Preparations in full swing for 27th St. Moritz Polo World Cup on Snow

Preparations in full swing for 27th St. Moritz Polo World Cup on Snow


France, Germany, Great Britain and Switzerland: these are the nations that will contest the 27th St. Moritz Polo World Cup on Snow in January 2011. The world-famous polo tournament on the frozen Lake St. Moritz is now being staged as a Nations Cup. Patrons therefore represent their countries of origin. Excellent co-operation with the local authority in St. Moritz, the White Turf organisers and the See-Infra Association has taken preparations for the St. Moritz Polo World Cup on Snow 2011 to an advanced stage. The organisers are optimistic about the future of this prestigious event.

 

Unlike previous years, when teams competed for the Cup under the names of their sponsors, this year’s tournament will be a Nations Cup in which each team represents its patron’s country of origin. France, Germany, Great Britain and Switzerland are the countries contending for victory in the tournament in St. Moritz from 27 to 30 January. This year’s team patrons are Philipp Maeder for Switzerland, Vivek Rawal for Great Britain, Thomas Wolfensberger representing Germany and François Le Barazer, playing for France. The 2011 St. Moritz Polo World Cup on Snow will be staged as a high-goal polo tournament, thus continuing to offer the world’s highest level of play on snow. The tournament organisers are confident that this reorientation will make the matches even more thrilling. They are hopeful, too, that it will enhance the tournament’s profile worldwide and attract wider publicity overall for this fascinating and vigorous sport. Another of the organisers’ declared aims is to attract newcomers to polo and expand the sport’s player base in Switzerland.

 

Good things come to those who wait

Towards the end of the summer, the Lake St. Moritz stakeholders were able to reach an amicable solution to all outstanding issues of regulation and organisation. Co-operation between them is now running smoothly and constructively, as St. Moritz Polo AG’s Bernhard Pöllinger confirms: “Since the agreement between all parties involved in the Lake, progress has been excellent. Joint efforts by the local authority, the White Turf Racing Association and St. Moritz Polo AG have taken us a long way forward with the organisation of the tournament for late January. It’s fun, and a big incentive, to organise the St. Moritz Polo World Cup under these conditions, though the delay has left us working under great pressure.” The See-Infra Association, in charge of lake-top infrastructure, has its operations in hand and has paved the way for the polo tournament to be held. Pöllinger is emphatic: “We look forward with optimism to the continued future of the St. Moritz Polo World Cup on Snow.”

 


This year’s teams:

 

France

1. Francois Le Barazer, FRA, 0

2. Oscar Mancini, ARG, 4

3. Oli Hipwood, GBR, 6

4. Nacho Gonzalez, ARG, 6

Total Handicap: 16

 

Germany

1. Thomas Wolfensberger, GER/SUI, 1

2. Manuel Cereceda, ARG, 3

3. Pablo Jauretche, ARG, 7

4. Gonzalo Bourdieu, ARG, 6

Total Handicap: 17

 

Great Britain

1. Vivek Rawal, GBR, 0

2. Jonny Good, GBR, 5

3. Chris Hyde, GBR, 6

4. Tarquin Southwell, GBR, 4

Total Handicap: 15

 

Switzerland

1. Philipp Maeder, SUI, 0

2. Federico Bachmann, ARG, 6

3. Bautista Ortiz de Urbina, ARG, 5

4. Augustin Martinez, ARG, 4

Total Handicap: 15

 

 

Ticket reservations for the 27th St. Moritz Polo World Cup on Snow online at:

http://www.polostmoritz.com/en/ticket-and-magazine-shop/