The Santa Maria Polo Club of Sotogrande has hosted this Friday the presentation of the 49th edition of the International Tournament MANSION Polo, which will officially start tomorrow Saturday and will run until August 30. A total of ten teams will take part in this competition, one of the most important in the world. Along with the sports show, a wide range of leisure activities have been organised for all audiences. For this special edition, the Club has implemented a specific protocol to ensure the safety of spectators in front of the Covid-19, in accordance with the rules issued by the health authorities.
The daily activity will start at 5.30 p.m. with the scheduled matches and will extend into the evening with the shopping area, restaurants and children’s attractions. The Club’s gardens, terraces and open-air spaces have been rethought with new restaurant areas and personalised service areas. Tickets, which give access to the matches and the entire site, are now available on the website www.tip.santamariapoloclub.com and at the Club’s ticket offices. Parking is free of charge.
The presentation ceremony was attended by the mayor of San Roque, Juan Carlos Ruiz Boix; the general secretary of the Andalusian Ministry of Tourism, Manuel Muñoz; the sub-delegate of the Andalusian Government in the Campo de Gibraltar, Eva Pajares; the president of the Association of Municipalities of the Campo de Gibraltar, Juan Lozano; the general director of the Royal Spanish Polo Federation, Luis Benjumea; and the president of the Santa Maria Polo Club, Antonio Ortiz, in addition to representatives of the teams and the sponsoring brands.
Antonio Ortiz has highlighted in his speech «the effort made by the Santa Maria Polo Club to maintain the event this year, so difficult for all by the pandemic that the world suffers,» and noted that «despite all the adversities, we wanted to keep this appointment, which is one of the emblems of the summer of Sotogrande. The head of the entity has invited residents and tourists to attend the tournament, «one of the few major events that remain this year in Andalusia, with the want to help the economic recovery of the country.
The president of the Santa Maria Polo Club has added that «although the exceptional circumstances we are experiencing influence the format of this year, the important thing is that the tournament continues and we can see again high-level polo. Antonio Ortiz has remarked that «security is a priority, and that is why we have implemented a set of measures so that everyone can come with absolute peace of mind». In this sense, he has valued the advantage of it being an open-air show with large garden areas, which allows distance to be maintained comfortably.
Finally, the president of the Club wanted to thank the support received by the institutions, such as Turismo de la Junta de Andalucía, the Diputación de Cádiz and the City Council of San Roque, as well as the sponsors, especially MANSION, which continues to bet on the Tournament renewing until 2021.
Institutional support
For its part, the mayor of San Roque has valued «the effort of the Santa Maria Polo Club to carry out an event that a few months ago it seemed that it would not be possible to celebrate,» and added that this decision «launches a message of optimism that is very necessary at this time. Juan Carlos Ruiz Boix has assured that the MANSION International Polo Tournament is «key to tourism» in the town, and has guaranteed the present and future support of the San Roque Town Hall, which this year is one of the official sponsors.
Meanwhile, Manuel Muñoz has declared that this tournament «is very important to consolidate the Andalusia brand and to promote tourism». The Secretary General of Tourism of the Andalusian Government has committed the support of the regional government in view of the celebration of the 50th anniversary next year.
Precisely thinking about the commemoration of the five decades of this event, the general director of the Royal Spanish Polo Federation, Luis Benjumea, has announced that this entity will request the Government of Spain to award the Gold Medal of Sport to the International Tournament MANSION Polo, «which remains a reference of the world polo.
Sports calendar
The ten teams that are coming this year will compete for the three traditional trophies of the MANSION International Polo Tournament: the Hyundai Bronze Cup, the Isolas 1892 Silver Cup and the Playtech Gold Cup. Players from the United States, England, Argentina, France, Sweden and Spain, among other nationalities, will participate.
The semi-finals and final of Silver will take place on August 12 and 15, respectively, while the semi-finals and final of Gold will be held on August 28 and 30. The calendar, which may be subject to change, will be available on the Santa Maria Polo Club website. On this occasion, all games will be played on the courts of Los Pinos, near the Port of Sotogrande.
Leisure plans for all
In addition to the competition, visitors will find many activities to enjoy in the company of family or friends. One of the leisure proposals is to go shopping at the Shopping Village, the area of fashion and accessories shops located in the gardens of the Main Pavilion. The public will also be able to eat in the different gastrobars and foodtrucks arranged in the enclosure. And children have their own space for games and attractions, attended by professional monitors, in the Kid’s Area.
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