Too much uncertainty over use of the lake

27th St. Moritz Polo World Cup on Snow cancelled

St. Moritz, 16 June 2010 – Half a year before the next St. Moritz Polo World Cup on Snow is due to take place, its organiser, St. Moritz Polo AG, believes it has no option but to cancel the tournament. The reason behind this decision concerns See-Infra, the group formed specifically to oversee all issues relating to the infrastructure on the lake, which has yet to begin its work. Decisions ranging from regulatory issues, those of an organisational nature or related to safety were not communicated by those responsible at See-Infra, the White Turf Racing Association (WTRA) and the local authority in St. Moritz, if indeed the decisions were made at all. Against this background, St. Moritz Polo AG will be unable to host a tournament in its present format for 2011.

6^th St. Moritz Polo World Cup on Snow 28 - 31 January 2010

Cartier wins the 26^th St. Moritz Polo World Cup on Snow 2010

St. Moritz, 1^st of February 2010. In fast-paced matches, the four teams competing in the 26^th St. Moritz Polo World Cup on Snow gave the 15,000 or so spectators a spectacular high-goal tournament of the highest calibre. Cartier ultimately gamed out on top and will now proudly carry the coveted Cartier Trophy home. In second to fourth place were Julius Baer, Brioni and Maserati. In addition to sport, the event offered a number of other highlights, including a team of seven well-known Swiss star chefs with a combined total of 118 Gault-Millau points who catered to the guests on the lake. And finally, the organizer – St. Moritz Polo AG – proved that it is on the right track with its new focus and forward-looking energy concept.

The 26^th edition of the prestigious polo tournament was a huge success. 15,000 spectators watched the matches in this spectacular high-calibre tournament over the past four days, in mostly beautiful weather but frosty temperatures. The four teams from Cartier, Brioni, Julius Baer and Maserati fought for victory on the frozen Lake of St Moritz. Today, Cartier was the deserving winner and proudly accepted the coveted Cartier Trophy. Julius Baer took second, Brioni third and Maserati fourth place. Although Maserati patron Philipp Maeder's team did not win a place on the podium, he nevertheless said he was happy with the result. Already at the press conference on Friday, he was full of praise for the organizer, St. Moritz Polo AG: "This was by far the best organized tournament I've ever played in."

Sun shones on fantastic finale

It was a dramatic finale to the 26th St Moritz Polo World Cup on Snow this afternoon, as – with the scores tied at 3-3 – the referees awarded Cartier a virtually unmissable from-the-spot penalty in front of the Julius Baer goal with just eight seconds left to play. Most valuable player Glen Gilmore converted the decisive shot to wrap up Cartier’s victory and spark wild celebrations from a large contingent of fans in the grandstands.

Julius Baer’s players were obviously a little unhappy at the decision, but the slightly controversial ending to the game did little to dampen the spirits of the sell-out crowd, who realised they had witnessed an exceptional final. There were long periods of fantastic, fast and open polo, with the beautiful Engadin sun illuminating the event’s unique setting. At times the action see-sawed with such frequency from end to end that spectators might have felt they were watching the simultaneously-occurring Australian Open tennis final, swiveling their heads left and right in a relentless and rhythmical cycle. Thrilling. What a game!

You can find detailed match reports on all games of the 26^th St. Moritz Polo World Cup on Snow 2010 at www.polostmoritz.com.

Focus on the ponies' well-being

As part of last year's reorganization of St. Moritz Polo AG, several improvements and enhancements have been optimized: the new fences around the field provide a safer barrier between the playing field and the spectators, the new accommodation for the ponies complies with the latest standard in equine animal husbandry, and during the tournament for the first time a specialized physiotherapist was on site to attend to the animals. Bernhard Pöllinger, Head of Sports and Infrastructure at St. Moritz Polo AG, comments: "The current boxes in St. Moritz do not meet the latest requirements. So we developed winter-proof tents with generously sized boxes and good ventilation for the horses. Ultimately, the well-being of our main players is the top priority."

A forward-looking energy concept ensures green energy in St. Moritz

The organizer, St. Moritz Polo AG, has also taken the opportunity presented by the tournament's realignment to develop a new energy concept. At this year's tournament, the heated tent space on the lake was reduced by one third, and in the future the energy requirement will increasingly be drawn from renewable sources. For this purpose, the Basel-based specialist for solar energy, Tritec International AG, built a photovoltaic facility to produce solar energy, specially constructed for this event. Heinz Reber, CEO of St. Moritz Polo AG, commented at the press conference: "It was our goal in developing this new concept to set an example for staging a sustainable St. Moritz Polo World Cup on Snow. Here, our vision is to organize a totally CO₂-free tournament. We hope that we have convinced the authorities of the need for our initiative and that other organizers of events on the lake will follow our example in the future."  One example has obviously already been successfully set. Charles Stisted, CEO of the English Guards Polo Club, confirmed this: "St. Moritz Polo AG has also taken the opportunity presented by the tournament’s redesign to set completely new standards." But Reber emphasized that he does not intend to wait until the next tournament to continue pursuing his goal. Already tomorrow, the solar generator will be installed on the St. Moritz Polo AG building in Plazza dal Mulin and the green energy will be fed into the St. Moritz grid. In March, a workshop is being planned at which the next phase will be addressed, together with representatives of the municipality of St. Moritz, the Clean Energy Association in St. Moritz, Arctech Management AG, Energie Stadt St. Moritz, Destination Engadin/St. Moritz, and EW St. Moritz (St. Moritz Electricity Company).

A gourmet festival shaped by the region

The 26^th St. Moritz Polo World Cup on Snow 2010 was a sensation on the culinary front too. Seven Swiss star chefs, with a total of 118 Gault-Millau-Points between them, celebrated regional cuisine at the very highest level on the lake, in line with this year's motto "Engadine/Graubünden". Reto Mathis, Roland Jöhri, Franz Faeh, Jacky Donatz, Urs Gschwend and Daniel Müller pampered visitors during the polo tournament with delicious regional specialities. Andreas Caminada, Switzerland's "Chef of the Year 2010", who was recently awarded 19 Gault Millau points, was responsible for the catering at the Gala Dinner on Saturday evening. The décor was also inspired by the region. The rustic ambience was modelled after Carigiet's illustrations from the children's book "Schellenursli and fitted in perfectly with the surrounding mountain panorama. In the morning the young Swiss alphorn player Eliana Burki, appearing for the first time in St. Moritz at the 26^th St. Moritz Polo World Cup on Snow, provided musical entertainment. The 26 year-old musician delighted the audience by producing unusual jazz and funk sounds from this traditional Swiss instrument, proving her reputation as a virtuoso of the alphorn. 

• Pictures

A large number of pictures from the 26th St. Moritz Polo World Cup on Snow can be downloaded free of charge from the website www.polostmoritz.com.

• Films

Film material featuring the sporting highlights and social events will be available as of Monday, 1^st of February 2010.

http://www.digitalemotions.ch/transfer/polo/game_footage.zip
Selection of game footage including the subsidiary final.

http://www.digitalemotions.ch/transfer/polo/event_impressions.zip
Off the field footage from chefs, music acts and fashion show as well as
red carpet during Gala night.

http://www.digitalemotions.ch/transfer/polo/final_game.zip
Footage of all final goals including trophy ceremony.

All the footage is available as PAL widescreen (anamorphotic) footage,
25fps, 48khz, 16bit audio.

• Information

Further information and documentation from the press conference on 29 January 2010 is also available on the website www.polostmoritz.com.  

The 27^th St. Moritz Polo World Cup on Snow will be held from 27 to 30 January 2011.

About the St. Moritz Polo World Cup on Snow

The St. Moritz Polo World Cup on Snow is the world’s most prestigious winter polo tournament on snow and the highest ranked polo tournament played in Switzerland. Every year since 1985, four high-goal teams with handicaps ranging between 18 and 22 goals have competed on the frozen Lake St. Moritz for the coveted Cartier Trophy. The organizers of this exclusive event are St. Moritz Polo AG, leading international experts in equestrian sport in and dedicated promoters of the sport of polo in particular. 

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