upon every level.

Zeitgeist of the Modern Olympic Games

Although we are all enjoying ourselves thoroughly with the Football World Cup Brasil 2014, I find myself in the middle of an amazing online course on Coursera.org called The Olympics and The Media. Here's a short essay I recently wrote about the factors that made the Modern Olympics a worldwide success:

Zeitgeist can be understood as the general intellectual, moral and cultural climate of an era (Merriam-Webster Online), the spirit of age and time that affects the way creations come together. The Modern Olympic Games needed various factors to fall into place for it to become a reality. Changes in modern society seen towards the end of the XIX century contributed and made the Modern Olympic Games become what they are today. Here are the important factors that helped with its success.

Firstly, the world was becoming a more globalized place due to new means of transportation. Trains and faster steamboats meant that communication between two points was easier and swifter.

Secondly, a growing interest in international expos, the three most important ones held in Paris towards the end of the XIX century, brought information about science, electricity and transportation to many people.

Thirdly, there is an intellectual link between Deep Psychology (Freud wrote “The Interpretation of Dreams” in July 1895) and The Olympics, they both a combine the scientific approach of enlightenment and presence in their imagery of myths, religion, sacred traditions and rituals. Psychology uses these to study the unconscious and the Olympics to acquire transcendence, entity and spirit.

Finally, in terms of communication there were two fundamental innovations, the invention of the Cinematograph by the Lumiere brothers which was a very important in wide-spreading global sport, and the telecommunication systems. The first telephone call was made in 1887 and was to become a cultural milestone.

If these changes hadn't happened we may not have had the chance to watch this amazing spectacle every two years, with the Summer and Winter Games alternating. Fortunately, for all sport-lovers, these changes occurred at the right place and at the right time.