“RC Polo deserves and should aspire to be a great world racquet event”

Pablo Sánchez Marquiegui48 years old, is president of Barcelona Polo RC since mid-December. He breathed a sigh of relief Curro Espinos after leading a candidacy that combined the experience of many of its members and the freshness provided by the younger ones. An engineer by training and co-founder of DinamarKa, a digital communication and software development agency, he has been part of the board of directors of the last three presidents. He was a member of field hockey in the presidency of Juan Ángel Calzado (2002-2010), executive secretary in the mandate of Eudaldo Bonet (2010-2016) and first vice president with Curro Espídos (2016-2023). Sánchez wants to keep Polo as one of the top clubs in Barcelona.

Of course, it must be recognized that he came to the presidency as a club man for all intents and purposes: more than 20 years involved in one way or another, right?

A remarkable baggage, yes (laughs). When I started working on the resumes on the website for the campaign, I saw that in addition to being a member of the Board of Directors for sixteen years, she had previously been a team leader with girls in the Honor Division, a referee, a player. … Yes, indeed, the participation in the club It is quite important.

Is the legacy of the former president, Curros Espídos, good, incorrigible, predictable?

Neither improvable nor predictable. I can say it’s very good and I won’t be the one to argue with it once I’ve been a part of that work. One of the great milestones of Curro, which may not be immediately apparent, is that it has conveyed not only its working group, the Board, to everyone that we are not a club of clubs but a single club. Because this, in a multi-sports club, costs a lot. In different and very strong sections, there may be a temptation, tradition or inertia that each has its own specific purpose or none. Curro has managed to change this perception and we must continue to create and improve this line, continue to bet on this message.

The best advice you were given after you were proclaimed president?

I didn’t have time to accept them because it was an avalanche of presentations, meetings, attending forums where Polo was involved and which I really didn’t know… But I realized how important the club is and the large number of forums he is involved in, everything that needs to be represented. They gave me advice before the electoral campaign: work, the ability to have a good team and coordinate it, spend time on it and be brave.

What will guide your mandate?

We are the constant choice. We are not great reformers but one of the great assets that I suggested from the team was a strategic plan of the club for twenty years, trying to imagine what Polo will be in two decades and this is something that Once fails to establish a discourse of priorities. This allows the member and the club to unite. And to the current Board, and to the next government teams. What the current work shows is that money must be saved to make future investments. How do we do it this first year; Then there is the issue of expanding the facilities because it is true that there are more uses than before. There are some sections that are very tense and the most obvious example is paddle tennis. Furthermore, as a strategic and tactical matter, the task must be completed. This is the most important investment this club has made in the last thirty years and in itself is a line that must be followed and done well. And I will tell you that the other goals are, given the current situation, the issue of sustainability, combined with digitalization, water management, and energy. This will be a pillar that we will work on in the next four years for sure.

Is the drought plaguing Catalonia a serious threat to the club’s future that you never expected?

We have been working on this aspect for a long time. We are lucky to have our own well, with ground water. That allows us a certain margin but we are installing metering and intelligent irrigation systems. Our burden is more on irrigation than the shower, the weight of irrigation is 70% compared to the 30% that others have, so what we focus on is how to optimize irrigation at the level of maintenance, so that there is no loss of water . , and how to have more water in the ground than running water.

Please explain to me the recipe to keep 11,000 members happy from so many different fields, social strata, family, sports…?

Not happy. What I obviously assume is that decisions will be made that not everyone will like. All the members, when they leave the club, believe that at this moment the club and its activity ends, and what they do not know is that when one leaves, another enters and starts the activity of the club, at another time, at another activity, at another experience. Yes, we must return to the vision of where we want to go, and clearly explain where we are investing and why.

Will Polo continue to be a club that promotes its five sports sections and makes them the identity sign of the entity?

Absolutely. This is our DNA and in fact we not only have to improve each section but also explain to each member who is not participating in them how important it is to improve all five. Otherwise, we will go to the concept of pay-per-use and we are not a club of this nature. We are in a club that represents more than just a tennis, hockey, polo section…It represents everything. We don’t just come to do gymnastics. Prior to your activity is the concept that you are a member of this club.

And the sports schools?

The only challenge is how to combine it with the use of facilities and how to make it sustainable because the growth is brutal. Two thousand children in various school activities is a figure that must be managed with the understanding that all members, when they have children, want to continue enrolling them in school. If there is one member who does not have children and wants to play tennis and there are a thousand children who play tennis, then it is a combination that should work well.

Will the new grandstand at the Olympic diving track and the facilities being built under it prove to be a financial burden to the club in the long term?

No no. Before entering into this type of investment, make some business plans to see its viability and in this sense we are very calm. Everything will be more dynamic because new activities will open up…and we have to be very agile in this sense.

Will CSIO continue to be the club’s flagship?

completely. Last year was impressive with the inauguration of new stands. Now there is a very clear message and that is the events like CSIO where not only Polo but Barcelona have to fight to keep them. These are events that have a huge impact around the world and are a brutal projection for the city and we cannot allow them to continue to disappear…

Where can the club grow, or can it not grow further? Is the polo field untouchable?

The polo field is for playing polo, that much is clear. As a basic principle it is like this. Club growth depends on improving the member experience. To improve it, there are different ways: a CSIO, bringing a big competition here, maybe reorganizing concerts and expanding and improving the facilities. Then there is a pillar on digitization, which we have already started. And the dream is the management of the parking lot and its use. Another point of improvement and member experience.

Will it strengthen the relationship with the city council, Generalitat and CSD?

They have been very good and in this sense Curro has done a great job, impressive to the city council, and also to all the federations. They are all very close and revolve around two things: the CSIO, a huge amount, and us 11,000 practicing sports.

As president, what new major sporting event would you like to lead the club to?

Personally, more than presiding over it, I do believe that Polo deserves and should be able to aspire to a great world racket event, I don’t know if tennis or padel… It is a message that we have there, but as long as And that goes back to the member experience. There can never be an event that does not improve us as club members.

Has being elected president changed your life?

Not yet. What they didn’t tell me was that the level of Polo representation is high and I am a firm believer that the club should be well represented in everything and more, whenever possible. The clubs are very presidential and people want the president to come. There are forums where you can rely on vice presidents and members of the Board and the sections in this sense free you and assume this role and with knowledge. Yes, there is more institutional weight, without a doubt. For example, I am now leaving the Royal Spanish Hockey Federation. The important thing is to have a good team and people around you who are working. Teach new ones. The day after being elected president Curro called me and told me, take a piece of paper and write down the pending things… ‘Yes, we have to see the people!’ I answered.