Polo with the gentle giants

by Chanuka Mannapperuma

The world heritage Dutch Fort of Galle provided the unique and picturesque backdrop to the annual polo tournament held from 14th to 17th February. This is the 6th time an Elephant Polo festival was held in Sri Lanka. The first was held in Weligama.

The atmosphere during the tournament was exciting and vibrant and kept the spectators spellbound. It was a bit different compared to other games. For this tournament there were 16 elephants and 8 teams.

Each game of elephant polo consisted of two, seven minute chukkas, with an interval of 15 minutes in between. Each team had 3 elephants and 3 players with the elephants being guided by, the mahouts, who sat in front tapping the elephant's legs to guide them. There were no restrictions on the size or sex of the elephant.

To ensure fair play, the elephants, mahouts and players changed ends at half time. Each player used a 3 metre long polo stick with the aim of hitting the ball into their goal. Elephants were categorised into two groups A and B according to their efficiency.

President, Ceylon Elephant Polo Association (CECA), Geoffrey Dobbs said, this year they were concentrating very much on the importance of making people aware of the plight of the Asian domestic elephant.

He said, his team was Taprobane Tuskers and in Sri Lanka had the best elephants. He said compared to other national games elephant polo practices patience. Dobbs concluded, that CECA has raised funds for the millennium Elephant Foundation and hoped that players and spectators would support this project generously. He said, currently the Foundation looked after 10 retired elephants and supported a mobile clinic that looked after elephants around Sri Lanka.

He further said, that last year they had to stop the festival because of the tsunami. This year Spain, America, Hong-Kong, India, Sri Lanka (police team), Mix country, Taprobane and Shanhai-tang teams participated.

The winner of the tournament was Tickle and Ivories and the runnerup was Capitol Pachyderms. Whether you were a spectator or a player, the tournament provided a unique memorable experience. Talking about future plans Dobbs said, this time elephants ate the grass on the ground, and so they will now have to think of a different venue.

A 49 year old player from the Hong-Kong team said this was his first game and he was scared to play with the Sri Lankan team. He explained, their shots are very sharp and genuine in style and added that he was planning to participate every year, in Sri Lanka.

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