St. Moritz, 23 December 2015. – World-class players from six nations will compete in
the Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz 2016 on the last weekend in January. The teams
competing in the world’s only high-goal tournament on snow are evenly matched,
even more so than in the year before, posing a true challenge to the Team Cartier to
defend their title. Natural ice formation on the lake has begun.
Team Cartier inevitably has a say in the outcome of the Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz and
hence in who will bring home the coveted Cartier Trophy. Captain Spencer McCarthy (+1)
has put together a wholly English team: he and Charlie Wooldridge (+2) will play alongside
the two old hands Nacho Gonzalez (+6) and Chris Hyde (+6). Chris Hyde is said to be the
world’s best snow polo player at the moment; he dominated the tournament in 2015.
Defending their title in 2016 will not be an easy task for the Team Cartier, though: USAmerican
Melissa Ganzi (0) and her team round off the high-calibre list of participating
teams. She is one of the few women who play polo at high-goal level. Together with the local
player Tito Gaudenzi (+2) and the Argentine professionals Augustin «Tincho» Merlos (+9)
and Juan Bollini (+5), she will play in the colours of the Team Badrutt’s Palace Hotel. Not
only is she a very good player, but Melissa Ganzi is also recognised as a major promoter of
the sport of polo around the world.
Monte Carlo resident, Italian-born Rommy Gianni (+1) will return to St. Moritz after having
played there in 2015. He has taken on board his Team Maserati two high-profile Argentine
professionals, Dario Musso (+7), Frankie Menendes (+6) and Luciano Vazquez (+2) from
Spain.

Cedric Schweri (0), too, played in St. Moritz in 2015: he represents the host country
Switzerland with his fellow citizen Luca Zindel (+1), completing his Team Perrier-Jouët with
the two Brazilian players Aluisio Rosa (+7) and Olavo Novaes (+7). New to the team is the
renowned French champagne maker Perrier-Jouët, the tournament’s fourth team sponsor.
Strong Swiss players and good ice build-up
The three Swiss players coming to St. Moritz, Tito Gaudenzi, Luca Zindel, and Cedric
Schweri, are currently among the best in Switzerland. Only in September, they finished in the
very respectable fifth place at the F.I.P. Arena Polo European Championship in Baku,
together with Fabio Maier. Tito Gaudenzi grew up in Silvaplana near St. Moritz.
Last week, the first ice already started to form on the lake of St. Moritz. It is not yet possible
to step on the lake, though. Experts will make the first assessment of the depth and quality of
the ice formation in two weeks time, following which the decision will be taken on when to
start erecting the extensive infrastructure. The constructions are not expected to begin before
January.
Members of the press from around the world are expected to report from St. Moritz as they
did the year before. For the first time, US Internet-TV channel Chukker.TV will be webcasting
all of the games live from St. Moritz into the World Wide Web.
Advance sale of the VIP tickets is going well; advance booking, once again, is particularly
popular for the Saturday and Sunday tickets with gourmet catering by star chef Reto Mathis
as well as for the gala at the Badrutt’s Palace Hotel on Saturday evening. A further spike in
demand is expected ahead of Christmas.
Except of the VIP areas, access to the polo grounds on the lake of St. Moritz is open to
everyone and free of charge. As always, this includes access to the grandstands and to the
public polo plaza, where the Badrutt’s Palace Hotel and local restaurants will be catering for
all tastes and palates.

Teams of the Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz 2016

Team Cartier +15 England
Spencer McCarthy +1 ENG TC
Charlie Wooldridge +2 ENG
Chris Hyde +6 ENG
Nacho Gonzalez +6 ENG

Team Maserati +16 Italy
Rommy Gianni +1 ITA TC
Luciano Vazquez +2 ESP
Dario Musso +7 ARG
Frankie Menendes +6 ARG

Team Perrier-Jouët +15 Switzerland
Cedric Schweri 0 SUI TC
Luca Zindel +1 SUI
Aluisio Rosa +7 BRA
Olavo Novaes +7 BRA

Team Badrutt’s Palace Hotel +16 USA
Melissa Ganzi 0 USA TC
Augustin «Tincho» Merlos +9 ARG
Juan Bollini +5 ARG
Tito Gaudenzi +2 SUI