The Pro Am City Polo Championship shows off top city players

Ascot Park Polo Club issued a challenge to the City to use their brawn as well as their brains and to ride head-to-head for the title of the Pro-Am City Polo Champion 2006 on September 9th.
On the day 19 City teams came together to battle it out for title of City Champion 2006. Companies who sponsored their executives and put a team forward included JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, Norton Rose, Citigroup, Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS, Accenture, Fox-Davies CAPITAL, Alternative Networks, Hedge Fund Polo, Morse and Peter Schoenfeld Asset Management.
In the ‘Battle of The Titans’ the 12 goal match was won by Natwest against Citigroup with only minutes left on the clock Natwest won with 8 goals to 6.
In the 4 goal finals a close game saw Fox Davies Capital sneak out the winners with 5 goals against AOL’s 4. The sub-finals of the 4 goal so an equally nail biting scenario with Norton Rose losing with only ½ a goal against Citigroup ending on 7 ½ to 8. In the tertiary finals of the 4 goal Research Vision lost out by 2 ½ goals with UBS coming home the winner with 4 ½ goals.
The -2 to 0 goal teams played a hard a fast match against each other with Royal Bank of Scotland stealing the show coming home winners with 6 goals to Microsoft’s 1 goal. In the -4 to -2 goal level Peter Schoenfeld Asset Management put up a great fight against Deutsche Bank winning with 9 goals to Deutsche Bank’s 8. The round robin in the -6 to -4 goal saw Citigroup take first place, Goldman Sachs second with Hedge Fund Polo coming in at third place.
The -8 to -7 goal saw two well know teams – JP Morgan and UBS take to the field with up and coming players playing alongside more established players in their company. A close game showing the strength of both teams left UBS the winner with just half a goal with the final score reading 4 ½ goals to UBS.
In the arena Morse and Accenture came together to play in their first ever tournament – some of whom had only recently started playing polo. A great match was had with some very promising players showing off their newly found skills. Accenture eventually came out the winner with 5 goals to 4.
The Pro-Am City Polo Championships is about celebrating the rise in City based polo players and the 9th September proved to illustrate this point. Ascot Park is delighted to see so many new teams enter the tournament this year and witness more established polo players support the up and coming players in their companies.
The aim of the Pro-Am City Polo Championships is to encourage new talent into the world of polo, and offers the opportunity for newcomers to the sport based in the City to be able to play alongside professionals and share the same passion for the game – something which is unique to the sport of polo.
At the forefront of City Polo Ascot Park continues to introduce new companies and individual to the sport, be it through participation, sponsorship or corporate entertainment. Ascot Park would like to thank the following companies for their kind support of the tournament – BSG Team Ventures; Hampton’s International, Knight Frank and La Golondrina Polo Estancia.
Congratulations to the following players for receiving Most Valuable Player at their level sponsored by La Golondrina Polo Estancia – awarding each player with three days training in Argentina:
Daniel Fox Davies (2 to 4 goal)
Raphael Singh (2 to 4 goal)
Kwan Lo (-2 to 0 goal)
Karl Devine (-6 to -4 goal)
Special recognition also went to the following players on behalf of Ascot Park Polo Club for their impact on the development of City Polo.
Colin Church (Citigroup), Matthew Singleton (Citigroup), Camilla Gignoux (Goldman Sachs), Mike Thornton (F&C Investments), James-Scott Wong (UBS).
About Ascot Park Polo Club
Established in 1976 Ascot Park Polo Club is now the world’s largest polo training centre in the world catering for all levels and abilities. Part of the aim of the club is to dispel the myths associated with polo and make the sport accessible to all through the Discover Polo experience and the Corporate Learn to Play Polo Experience.
Ascot Park is a full playing members club in addition to providing a Training Centre for newcomers to the sport. It is the founder of and home to the International Women’s Polo Association affiliated with 33 countries around the globe. In addition to this Ascot Park established the first ever Women’s World Championships, the Corporate Learn to Play Experience and was host to the first City Championships established in 2004.