The World Elephant Polo Association (WEPA) was established in 1982 having it's
headquarter at the Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge in Chitwan, Nepal. WEPA has also
established the governing rules for the Elephant Polo Tournament.
Somehow, Elephant polo is similar to the Horse polo but you can easily a bit
difference. A fast (at times), exciting game, like polo but with elephants and
longer sticks, this is quite possibly the biggest sport in the world.
How is Elephant Polo Played?
The game is played by four players of each team on a marked pitch 140 x 70
meters, using a standard size polo ball and consists of two 10-minute chukkers
of playing time, with an interval of 15 minutes. The whistle blown by the
referee stops and starts play. The pitch is marked with a centre line, a circle
with a radius of 15 meters in the centre of the field, and a semi-circle with a
radius of 30 meters measured from the centre of the goal line at either end of
the pitch. Elephants and ends are changed at half time.
Who Participates?
Teams participate from all over the world including Scotland, Thailand, England
and Hong Kong. The local favorite, the Tiger Tops Tuskers, also takes a part.
After the day's play all the players and guests have dinner in the Golghar, a
traditional round house with a great bar.
This game originated from Nepal, is now played in many countries.
When is it played?
Elephant Polo in Nepal runs between last week of November to first week of December.
