- Title: NEPAL: Nepal's elephant polo tournament marks its 25th year
- Date: 9th December 2006
- Summary: FOUNDING MEMBER AND CHAIRMAN OF THE WORLD ELEPHANT POLO ASSOCIATION (WEPA) AND CAPTAIN OF THE ANGUS ESTATE TEAM, JAMES MANCLARK (WEARING BLUE SHIRT), WALKING (SOUNDBITE)(English) FOUNDING MEMBER AND CHAIRMAN OF THE WORLD ELEPHANT POLO ASSOCIATION (WEPA) AND CAPTAIN OF THE ANGUS ESTATE TEAM, JAMES MANCLARK, SAYING: "It was a good game, they played well, and we've just had a terrible lot of luck." NEPAL'S NATIONAL PARKS TEAM RAISING THEIR TROPHIES ANGUS ESTATE TEAM, HEADED BY JAMES MANCLARK AND WINNER OF NEPAL'S 25TH ELEPHANT POLO TOURNAMENT, RAISING THEIR TROPHIES
- Embargoed: 24th December 2006 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Nepal
- Country: Nepal
- Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky,Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA7L351C5Y52JIBK8OR20T5ATKB
- Story Text: Nepal's annual World Elephant Polo competition marked its 25th silver jubilee year on Saturday (December 2).
Eight teams representing different countries gathered in Meghauli, located just on the edge of the Royal Chitwan National Park in Southern Nepal, where games were played from the 26th of November to the 2nd of December.
The sport is believed to have originated among Rajasthan's maharajas and was developed into a modern game by James Manclark, the Scots landowner and former bobsleigh champion, and his friend Jim Edwards, owner of the Tiger Tops safari estate in Nepal, where the tournament has been hosted since 1982.
"Twenty five years ago, and over the years it has developed with a Tiger Tops team, National Park team, being the locals, doing very well almost every year, winning or coming close, and then teams all over the world coming in, so it's being good for game, for fun. We never take it too seriously, good for charities, good for Nepal's publicity," said co-founder Jim Edwards.
"(It's) very special playing on elephants, lots of new factors to take care of, big difference between horse polo and elephant polo," said one of the team members of the Tiger Tops Tuskers Island.
The winners of Saturday's final, Angus Estate team, were led by WEPA Co-founding member James Manclark.
"It was a good game, they played well, and we've just had a terrible lot of luck," Manclark said.
The game is loosely based on equestrian polo, with four elephants per team, each with a "mahout" who rides the elephant and a player secured by a harness with the polo stick. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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