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Women trying to revive intercollegiate polo in Hawaii

MOKULEIA (KHNL) - Polo is a sport with a long history in Hawaii, but no longer has a presence in today's sports scene. However, there's a group of women at the University of Hawaii, who are trying to change that.

In the late 1800's, before it ever hit the mainland, polo was a popular sport here in Hawaii with more than 20 polo fields on Oahu.

"Polo was a big inter-island sport... Inter-island teams would play each other ... Then with World War Two the cavalry was... exterminated, shall we say, so there was no more cavalry. Polo lost one of its big supporting legs." Said Mike Dailey of the Hawaii Polo Club.

But now six UH students, all members of the Lio Polo Club, are trying to bring polo back, and make it an intercollegiate sport at the University of Hawaii.

"When we actually came to them and we said we want polo, we want to do a polo club maybe an intercollegiate team, they said what...water polo?" said Kathryn Bodendorfer of the Lio Polo Club.

It's just one of the challenges facing the club, but they've been busy getting the word out, with articles in Polo Players magazine and in their school newspaper. They've also received help from Mike Dailey, president of the Hawaii Polo Club, who's been generous enough to provide horses and a huge field that sits right off the ocean.

But there's still one thing the club is lacking.

"Our biggest problem right now is money, we don't have enough to really get where we need to be, and so we're trying to work on grants and fund-raising scholarships, anything. Anything helps" said Alyssa Barlow of the Lio Polo Club.

 Now despite the huge obstacles, the women say they're not giving up.

"Well what keeps me going is, I want an intercollegiate team. It gives such great opportunities for students to be involved" said Bodendorfer.