China to host Asia’s first snow polo tournament
In a bid to promote the game of Polo in China, Metropolitan Polo Club (Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club) is going to organise a six-team snow polo tournament titled ‘Metropolitan Snow Polo Challenge Trophy’, in the third week of February 2011 at the
Alpine Village in Beijing. This is the biggest snow polo club of Asia, equipped with modern equestrian facilities.
The snow polo tournament will kick off on 15 February, a day after Chinese New Year Celebrations. The world’s six leading teams including hosts China, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, France and England will fight for the trophy. Two matches will be played
each-day from 15-21 February as per the league format.
Metropolitan Polo Club, Asia's state of the art polo arena was opened on 4 November 2010. The Goldin Cup was the first honorary and inaugural tournament, where legendary professionals from Australia, New Zealand and England took part.
The inaugural session of the Metropolitan Polo Club was attended by dignitaries and polo personalities from across the globe, including Chairman of the Hurlingham Polo Association Nicholas Colquhoun Denvers, Nobel Prize Laureate in Economics Robert Mudell,
Mayor of Tianjin-Huang Xing Guo and representative of Federation of International Polo (FIP), Peter Yunghanns.
The game of snow polo originated in Switzerland in 1985, at the winter resort of St. Mortiz. Snow polo is played in a slightly different style from the traditional game, where each team is comprised of three players. An orange coloured ball is used in Snow
polo, which is a bit bigger than the traditional polo ball.
International polo celebrities from China and across the globe are expected to participate in the Asia's first snow polo event.
Chairman of the Hong Kong-listed Goldin Properties Holdings Limited, Pan Sutong said, “We see the opportunity to introduce a new and exclusive type of luxury to the region. By bringing in polo, a sport that is becoming increasingly popular amongst royal
families and the affluent around the world, Tianjin Goldin Metropolitan Polo Club and Hotel will add to Tianjin’s status as a landmark destination and contribute to its overall city status.”
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