KENYA TO HOST FIRST EVER INTERNATIONAL 10 – 14 GOAL POLO TOURNAMENT
(Posted 19th September 2013)
The Nairobi Polo Club, founded in 1907, will this weekend host the CfC Stanbic Bank Kenya International Polo Tournament. The 10 – 14 goal tournament has attracted a range of teams from South Africa, Europe and America who came to Nairobi to seek the honours, while at the same time putting the country on the map as one of Africa’s greatest sporting nations. This weekend’s tournament has been described as the most important one of the year, clearly demonstrating the quality of play spectators can expect.
Better known for the exploits of the athletes running in the middle distance events from 800 metres to the full marathon and on to the cross country races, Kenyans have for long swept the leader boards of IAAF events, World Championships and Olympics. However, Kenya is not all about athletics but also home to world class rugby players and of course, as described here, a Polo Club which finds few rivals in Africa. Originally a sport for the white settlers in the early decades after the Nairobi Polo Club was founded, this has over the years changed significantly and most new members today are Kenyans from all walks of life, keen to learn the skills and horsemanship needed to play at the highest level, locally and internationally.
‘At a time when tourism faces many challenges, it is the niches which keep us going. Sports tourism is a growing segment of our industry. Many foreign athletes now come with their coaches to train at places like Iten, where our own top runners train when they are at home. We have fishing championships, sailing championships, we organize marathons now as a high profile event and Polo too is a sport which attracts a lot of attention. Such events bring in players who come with their teams and supporters and many may come back for a safari holiday later on. Tourism without the sport element is like a soup without salt. We welcome the players to Nairobi as we welcome any visitors who come to Kenya’ added the source who sent the information from Kenya’s capital city overnight. For more information about the Nairobi Polo Club and the tournaments hosted, visit www.polokenya.com
