Kathmandu, Nepal 12 th December, 1999

The local National Parks team, captained by Ram Prit Yadav, made a clean sweep at the 18 th Annual World Elephant Polo Championships (WEPA) which were held at Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge from 6th to 12th December 1999. The experienced locals beat the Chivas Regal South African team, captained by Peter Prentice, 6 – 4 to win the coveted Tiger Tops WEPA Trophy. This will have made up for their disappointing performance last year when the National Parks failed to make it through to the semi finals. They then went on to convincingly win the Tiger Mountain All Nepal Challenge, a match which is played by mahouts on their own elephants, beating the Tiger Tops team 5 – 4. The host team, captained by Kristjan Edwards, had a disappointing week as they also finished in last place in the Championships.

These two finals were a culmination of a fascinating weeks' polo, which resulted in the International Tigresses, captained by Margie McDougal, securing 3rd place after losing to the National Parks in the semi final. This result, which equals their position in the 1998 Championships, establishes this all ladies team as one of the premier teams in the sport today. The ladies’ professionalism and sportsmanship was further recognized when they received the Chivas Regal Golden Moment Award for their many examples of skillful play during their 3rd/4th play off match against Tiger Mountain India which they won 7 – 3. The Tiger Mountain India team, captained by Jim Edwards Chairman and Managing Director of the Tiger Mountain Group, was disappointed not to defend the title they won in 1997 but were delighted that Yuvraj and Yuvrani Vikramaditya Singh of Kashmir were able to make their debut appearance at WEPA.

In line with the new two league system at WEPA, the remaining four teams competed for the WEPA Amateur Chivas Regal Quaiche Cup. This Cup was won 4 – 3 by the Titanic Tracks from Chile, captained by Richard Croft-Baker, in a closely contested final against the Screwy Tuskers, an American team captained by Alf Erickson. This match was of particular importance to the American team as it was the first time they had ever reached a final of the WEPA Championships. Despite losing, they did not go away empty handed as they were awarded the Best Dressed trophy donated by the British Gurkha Gladiators for their beautifully colour coordinated polo uniforms. Tiger Tops Tuskers, who were unable to offset their 10-goal handicap, lost 10 – 7 to the British Gurkha Gladiators in the 3rd/4th play off in the WEPA Amateur Chivas Regal Quaiche Cup. This match was a classic example of how fortunes change from one year to the next as this match to decide the bottom two places of the Championships was a repeat of last year’s final.

This year the participants of the WEPA Championships were treated to a week of great polo as well as romance, Mongolian wrestling and successful fundraising. Following his defeat in the WEPA final Peter Prentice, a 12 year veteran of WEPA, put his disappointment behind him and proposed to his girlfriend, Sam Autie, whilst out on elephant safari exploring the Royal Chitwan National Park. On the final day Khan Ganhuyag, the Mongolian National wrestling champion, challenged the polo players to a wrestling match, all of which he surprisingly won! During a moving ceremony Richard Croft-Baker and the Titanic Tracks presented a large cheque to the Tiger Tops Swissair Pre School. This money is a result of tireless fundraising throughout the year on behalf of Richard and his team and will now enable many hundred disadvantaged children in the Chitwan area to receive an education.

The World Elephant Polo Association Championships is an annual invitation event arranged by Tiger Tops. It is played on the polo field adjacent to Meghauly airport on the edge of Royal Chitwan National Park. Each game consists of two chukkas of ten minutes playing time using elongated sticks over two metres in length and a regular polo ball. The World Championships, as always, attracted international media including a Trans World Sports film crew and many journalists and photographers from USA, Italy and UK

For further details please contact Carolyn Syangbo.