The meter of snow that fell ten days ago has been weighing heavily on the ice layer over the lake of St. Moritz and has pressed it into the underlying water. Water has risen to the surface despite the ice being of very good quality; structures that had already been put up ended up standing in slush and had to be dismantled again. Thanks to the low temperatures, the slush has since turned into ice—however, it has not yet been possible to take up construction work again all over the lake.
As a consequence, the organisers had to renounce building the new terrace that would have, for the first time, been right by the polo field. «Having to give up on the terrace was very difficult, as our guests would have enjoyed a very special moment being so close to the polo game,» regrets Reto Gaudenzi, the tournament’s CEO. «We were able to relocate the lounge and the restaurant for our VIP guests to another tent, but we had to slightly reduce its capacity.»
Thanks to the enormous effort made by all companies involved, the «Plazza da Polo»—featuring restaurants and bars for the general public, the stands, with free access for all, and the exhibition tents of the numerous partners of the tournament—will be up entirely. «The teams of Lake Infra, Christoffel Constructions, Electro-Koller, marquee constructor Blasto, as well as Roth, the constructor of the stands, have all done a brilliant job over the past days,» says Gaudenzi, full of praise. «We are looking forward to a fantastic tournament!»
On Monday, the first of the tournament’s protagonists—some 100 polo ponies—will arrive. The ponies will first be shod with special, rubber-lined «hoof-grip» horseshoes. Then, they will have a few days to become acclimatised to the altitude and the snow. Trainings are on the agenda for Thursday and, from Friday till Sunday, the four teams will compete for the coveted «Cartier Trophy» at the world’s only «high goal» polo tournament on snow.
http://http://www.snowpolo-stmoritz.com/buzz/news/news/news/detail/News/snow-slows-down-building-of-infrastructure-for-the-snow-polo-worldcup-st-moritz/