Pan pacific/ trans-tasman/ asia pacific champs?

[James]

What is in the pipeline for the next year for tournaments in this part of the world? I had heard that there was a Trans-tasman comp organised for 2003, is this still on? Also some sort of Pacific Champs up in Brisbane????? Are the aussies keen on working together with Kiwi's for our common good or are they just going to do as they wish and dictated to the rest of the region?

I for one would love to play the aussies and the Asian teams on a regular basis.......buy having a regular calendar we would attract a lot of players to commit to the sport in NZ ( and allow us to field better teams.)

[shuhei]

i also would love to have such competitions.

we have asian cup, which 1st tournament was held in hong kong last january and next will be in malaysia 2004.
we also have asian championships, which is a joint tournament with sprint racing and slalom.
asian cup is only for canoe polo and this is a nice trial in asia for the promotion of polo.

is any idea to have pacific championhips in the close future?

not only inside aisa but i would also would like to have an opportunity to play with aussie, kiwi, north america and south america.

[Duncan Cochrane]

The inaugural Oceania Championsips will be held in Brisbane 2003 on October 3-6. All countries- not just those in Oceania will be welcome. The Oceania Championships will then become a bi- annual event just like the European Championships and the next ones will be held in NZ in 2005. I have been in close contact with Maree Burnet about all of this so I suggest you contact her if you are out of the loop James.

The comment that "Are the aussies keen on working together with Kiwi's for our common good or are they just going to do as they wish and dictated to the rest of the region?" is unecessary and a bit rich considering the assistance that was given to NZ's early development. It is not Australia's fault that most of your players stopped after Adelaide and we have not seen you again until recent years!

For many years the idea of a Pacific Championships has been suggested and I for one would much rather this occur- because far more teams would enter and make it a far more interesting and viable competition. I think if we combined the Asian, American adn Oceania Champs into one event it would be far better for all concerned in botht eh short and long term!
Duncan

[Unregistered]

At the time of the posting, nothing had been finalised. As I understood things Polo Austarlia had been dragging their feet (I guess you have your own politics in play as well).

I do not blame Australia for the situation NZ polo entered post 1996.......rather the fact that it cost so much for our elite players to play Inter-nationally on a long-term basis.

While Pan-pacific is a great sounding prospect......i can't wait for the opportunity! What happens in a few years time if Japan want to host? That would mean travel to a Worlds one year, japan next year and then Worlds again the following year.......this places a huge financial burden on our players.

Most other sports that both our countries play have regular trans-tasman fixtures, we would benefit greatly from this sort of arrangement. More to the point it would keep the cost down to expensive only every second year.

Just my opinions!

[James]

Forgot to add my user name

[JW Lester]

I like the Idea of a Pan- Pacific or Asia-Pacific Rim tournament. While I don't think it could replace the current Asian Championships and the Cup of the Americas, it would be a good way for the more polo-isolated countries around the Pacific Rim and Asia to get more competitive polo in. Cost of course is a major factor for us in North America as well.

Has anyone thought of perhaps having a Pan-Pacific tournament as a Club level tournament in addition to or as opposed to an International tournament?

In 3 weeks, my San Francisco team is flying to Edmonton Canada for a tournament. This time of year, the cheaper places (for us) in Asia to fly such as Taipei, Singapore, Bangkok, KL, or Japan would only be about $200 more - well worth it for the chance to play against Asian, Aussie or NZ teams. Australia and New Zealand are absolutely EXTORTIONATE to fly to in comparison - over double the price. Maybe it's that Equator Tax??? Do the prices come down in June/August???

Cheers,
John

[maverickai]

:welcome:
Hi lester!

No Probs if you are thinking of making a trip down to Singapore. The CP scene is p :welcome: retty active here, with various Tertiary institutions having teams. I would estimate about 12 teams in Singapore (given our small country!). but the teams are relatively young, mostly ranging from 17-early 20s. We also have ladies team, although its much lesser in numbers.

We've got incredible food, great places and superb pubbing places! Do include us in your itinerary, and if you are interested to drop by as part of your Asia tour, gimme an email! I can help you do the planning!

seahkai@singnet.com.sg

Canoe Polo all the way!

Regards,
Sean

:worship:

[Jac]

Awesome to hear this is going ahead, I for one am looking forward to competing in Aussie again this year, have been to the Aussie interstates in both 2001 and 2002 but not going this year

[kiwikate]

Peak seasons (in terms of prices) to fly to NZ/Aussie from the States are northern hemisphere summer and southern hemisphere summer. So if you hit spring/autumn/fall the prices are better, but it's still expensive. :(

And I think it's a great idea to have more polo comps around the Pacific. Maybe we have to meet in the middle - does Hawaii sound good?

Cheers,
Katherine.

[RB-Ex-MrPolo]

Right now you could probably book a luxury hotel in Bali, complete with multiple pools, for a pretty good comp for a really good price!

And I think fares from everywhere to Bali are pretty cheap. Probably as cheap from Europe and USA as it is from Australia.