Elephant polo is a variety of polo played on an elephant, obviously, being a sport that has existed since the first British went to India and Nepal, where they adapted polo with horses to use elephants.
Elephant Polo is very popular in India.
The team that will participate in the sport of Elephant Polo requires a standard polo ball and 6 to 10 feet (182- 304 centimeters) stick with a polo mallet at the end of it, although originally a soccer ball was used, which has now been replaced by a polo ball.
The playing field used is about ¾ parts the length of a typical polo field, due to the much slower speed of elephants compared to horses.
Where does the sport take place?
The World Elephant Polo Championships are held in Nepal. In both Thailand and Nepal, Elephant Polo is played under the World Elephant Polo Association, which has strict rules for the game and for the welfare of the elephant.
Tournaments outside Thailand and Nepal are run independently or by the World Elephant Polo Association in Sri Lanka, specifically in Galle, where an annual Elephant Polo tournament is held under the Ceylon Elephant Polo Association.
Start of The Game
Play begins when the referee throws the ball to the 2 elephants inside the field and outside the center circle. No other elephant may enter the field until the ball has been hit by either of the 2 inside players and doing so is considered a foul.
All other elephants must be at least 15 meters away from the ball.
Number of Elephants in Each Half of the Pitch
There must always be at least one elephant in each half for the entire duration of the game.
No team with 4 elephants should have more than 3 elephants in the middle of the pitch at any time, including during the throw-in before the start of the game and at the throw-in after each goal, to do so will be a foul.
Similarly, teams of 3 elephants must never have more than 2 elephants playing at any given time.
Semi-Circle Goal/ D
There should be no more than 1 elephant on each side of the D at any one time.
If the offensive team has more than 1 elephant in the semi-circle, even if it is even a small part of the elephant’s foot for one second, the defending team will have 1 free point to shoot the ball from somewhere on the opposite semi-circle line.
Elephants: Gender and Size
There shall be no restrictions on the weight, height, or sex of the elephants.
Number of Elephants
Each team must consist of 4 elephants, which will be marked and classified as A, B, C, D, and so on.
Elephants Found in the Goal Area
No elephant may lie down in front of the goal zone, and doing so will be a foul and a free kick will be awarded to the opposing team.
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Article extracted from PoloHUB
