The polo match is held annually, attracting normally around 500 up to 5000 spectators due to royal participants.

From 1962 onwards, the venue for the match was decided annually, with the choice alternating with each university.

[14] The match format is extremely unusual as it is played open (handicaps are not taken into account).

The original conditions are: No player eligible who has been a member of his University for more than four years, or who has not been in residence during the term in which the match takes place.

(Modern Polo, 1896[15]) No player eligible who has been a member of his University for more than four years, or who has not been in residence during the term in which the match takes place.

In the past, both teams helped to promote British polo not just on Varsity Day but also in other tournaments and events and were seen as one of the strongest British polo teams until World War II brought an end to that.