Why was the Club App Developed?

United Polo, is a collaborative platform aimed at developing tools and resources to promote and grow polo in the UK. United Polo’s Club App is the first of the “tools” being made available. The Club App has a range of functionality designed to support club administrators in their day to day management and communication to their varied audiences. A Covid-19 self-declaration and secure record keeping process was developed to respond to the track and trace requirements being put in place for the 2021 season.

Can each club get their own bespoke app?

Yes. United Polo has worked with its app developer to develop an app template that can be tailored to each individual club. The Club App is designed so that it can be simply rebadged and utilised by many different clubs and affiliates. There is a range of functionality that can be activated or excluded depending upon the specific needs of the club.

What can the Club App do?

The Club App currently provides a range of functionality that have been designed for polo clubs (see KPPC Club App by clicking this link ).

In response to the Covid restrictions the Club App allows all persons attending HPA affiliated venues to submit Covid-19 symptom self-declaration forms electronically and in advance and to receive an electronic certificate confirming their registration. It also supports clubs to:

• Electronically store Covid-19 declaration information securely and efficiently for the required 21 days.
• Automatically email an alert to the potential attendee and the Club Covid marshall if the attendee is registering for entry contrary to UK Govt guidance or HPA protocols
• Automatically email entry clearance certificates to all persons meeting entry requirement

The Club App supports a multitude of non-Covid related functionalities that can be used to enhance the club’s communication and information dissemination.

• Website links to clubs Home website
• RSS linking to grab  news and information
• Social media forwarding, messaging and chat room functions
• Remote food and beverage ordering
• merchandise product sales (shop)
• Events and ticketing add-ins
• Targeting different audience groups – allow member access and public access areas
• Membership and tournament registrations and payments

Further dedicated polo functionality is in the process of being developed to support and streamline key club management tasks. These added function will reduce the time burden on club admin staff and create a user friendly and informative platform for club members and all that download the App e.g.

• Automated tournament scheduler
• Dynamic match recording and live updating of tournament timetables.
• Assign match staff duties and communication
• Team entry booking platform

Who manages the Club App?

The clubs are responsible for the content contained within the app and will have the ability to adjust the functionality within the scope of the services included in the Club App. The Club App supplied to you is designed to be self-managing on a day to day basis and is for your club to utilise as your own however you wish. We will invite you to drop in sessions to help familiarise you with the Dashboard Content Editorial Manager (DCEM) that is straightforward to use and gives you full autonomy over the functionality.

How much does the Club App cost?

United Polo is offering each HPA affiliated club the basic set up and use of a Progressive Web App (PWA) for free until 31 October 2021. Clubs will be sent terms and conditions when ordering the PWA. No additional fees will be charged other than stated in this document. Clubs may decide to upgrade to Native App which is housed on the Apple Store and Google Play platforms. Clubs will need to enrol in the Apple development program and pay a registration fee. The upgrade fee for Club for an annual license is approximately £1333 per annum depending on set up requested.

United Polo is covering the upfront costs for the Clubs PWA for the 2021 season as a gesture of goodwill to the polo community and to foster a culture of collaboration that can be used to discuss and develop resources and opportunities to promote UK polo. United Polo’s vision is to develop a platform where the polo clubs and affiliates are direct stakeholders and thereby financially benefit from revenue generated by the platform. United Polo’s mission is to harness economies of scale and unlock the collective value of polo to grow and promote the sport. Contractually from the 31st October 2021 Clubs can choose from the following options;

• Remain on the United Polo platform for free for a further 2 years and continue to utilise the Club App functionality and be engaged in the design of future Club App functionality and opportunities and become a stakeholder in United Polo.
• Activate an individual license for the Club App currently estimated at approx £111/per month ex VAT plus for a native App housed in the Apple Store and Google play plus registration fees.

Do we need to use the Club App?

No. The Club App provides a mobile channel to manage attendance registration and the collection of contact and C-19 self-declaration health status information. This information can be collected through other channels managed by the club (e.g., paper, WhatsApp, website etc). However, the records that you collect may contain personal health data and this requires a higher level of GDPR protection. The attendance records must also be accessible on request to the NHS track and trace team if they need to follow up an outbreak.

Who controls the data collected by the App?

United Polo has developed a proposed Privacy Policy that will be discussed and agreed with each club in advance of App initiation. In short, the Club will be assigned as the Data Controller (i.e. determine when and how app users are contacted for the data collected through their Club App.The Club will assign United Polo and the App developer as Data Processors to allow functionality of the “track and trace form” (if NHS track and track request attendee info) and access to united polo to anonymised usage analytics

Can the clubs/United Polo use or “process” data collected through the Track and Trace self-declaration form for uses other than for track and trace?

No. The data provided through the Covid-19 Self Declaration form is classified as “Special Category Data” as it is health related. This data will be stored on a secure cloud server. In order to preserve the integrity and security of this data United Polo recommends this data is not “processed” in any way unless it is requested by the NHS or recognised statutory authority to facilitate Covid-19 track and trace efforts. This data will be held for a minimum 21 days and cleansed on a monthly basis. Clubs would request access from United Polo. This information will be passed directly to the NHS track and Trace team on your behalf. This personal track and trace information will not be shared to any other parties. UK Government requires that all attendance logs be maintained for 21 days to allow for efficient tracing in the event of reported Covid cases.

Who will “own” the Club App

United Polo Licensed App developer owns the App platform/Code that enables its functionality

• • If the Clubs decides not to join the United Polo platform in the future and are using a Native app the current Club App users remain with the Clubs so that they can transfer over to a new platform and are not lost.The PWA apps are not transferable.

Who and What is United Polo?

The United Polo platform was set up by Josh Tuthill and partners to develop a range of services and products to support polo clubs to better coordinate and optimise their collective resources for the benefit of the whole polo community hence the “UNITED”. His polo management of Kirtlington Park Polo Club has identified areas of improvement that are common among other polo clubs in the UK. United Polo’s vision is to bring together clubs to harness the collective strength and value of the polo community to foster a viable sporting infrastructure that funds, promotes, enhances the sport of polo. For more information, please see the website:www.unitedpolo.co.uk

Who is using the Club App?

All HPA affiliated clubs will be contacted by United Polo to offer this service free of charge. The HPA supports this platform to help in the return to sport this summer in their Covid 19 club procedures for 2021

How do I set up the Club App?

• Club Admin

United Polo has spent the time to pre-load each club’s logo, website link , location data and contact information. Each club will be supplied with login details to the Apps dashboard. This is an easy-to-use online platform that each club can customise and add in functionality with a click of button. An array of useful functions are available to be customised to maintain end user interest and to keep your audience up to date on all your polo activities. We will offer an online set up introduction session to help explain how to use the dashboard and answer any questions.

• End User

There are several ways to access your club app for members and non-members.

• Each club will be assigned a QR code so that this can be scanned, and the user prompted to follow the download instructions. This QR code should also be displayed at your club’s entry check point so the attendees have the option to download the app on arrival.
• A central United Polo App is also available via Apple’s App store and for Android phones via Google Play and houses all the individual Club apps and where they can be searched and downloaded from there.

What happens if I have a problem with the Club App?

You can email info@unitedpolo.co.uk for tech support. The platform is very robust; the pre- set functions are unchangeable to ensure that you do not alter the key functions.

Can the club communicate with the App users?

Yes – via push notifications all those that have granted permission can be communicated with. Clubs can also segment the audience they want to communicate with by assigning different login access for different audiences , e.g., Club members can log in and see a dedicated menu for only members whilst other groups can login and see a different menu.

How do users download the Club App?

Users go to the United Polo App and select “Club App Download” from there they can search for their club’s app. They select the Club App and can save this to their phones home screen where the Club’s logo will show as an Icon on the user phone..