Case Study:
Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club

Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club - Relaxation & Fitness by CGA Integration

Outline

The Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club (RCBPC) also known as The Berkshire, is situated in Winkfield near Windsor. The Club, which hosts prestigious polo tournaments and events throughout the year, boasts world-class sporting facilities including; six pristine polo fields, the UK’s first all-weather polo arena, stabling to accommodate over 200 horses, two tennis courts, a croquet lawn, a clubhouse, pavilion and an esteemed polo school. CGA Integration were appointed to install improved audio around the main outdoor polo pitch, to ensure the delivery of quality sound and intelligible vocal reinforcement to the grandstands and VIP viewing areas.

Challenges

The speaker solution needed to be robust as the speakers are situated outside throughout the year and are subject to all weathers. In addition they need to cover key areas with quality sound whilst ensuring minimal noise pollution to Club neighbours. The installed control system needed to be simple yet flexible. Inputs had to include; CD, USB, Bluetooth and a jack plug for portable music players. As work is to be carried out in two phases, amplification was installed for the full project in phase one ready for the second phase of the project, which will see speakers installed on the far side of the polo pitch to cover further viewing areas.

Technical

To cover key audience areas, CGA Integration specified a system based on EV weatherproof speakers. 8 SX300si speakers were mounted at height along the pavilion side of the main polo pitch to gain superior coverage. The installed audio system was driven with the new EV/Dynacord IPX10.4 amplifier. This amplifier delivers all the necessary power whilst allowing all the sound equalisation, zoning and limiting to be done within one box. For added flexibility, the amplifier allows for recall of two presets via switches on the GPIO, enabling two different styles of event to be hosted. CGA Integration worked with the furniture design company Finer London and specified dimensions for a cabinet to enclose the sound hardware which allowed for both easy access and adequate ventilation. In addition, 300 series Sennheiser radio microphones with an external aerial systems were installed to allow presentations to be made from the main polo pitch without dropouts. These microphones were specified with a rechargeable battery system to ensure that they were always ready for use and whilst giving the best sonic performance. A Denon CD, USB, Bluetooth Player was also supplied and a range of music inputs were installed to increase user flexibility. Simple zone control was delivered using a cloud zoner.

Response

Michael Amoore General Manager of the RCBPC commented, “ it is vital that our guests are able to hear clear commentary throughout the polo matches. The new sound system CGA has installed has delivered both this and the flexibility to accommodate other prestigious events that we hold throughout the year.”