Chip McKenney, founder of the GPL. Photo: Scott Fisher.
WELLINGTON, FL – November 12, 2014 – Chip McKenney, CEO and President of the Gay Polo League and Phelps Media Group International CEO, will be honored Saturday night at the Compete Sports Diversity Awards Dinner in Tempe, Ariz.
McKenney is being honored as Compete Magazine’s 2014 Sports Pioneer for “paving a significant path in the sports community through his leadership of the Gay Polo League and his participation in the sport of polo.”
Compete Magazine is the global leader in sports diversity media. Compete Magazine, founded in 2006, is the world’s first and only LGBT sports diversity media company.
The magazine’s Sports Diversity Awards honor deserving athletes, individuals and organizations who fulfill Compete’s mission of uniting gay and straight communities through sports.
McKenney heads an impressive list of honorees that also includes former NFL player and LGBT advocate Esera Tuaolo; LPGA pro Sue Wieger; WNBA champions Phoenix Mercury; Arizona State University and Storm Bowling Products.
“I am very honored to receive this award,” McKenney said. “So many people have and continue to help build the GPL so this award is for all of us.
“LGBT athletes make a difference,” McKenney said. “I’m very proud of all the GPL members who have the courage to play polo as self-identified LGBT people.”
The gala event is co-hosted by Compete Magazine CEO Eric Carlyle and Blake Skjellerup, 2010 New Zealand Olympic short track speed skater and LGBT sports advocate.
The VIP reception is 6-7 p.m. followed by the main event at 7:15 p.m. Both events will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton.
VIP tickets are available for $250 and include the VIP reception. General admission tickets are $135 which includes dinner. For more information call 480-222-4223.
The Wellington-based Gay Polo League, created by McKenney in 2006, is an international organization and only organized gay polo league in the world.
Players of all ages, backgrounds and skill levels travel from all over the world for not only the competition but camaraderie. GPL players come from several countries including France, England, Argentina, South Africa, Canada and Australia.
The Gay Polo League recently made history when it made its debut in the fourth annual Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships: Horses & Horsepower last month in Scottsdale. The event is America’s most attended polo event attracting 15,000 polo fans to the Omni Scottsdale Polo Field.
The Gay Polo League’s flagship event is the International Gay Polo League Tournament Week which celebrated its fifth anniversary in April with a record five teams in Wellington.
The event was live-streamed worldwide for the first time and featured in a 15-page spread in Polo International Magazine, polo’s premier magazine.
Behind McKenney’s tireless efforts, attendance at the International GPL Tournament has grown from 1,500 in its inaugural year to more than 5,000. Spectators have grown so interested in the sport several have taken polo lessons and attended other polo games.
“I am hoping we will build every single year to make this special,” McKenney said. “I can’t wait to see where we are in ten years.”
McKenney is a lifelong horseman with extensive show experience in the jumper division and is also a rated polo player.
Sharon Robb for Phelps Media Group, Inc. International
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