Kathmandu, Nepal 14th December, 2002

The local National Parks team, with playing Captain Ram Prit Yadav, won the double at the recent 21st Annual World Elephant Polo Championships (WEPA) hosted by the Tiger Mountain Group. In the final for the coveted Tiger Tops WEPA Trophy held on Friday 13th December they became the new World Champions by beating Chivas Regal Scotland, the defending World Champions captained by Peter Prentice, by 6 goals to 5. Then on Saturday 14th December the National Parks went on to win the Tiger Mountain All Nepal Challenge, a match which is played by mahouts on their own Elephants, beating the Tiger Tops team 7 goals to 3.

These two finals were the culmination of a fascinating week¹s polo which saw National Parks beat the International Tigresses, captained by Margie McDougal, 7 ­ 4, in the first semi final and Chivas Regal Scotland beating Tiger Tops Tuskers, captained by Kristjan Edwards, 9 ­ 8 in the second semi final. This match was a terrific example of how exciting elephant polo can be with the final winning goal being scored in the dying seconds of a match which could have gone either way. Two of the Tuskers, Jean-Paul Clarkin, a 6 goal horse polo player from New Zealand and Nina Vestey, a 2 goal horse polo player from England both played brilliantly which resulted in Nina being awarded the Chivas Regal Golden Moment for her amazing interception of a high flying ball which she promptly converted into a goal. Following defeat in the semi final Tiger Tops Tuskers then went on to beat the International Tigresses, 7 ­ 5, in the 3rd 4th play off of the WEPA Championships.

In line with the two-league system at WEPA, the remaining four teams competed for the Amateur Trophy, the Chivas Regal WEPA Olympic Quaiche. This Cup was won 3 ­ 1 by the Tickle and the Ivories an Australian team captained by Tim Deyzel in a closely contested final with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee team, a new team from the UK. The Golden Jubilee team did not go home empty handed as they were awarded the Best Dressed Trophy, donated by the British Gurkhas, for their dashing purple and gold uniforms incorporating Her Majesty¹s Royal Crest. The play off for 3rd and 4th positions in the Chivas Regal WEPA Olympic Quaiche was won 7 ­ 5 by the British Gurkha Gladiators against the Ham Polo Club UK, who as well as the wooden spoon picked up the Coca Cola Shield for Most Sporting team.

Tiger Mountain invited several VIP¹s to play in an International Visitor Challenge which was co sponsored by the Anantara Resort and Spa Hua Hin, founders of the Thailand Elephant Polo Association (TEPA) and the Taprobane Island Resort Sri Lanka, founders of the Ceylon Elephant Polo Association (CEPA). Visiting dignitaries included the Duke and Duchess of Argyll, US Ambassador Michael Malinowski, HE British Ambassador Keith Bloomfield, HE Australian Ambassador Crispin Conroy, HE Russian Ambassador Valery Nazarov, HE Swedish Ambassador Johan Nordenfelt, Prabakhar with his son Sidhartha SJB Rana and Princess Rama Malla from Nepal .

The World Elephant Polo Championships are an annual invitational event arranged by Tiger Mountain and run under the auspices of the World Elephant Polo Association (WEPA). It is played on the polo field adjacent to Meghauly airport on the edge of Royal Chitwan National Park . Each game consists of two 10 minute chukkas using elongated sticks often over two metres in length and a regular polo ball. As in previous years, through generous donations from the players at a very lively auction, WEPA raised funds for various charities including the Gurkha Welfare Trust; the Tiger Tops Swissair Pre School ; the House of Hope, an orphanage in Kathmandu as well as the fledging Mongolian Horse Polo Federation. Prior to the games Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II¹s Golden Jubilee Elephant Polo Club raised money for Her Majesty¹s charities at an evening organized at the House of Lords in London attended by many sporting personalities.