Just Over A Month To Go Until The Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz 2016
World-class players from six nations will compete in The Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz 2016 on the last weekend in January. The teams competing in the world’s only high-goal tournament on snow are evenly matched, even more so than in previous years, posing a true challenge to Team Cartier to defend their title. We can confirm that natural ice formation on the lake has also begun.
Team Cartier inevitably has a say in the outcome of The Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz and hence in who will bring home the coveted Cartier Trophy. Captain Spencer McCarthy (1) has put together a wholly English team: he and Charlie Wooldridge (2) will play alongside the two old hands Nacho Gonzalez (6) and Chris Hyde (6).
Monte Carlo resident, Italian-born Rommy Gianni (1) will return to St. Moritz after having played there in 2015. He has taken on board his Team Maserati two high-profile Argentine professionals, Dario Musso (7) and Frankie Menendes (6).
Cedric Schweri (0), too, played in St. Moritz in 2015. He represents the host country, Switzerland, with his fellow citizen Luca Zindel (1), completing his Team Perrier-Jouët with two Brazilian players, Aluisio Rosa (7) and Olavo Novaes (7). New to the team is the renowned champagne maker Perrier-Jouët, the tournament’s third team sponsor.
Defending their title in 2016 will not be an easy task for Team Cartier. America’s Melissa Ganzi (0) and her team round off the high-calibre list of participating teams. Together with the local player Tito Gaudenzi (2) and the Argentine professionals Augustin ‘Tincho’ Merlos (9) and Juan Bollini (5), she will play in the colours of the Team Badrutt’s Palace Hotel.
Last week, the first ice started to form on the lake of St. Moritz. It is not yet possible to step on the lake. Experts will make the first assessment of the depth and quality of the ice formation in two weeks time, following which, the decision will be taken on when to start erecting the extensive infrastructure. The constructions are not expected to begin before January.
Advance sale of the VIP tickets is going well; once again, advance booking is particularly popular for the Saturday and Sunday tickets with gourmet catering by star chef Reto Mathis, as well as for the gala at the Badrutt’s Palace Hotel on Saturday evening. A further spike in demand is expected ahead of Christmas. Click here to order tickets for the event.
Photograph: Action from the 2015 edition of the Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz. By Richenda Hine
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