History
Real Club de Polo de Barcelona was founded in 1897 by a group of amateur polo players. It currently has 10,500 members.
Origins
Polo, Barcelonans’ new passion
Real Club de Polo de Barcelona was born thanks to the initiative of a group of polo players led by Enrique Ibarrola. The purpose of the association was to promote the game of polo and love of equestrian sports. The organization’s activities were held on the main field of the now-closed Can Tunis Racetrack. Five years later, the main square of the Parc de la Ciutadella hosted the city’s first equestrian competition.
Due to the creation of the free port, Polo Club de Barcelona was moved to the Sarriá grounds, known as “Can Rabia,” where it was merged with the Barcelona Jockey Club. In 1912, after changing the bylaws, it adopted the name Real Polo Jockey Club de Barcelona.
The arrival of tennis and hockey
In 1904, the Barcelona Lawn Tennis Association was formed, with Polo Club de Barcelona as one of the five founding members. One year prior, in 1903, the clubs Barcelona Lawn Tennis Club, Sportverein, Salud Sport Club, and Polo Club de Barcelona organized the first international tennis tournament in Barcelona.
In 1907, some members of Polo Club de Barcelona began to play hockey. In 1912, the first hockey match in Spain between two full teams was played. Real Polo Jockey Club beat the Spanish team 5 to 2. Over the next few years, Real Club de Polo de Barcelona groomed players for the Spanish national hockey team for both international championships and the Olympic Games. 63 polo players have represented Spain at the Olympics.
Real Club de Polo on Av. Diagonal
In 1932, due to the clear need for larger facilities, the Club moved to Av. Diagonal, where it is currently located. In 1939, the official name became Real Club de Polo de Barcelona.
Next comes padel
In the 1990s, the Club incorporated a new and emerging sport into the main lineup of those played at its facilities: padel. Currently, the padel division is tremendously active in all of its categories. Social, regional, and national competitions and the Catalan International Padel Championships offer a wide range of possibilities to both players and fans in general.
Sport Center, linking athletes
Today, practicing sports is based on good physical preparation. The installation of a full-scale Sport Center among the Club’s sports services has optimized the Club’s offerings for those who are both simply seeking to improve their quality of life and want to maximize their athletic performance.
Sport
International impact
Sport has been developed and strengthened within club life, reaching the point of hosting important international events such as the Hockey World Cup (1971), the EuroHockey Club Champions Cup (1978 and 1980), the equestrian contests of the Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympic Games, the Pre-Olympic Hockey Tournament (1996), and in 2004, the UEFA Champions League, the Junior Davis Cup, and the Junior Fed Cup. The repeated hosting of the world final of the Nations Cup Obstacle Jumping League places this Club in the elite of the best eight equestrian competitions in the world. Real Club de Polo de Barcelona recently established Barcelona Equestrian Challenge, an ambitious project that transformed the city into the epicenter of the equestrian world for three years.
The most important annual international competitions:
- International Hockey Reyes Tournament* (January)
- Torneo Internacional de Polo* (April/May)
- Veterans Tennis Potter Cup (May/June)
- Catalan International Padel Championships (June)
- ITF Seniors Grade A (July)
- Official International Jumping Competition (CSIO) of Barcelona* (September)
- Gran Premi Ciutat de Barcelona de Polo (November)
*international sporting event declared by Turisme de Barcelona as “of maximum interest in Catalonia”.
Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympic Games
In preparation for the equestrian contests of the Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympic Games at Real Club de Polo, its equestrian facilities were fully remodeled, and it is now one of the clubs meeting the highest international standards for variety, quantity, and quality. Real Club de Polo de Barcelona was the only private facility that hosted an Olympic competition. It was a great achievement that very effectively combined its day-to-day activity with a highly organized and logistical event. Club members were key to the success of such an important project.
High level of activity for everyone
Numerous tournaments and social, regional, and national competitions guarantee members and foreign athletes sports activities throughout the year:
- over 4,000 players with federation licenses in the different sports
- around 2,000 students in the sports schools
- over 100 competitive teams are nationally registered
- over 160 tournaments are held annually at RCPB
- over 17,000 athletes use the RCPB facilities annually (members and visitors)
Institutional recognition
In 1997, in honor of the Club’s centennial, the Spanish government awarded RCPB the “Royal Order of Sports Merit” for its valuable contribution to national and international sports activity. Similarly, Barcelona City Council granted it the same distinction in recognition of its contribution to both Catalan sport and the city.
Meanwhile, the International Federation for Equestrian Sports gave the finals of the Nations Cup World League, held at the Club, its highest rating (EXCELLENT).
In 2009, the Generalitat made a comprehensive assessment of the over 1,400 clubs in Catalonia. Real Club de Polo de Barcelona was ranked second, surpassed only by FC Barcelona. In 2010, Real Club de Polo was chosen as the best tennis club in Spain by the Association of Tennis Professionals.
Real Club de Polo de Barcelona and the city
As part of the city, Real Club de Polo de Barcelona has hosted local celebrations and activities such as La Mercé festivals, Mounted Police Force performances, the modern pentathlon and equestrian contests of the Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympic Games, and recently, the equestrian contests of the World Police and Fire Games. And as a future project, responding as always to the requests of the institutions, RCPB will host the equestrian contests of the 2018 Mediterranean Games.
In 2003, in an effort to promote the sport among young people in Barcelona, RCPB, together with the Catalan Tennis Federation and Barcelona City Council, organized the school tennis tournament Barcelona 10, for schoolchildren from the 10 districts in Barcelona who want to compete in this sport, with or without prior knowledge.
Charity, one of the Club’s principles
RCPB welcomes people with disabilities to help them improve physically as well as in terms of social integration: hippotherapy, hockey + teams, tennis and padel classes for people with mental illness, and various efforts in support of groups in danger of social exclusion, etc. are part of day-to-day life at the Club.
Future
Service and events
In its 120 years of existence, RCPB has gone through many varied stages, always as an iconic organization of a city as important as Barcelona. In the future, this Club will continue to work to offer the best service to its more than 10,500 members, promoting the teaching and practicing of sports always within a framework of sportsmanship, fair play, respect, and fellowship. Under the current presidency of Curro Espinós de Pascual, it will continue to grow and improve day by day in the organization of its international sporting events, through which RCPB and Barcelona are becoming the showcase of the best sporting event in the world.
The care given to member services is fundamental to the success of RCPB, a family organization that embodies a passion for sports.
