A Hamburg polo team played in three governoratesin its first visit to Egypt. Ghada Abd El-Kader followed the visitors around The federation invited the Hamburg squad for the practice and to help introduce to the country a game known more for the global elite who play it. "Every year we invite three or four international teams. It's a good opportunity for our polo players," vice-president of the Egyptian Polo Federation Mohamed El-Shami said. The first match was held in Alexandria in Sporting Club. The Egyptian team consisted of four player (with +1 handicap), two from Sporting Club, Hossam Sadeq and Ismail Abu-Hamada, and Sherif Amen and Mohamed Mahdi from Smouha Club. The Egyptians won 6-3. The second game was held during the annual Arabian horse festival in Sharqeya governorate. The Egyptian team, 4-3 winners, were Sayed Omar, Marwan Mustafa and Mustafa Idris from the Police Federation Sporting Club (with +3 handicaps). In Cairo, Egypt defeated Hamburg 6-5 for a clean sweep. The players were Ibrahim Awadallah, Ahmed Wahbi, Karim Loza and Mohie El-Khatib from Gezira Club with handicap +5. "We had a very good game," said German star player Thomas Winter. "I think we were doing very well in the beginning. Then Egypt came back and hit us with three goals. They were really quick in the third chukker and we couldn't catch up. The Egyptian team was much better than us today." The German team consisted of four players: Winter with +5 handicap, Maccias Grau -1 handicap, Nicolas Wollemberg -1 handicap and Stephan Luis 0 handicap. Winter is considered the best German polo player, having been playing for 30 years. His handicap is +5. "I grew up in a family in Africa that loves riding and playing polo. My father was also a player and my two brothers, too. I think it's the best game in the world," said Winters who was captain of the German national team who were 2003 world champions. He added, "A good polo player has to be high in body coordination and a very good rider and be able to build tactics because it is quite complicated and it is a team game. The best age to start playing is nine or 10. "We have 300 polo players in Germany, 27 clubs all around the country. The main centre is in the north. The game was introduced in Germany in 1889." "I started playing polo at 49," Grau said. "I practice three times a week. If I play more than that I get into trouble with my family especially my wife because I forget the time and everything else while I'm riding." The Egyptian Polo Federation was founded 100 years ago but stopped for operations for some time because of the Egyptian Revolution in 1952. It returned to work in 2005. The country has four polo teams -- Sporting and Smouha cubs in Alexandria and the Police Federation Sporting Club and Gezira Club in Cairo. Egypt came first in the Newport International Polo Series in America in June. Last year the police team won the Nigerian International Military Polo Championship. In December, the Indian military team will play several friendly games in Egypt. Polo is played on 10 acres of a grass field, 300 yards in length by 160 yards, which is the approximate 10 football fields. Goal posts are set eight yards apart on either end of the field. It costs approximately LE1 million to play the game, one of the principle reasons it is hardly played in Egypt. The Polo Federation has brought coaches from abroad and Al-Attar of the Police Federation has trained the national team before. The polo pony is selected carefully for great speed and stamina, similar to the thoroughbreds at race tracks, as well as agility and maneuverability. A well trained horse will carry his rider smoothly and swiftly to the ball and can account for anywhere from 70-80 per cent of a player's ability and net worth to his team. Therefore, a team usually has a minimum of 24 horses available during the match. The object of the game is to move the ball down-field, hitting the ball through the goal for a score. The team with the most scores at the end of the match is deemed the winner. Two teams, made up of four players each, are designated by shirt colour with numbers 1 to 4, which correspond to their assigned position. Number 1 is the most offensive, concentrating on opportunities for scoring. Number 4 is the defensive player, primarily responsible for defending his/her team's goal. Usually, the most experienced and highest-rated players are at positions 2 and 3, with the pivotal player being number 3, who must serve as an effective field captain, or quarter back. Number 3 is the tactical leader and must be a long powerful hitter to feed balls to Number 2 and Number 1 as well as maintaining a solid defence. The best player on the team is usually the Number 3 player. Number 4 is the primary defence player and though he can move anywhere on the field, he often tries to prevent scoring. The excessive defence of the Number 4 allows the Number 3 to commit to more offensive plays knowing he will be covered if he loses the ball. The players wear high boots, knee guards, and a helmet of their own selection. By tradition, players wear white pants in tournaments. The mallet, made of a bamboo shaft with a hardwood head, is the instrument used to hit the polo ball which is about three inches in diametre and three to four ounces in weight. Polo games are played on the flat or the handicap. Every registered player is awarded a skill rating on the ascending basis of C, B, A (-2, the lowest) to 10 (the highest). This handicap reflects the player's ability and his value to the team -- the higher the handicap the better the player is. The team handicap is the combined handicaps of the four players. The team with the lesser handicap is granted the difference in goals (or points) prior to the start of the match. Handicapping is a subjective evaluation of the individual's horsepower, game sense, hitting ability and overall value to a team. There are six periods or "chukkers" in a match, each seven minutes long. Play begins with a throw-in of the ball by the umpire at the opening of each chukker and after each goal. Only penalties or injuries may stop play as there are no time-outs or substitutions allowed except for tack repair. "I've been playing polo for five years, starting in 1981," Mohamed Mahdi, a polo player in Smouha Club, said. "I fell in love with it. All my children love it and everyone has his own horse. "I dedicate my award to President Farouk Younis, president of the Egyptian Polo Federation for his great efforts in spreading the game."
