KING'S CUP ELEPHANT POLO TOURNAMENT
At the Elephant Polo Field, Somdej Phra Suriyothai military camp (the 16th Infantry Division) in Hua Hin, Prachuap Khiri Khan province Spectator entrance is free of charge.
At the Elephant Polo Field, Somdej Phra Suriyothai military camp (the 16th Infantry Division) in Hua Hin, Prachuap Khiri Khan province Spectator entrance is free of charge.
The King's Cup Elephant Polo Tournament, the popular sport of kings, returns to the Royal Paradise of Hua Hin, Thailand for a fourth consecutive year with the event featuring some of the world’s top horse polo players, will see three of New Zealand’s former world-ranking All Blacks rugby players make their elephant polo debut.
Organised by the Anantara Resort and Spa and supported by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the fourth annual King's Cup Elephant Polo Tournament promises to be bigger, more colourful and ‘slightly more eccentric’ than in previous years.
Organised by the Anantara Resort and Spa Hua Hin in association with the Tourism Authority of Thailand, this year’s tournament promises to be the biggest elephant polo gathering ever held, with a record-breaking 14 teams taking part from around the world.
According to tournament organiser and Anantara Vice President, Christopher Stafford, the interest in this year’s tournament has been unprecedented. When the first elephant polo tournament was launched in 2001, there were only 6 teams participating. Now in 2004, there are 14 teams plus a waiting list. The tournament has also evolved into a 7-day event that is broadcast around the world and the tournament is ranked as the sixth largest event on the Thai tourism calendar.
As in previous years the event will take place at the Som Dej Phra Suriyothai military camp on the southern outskirts of Hua Hin. Spectator entrance is free of charge.
The event will be once again raise funds for the Thailand Elephant Conservation Centre, National Elephant Institute, in Lampang, northern Thailand – an indispensable and dedicated organisation under the auspices of the Thai government, which provides welfare, sustenance, medical care and employment for the Kingdom’s 1500 wild and 2500 domesticated elephants. To date the event has raised around US$65,000.
Three of the All Blacks former star players, Stu Wilson, Andy Haydn and Gary Whetton, will take part in the rugby supremos’ first foray into the world of elephant polo, an invitation which came about through ESPN presenter and former Wallabys test player, Justin ‘Sambo’ Sampson.
Other newcomers this year include DBS Bank Singapore fielding Singapore Polo Club’s captain Rikard Hogberg; a British Airways Cavalry team who will be flying in from the UK to test their elephant polo mettle and another team of top-ranking pony polo players from Britain who will be playing in travel company Kuoni UK colours.
The tournament’s stalwarts are back again in 2004: from Germany, Oliver Winter’s Mercedes Benz Thailand team will be back to defend their twice-won King’s Cup trophy; from Scotland, Chivas Regal, this year fielding the Duke of Argyll; from Australia, Sandalford Winery, third place finalists in 2003, this year be entering two strong teams; an international line-up from Mullis Capital including two international horse polo captains; from Thailand, two teams of top Thai horse polo players; and, also from the home country, the 2003 tournament’s media darlings The Screwless Tuskers who out of last year’s 12 teams finished a magnanimous 12th.
The tournament in Thailand will be played according to World Elephant Polo Association rules with three elephants per team on a pitch measuring 100 metres x 60 metres, which is roughly one-third the size of a horse polo field. A game is comprised of two 7-minute chukkas. The players will use specially made elongated polo sticks that are 78 to 110 inches in length, depending on the height of the elephant, using standard size polo balls.
Each elephant carries a polo player and a mahout. The mahout directs the elephant using his voice, hands, feet or a goad. The umpire of the game oversees the play from a wooden howdah on the back of the largest elephant.
The height of the elephants range from 2 to 2.5m, and they weigh between 2 to 2.8 tonnes each. They usually eat in excess of 200 kg of food each day. The largest elephants are used in defence while the smaller ones with greater speed are used in attack.
Two accommodation packages are available at the Anantara during elephant polo week. The 5-night/6-day elephant polo package costs from US$899++ for two people sharing and includes daily American buffet breakfast for two, transportation from the resort to the elephant polo field, two tickets to the Gala Dinner at the Anantara on Saturday 11th September, late check out on Sunday 12th until 8pm. The 3-night/4-day package, which checks in on Thursday 9th September, costs from US$599++ for two people sharing and includes all the above.
Further information about the tournament and reservations are available on line at www.anantara.com
The King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament is part of the World Elephant Polo Association world series. The World Championships take place in Chitwan National Park, Nepal every December and the Ceylon Elephant Polo tournament takes place each February in Sri Lanka’s fort town of Galle.
Elephant Polo was first played by Mogul Indian Kings and was reintroduced with a new twist in 1982 by an Englishman (Jim Edwards) and a Scotsman (James Mann-Clark) -- Polo on elephants. Since then the tournament has been played in Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Kingdom of Thailand.
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ROYAL PARADISE
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Contact information:
Anantara Resort & Spa Hua Hin
email: cstafford@anantara.com
For further inquiries and bookings, please contact:
Reservations Department
E-mail: info@anantara.com
Tel: (66) 0 3252 0250
Fax: (66) 0 3252 0259
Press Contact - For English:
Diana Moxon
E-mail: dmoxon@minornet.com
Tel: 66 (0) 2 877 7495 (direct line) 66 (0) 2 877 5803
ELEPHANT POLO HISTORY AND RULES OF THE GAME
The World Elephant Polo Association established the governing rules for Elephant Polo in 1982, the association has its headquarters at the Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge in the Royal Chitwan Park in Nepal which is where the World Elephant Polo Tournament is played every year on a grass airfield in Megauly.
In 2001 two new competitions were launched - the King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament in Hua Hin Thailand, organised by the Anantara Resort and Spa and held each September and the Ceylon Elephant Polo Association Championships, held on Weligama beach in front of Taprobane Island in southern Sri Lanka each February.
ORGANISATION OF THE GAME
In Thailand the game is played with three players on each team on a marked pitch of 100 metres by 60 metres using a standard size polo ball.
The game consists of two 7-minute chukkas of playing time, with an interval of 15 minutes. The whistle blown by the referee stops and starts the play.
The pitch is marked with a centre line; a circle with a radius of 10 metres in the centre of the field, and a semi-circle, in front of the goals, with a radius of 20 metres, measured from the centre of the goal line at either end of the pitch which is referred to as the D.
Elephants and ends are changed at half time.
The scoring system awards two points to a winning team and one point apiece to teams which draw.
RULES
The rules are similar to those of horse polo but some key points to note are that the elephants have a player and a mahout, ladies are allowed to use both hands and elongated sticks of around two metres in length are used.
Additionally there are some elephant specific rules:
Any team having more than 3 elephants in one half of the pitch is judged to have committed a foul.
No more than 2 elephants may be in the D at one time – one from the attacking team and one from the defending team.
There are no restrictions as to the height, weight or sex of the elephants.
No elephants may lie down in front of the goal mouth. To do so will constitute a foul. A free hit is awarded to the opposing side from the semi-circle in front of the goal.
An elephant may not pick up the ball in its trunk during play. To do so constitutes a foul and a free hit is awarded to the opposing team from the spot where the ball was picked up. The defending players must be 15 metres from the spot.
Teams are made up from the pool of elephants and balanced out as fairly as possible bearing in mind size and speed of the elephant. Once the pool of elephants has been selected, each elephant is categorized and marked as A,B,C,D, E, F.
Sugar cane or rice balls packed with vitamins (molasses and rock salt) shall be given to the elephants at the end of each match and a cold beer, or soft drink, to the elephant drivers and not vice versa.
THE HEALTH AND WELFARE OF THE ELEPHANTS USED IN T.E.P.A. TOURNAMENTS IS OF PRIME CONCERN, ABUSE OF THE ELEPHANT IS CONSIDERED TO BE THE MOST SERIOUS OFFENCE.
HANDICAPPING
Handicaps are assigned by the T.E.P.A. Handicapping Committee and handicapped players may come under one of two categories
Professional horse polo players. The handicap awarded to any registered professional horse polo player shall total half of their horse polo handicap.
Professional and seasoned elephant polo players. A half goal handicap will be assigned to any player who has played in three or more World Series (WEPA, TEPA or CEPA) elephant polo championships anywhere in the world and does not have a horse polo handicap.
Players handicaps are decided before the tournament commences. Player handicaps may not be changed during the tournament.
Should a team's total handicap when summed result in a half goal handicap, the handicap is rounded down.
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