Aspen Valley Polo Club's St. Regis World Snow Polo Championship Week Has Arrived; Let The Festivities Begin
ASPEN, Colo., December 15, 2024---The highly-anticipated St. Regis World Snow Polo Championship week begins Monday at the St. Regis Aspen Resort.
By Sharon Robb
The world-class hotel will host the player and team sponsor introductions Monday night at 7 p.m. The event will be live streamed worldwide by ChukkerTV (CTV Sports).
The event is one of the world's top snow polo tournaments, only snow polo tournament in North America and final stop on the 2024 World Polo Tour.
In a spectacular holiday setting against a backdrop of snow-covered mountains, the tournament is a major attraction for polo fans from around the world and major allure for the Aspen community and surrounding areas. It's also part off Aspen's festive social season.
For the 12th consecutive year, Aspen Valley Polo Club owners Melissa and Marc Ganzi will host the world-class event which has joined St. Moritz as one of the world's top snow polo tournaments and one of Aspen's major international sporting events.
Preliminary qualifying games are Tuesday, Dec. 17 at Aspen Valley Polo Club's world-class indoor arena. The qualified teams then move to Rio Grande Park on Dec. 18-19. Games are free for spectators standing around the arena.
In addition to the championship final, other games at Rio Grande Park will be the High Alpine Cup, Celebrity Chukker, Aspen Cup final and second annual Potamkin Charity Chukker, benefitting Aspen Valley Hospital Foundation and Calaway-Young Cancer Center.
The Potamkin Charity Chukker honors well-respected and beloved Aspen resident Robert Potamkin, the father of Melissa Ganzi, who passed away in November, 2023. Each goal scored in the chukker earns a donation to the hospitals.
Last year Casablanca won its first World Snow Polo Championship. In front of a soldout crowd, Casablanca (Grant Ganzi, 3, Hilario Figueras, 5, Nic Roldan, 9) held off Aspen Valley (Jason Crowder, 6, Marc Ganzi, 1, Adolfo Cambiaso, 10) in a hardfought 8-6 victory. The highlight of the 2023 tournament was Argentine 10-goaler Adolfo Cambiaso, the sport's greatest all-time player, making his U.S. debut on snow.
From the heated VIP tent, guests can watch from an exclusive alpine-inspired chalet with chandeliers fashioned from antlers and bedecked with evergreens, leather furniture and cozy fur throws.
Tickets remain on sale for the 12th annual star-studded event. Ticket information can be found at aspenvalleypoloclub.com.
Go Rentals, the sole preferred rental car provider for the World Polo League, is also a major sponsor for the St. Regis World Polo Snow Polo Championship.
The sport was first played on a frozen lake in St. Moritz, Switzerland, created by Swiss hotelier and polo visionary Reto Gaudenzi in 1985 and has been growing in popularity ever since, attracting thousands of spectators and top players from around the world.
"Every year it seems to get better and better," said 2023 MVP Nic Roldan. "Melissa and her team have done an incredible job of putting this event together. It's an awesome experience and great way to end the year."
With a vision for the community and surrounding areas, philanthropists Marc and Melissa Ganzi resurrected the club and polo in 2014. Since then polo has increased in popularity in Aspen and surrounding cities during the summer.
The club's offerings are various weekly grass and arena tournaments, Arena & Asado Nights, Kidz Polo, Kids Wheelie Polo, Gymkhana, Christmas In July, The Polo School at AVPC and Polo On Demand.
In addition, the club offers practice sessions for teams competing in the club tournaments on more than six world-class fields. There are also indoor and outdoor polo arenas. There is the Polo School for all ages and ability levels and operates in Carbondale.
