Below is a list of the current ISPA Board of Directors. The ISPA Board of Directors is comprised of five volunteers who have been elected by the ISPA membership to serve for a term of up to two years (depending on position) to continue the progress of guiding and structuring the sport, however deal with ISPA business via email on a daily basis. The Board meets regularly, at least once per month (times vary because of multiple time zones that Board members are in) via Skype conference call.
Mark Dyckmanns
Chairman
Mark Dyckmanns started playing Segway Polo in 2010. His first Tournament was the European Championships in Hemer, Germany. Since then he played at every major tournament, WOZ Challenge Cup and most of the smaller events.
In 2012, playing for the Balve Mammuts, he won the European Championship (held in Balve, Germany) and the WOZ Challenge Cup (held in Stockholm, Schweden). In the following years he won several Tournaments like the German Masters and Zurich Cup.
Mark has been a member of the ISPA Rules Committee for several years and he was substantially involved in the last comprehensive rules changes in 2018.
In 2012 he was part of the organization of the European Championship in Balve, known as the first “Water Polo” tournament, because of the rainy weather. Furthermore he is treasurer of his team.
Born in 1970 in Iserlohn, Mark Dyckmanns is working as an Architekt and he lives in Menden (Sauerland, Germany) close to Balve and Hemer. He gets the full support of his Segway Polo enthusiastic family Silja and Anna Franziska who take part at every tournament as substitute players and volunteers.
Paul Davies
Vice Chairman
Born in Coventry England – 06-08-1962
Paul was born of Welsh Parents that moved to England for work and followed in his fathers trade as an Toolmaker.
His younger years was on the move with his family around the United States where is sister was born!
His Welsh blood is what gives him the love for Rugby & a follower of many other sports having a winter passion for skiing!
He is a past Chairman of Coventry three spires Round Table where he’s had many years of fun & charity work & over the years his Round Table has raised £1.4 million for the local Community. Paul himself with his team to the total over £1 Million being the first Round table to hit this landmark figure.
His journey into Segway Polo came from Round Table and an invite to play from Richard VJ in late 2015, that’s where this wonderful journey begins.
The first time he player it was instant love & a very nasty fall popping 2 ribs but was totally smitten!
With the encouragement and guidance from April Baron Harrison & Mark Weller, he’s signed up to anything that was going just to play. Shortly after heading out to Barbados 2016 Polo in Paradise finding himself in a team with Nevin Roach this was truly a landmark moment as Nevin gave great insight to a System of play that would work for our team and luckily we came away as victors!
I could name many fabulous players I’ve played alongside or against from all over the world.
2019 has been a fabulous year & have been lucky enough to have won the Spring Tournament in Hildesheim & Nikolaus Tournament in Solingen.
The real highline to the journey is my new extended family as I believe I have made amazing friends for life!
Michael O’Connor
Treasurer
Born in Atchison, Kansas USA in 1961, two grown children, one grandson
Raised in Indiana, lived 30 years in Northern California, now in Dallas, TX
Currently working as Director of Sales Engineer for Oracle Corporation
Hobbies: Yoga, travel, wake boarding, technology, motorsports
Segway Polo: Major Tournaments: WozCup 2011, 2012, 2015 and Euro-Cup in 2016
Having started practicing in the spring of 2011, I volunteered to assist with Woz Cup 2011 preparation in Folsom, CA. Much to my surprise, I was invited to play on the Folsom Breakout. From that amazing experience I knew this sport and fellow players would become an important part of my life. Although the Folsom Breakout existing only for a brief time, the connections I made allowed me to continue to develop my game and resulted in new friends and opportunites to travel, play with many wonderful teams and to participate in over a dozen tournaments. Perhaps more importantly, the sport has enabled me to develop what I trust will prove to be life-long friends and extended family. If you’ve not yet tried Segway Polo, I encourage you to check it out. You’ll be glad you did!
Lidia Luther
Secretary
Lidia Luther has been part of the Segway Polo family ever since her husband Ralf Luther joined the Barbados Rum Runners team to play at the 2010 Woz Challenge Cup held in Barbados that year.
Over the years, Lidia Luther has contributed extensively to the sport as a non-player volunteer doing time keeping/scoring, goal line assistant and other tasks at every Woz Challenge Cup since 2010 and many other major tournaments.
In a formal capacity, Lidia Luther has had an extensive role in organizing the Barbados Cup for the Segway Polo Club of Barbados (SPCB) since its first edition in 2014, as well as administering the organization for Team Barbados when they travel to various tournaments.
Now acting as Secretary of the SPCB and of ISPA, her contribution to the Sport has taken a more official role within the community, locally in Barbados as well as internationally within ISPA.
Lidia Luther is Brazilian, speak Portuguese, Spanish, English and German and is married to German Barbados player Ralf Luther. They have lived in Barbados for the last twenty years.
They have a German Shepherd called Freya, who loves chasing the Segways.
Sascha Kratz
Member at Large
Sascha Kratz was born in Wermelskirchen in 1988 and showed enthusiam for engineering from day one. In 2007 he started to study electrical engineering which he finished with his master’s degree in 2012. Afterwards he started to work as postgraduate student in the field of electrical power supplies.
In 2010 he met a photographer at a New Year’s Eve party who told him about a friend playing polo with segways. He couldn’t believed this and asked her to make contact. Two weeks later he was joining the practice of the Segwaypolo-Bergisches Land e.V. in Solingen for the first time. After nearly one year playing the club couldn’t rent him segways anymore. Because he was so fascinated of playing Segwaypolo he changed to the X-Turtles in Lohmar. After some years he was able to buy an own machine and changed back to the club in Solingen were he got hooked by the sport.
Today he is the treasurer of the club and involved in all the events the club is realizing. One of these is the yearly Nikolaus Tournament which is well known and loved by the Segwaypolo family. Since 2019 he is in the rules committee as well and helps with the organization of the german Bundesliga.
This whole story wouldn’t have happened without Bärbel Krahforst. (She forced me to say that !)