World Champions Prepare for Barbados Cup

Coming off the high of winning a third Segway Polo World Championship title in Germany last year, members of the Segway Polo Club of Barbados have since been preparing to host the second edition of the Barbados Cup, also known as “Segway Polo in Paradise”.

Local players have been training under the watchful eye of player coaches Nevin Roach and Daniel Hatch, every Sunday morning and every other Thursday night. Roach indicated that the main aim was for each player to be at their best at the start of the tournament. “We will be hosting some of the top players from the US, UK, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany and Spain so we need to be prepared to play with and against them. It’s looking good thus far.”

Head of the local organizing committee, Ralf Luther, explained that the tournament is slightly different to others, in that all registered players will be drafted into teams of equal strengths. He further added that while some matches within the tournament may be more competitive than others, the competition, which is hosted under the “Segway Polo in Paradise” brand, is promoted as a fun tournament. “There will be competition but ultimately we would like the visiting players to have as much fun as possible on the field while also enjoying what Barbados has to offer as one of the top tourist destinations in the Caribbean. Hosting this competition helps with tourism.”

The sport of Segway Polo merges elements of horse polo and hockey, with the five players on each side riding a Segway PT on the field. The rules have been adapted from bicycle polo and horse polo. As all of the Segways used are identical, male and female and players of all ages can play on the same team, giving the sport its nickname “Sport of Equals”.

The Barbados Cup takes place on April 28 – May 1, 2016 at the UWI Hockey Turf.

Two sessions will be played daily, at 9am and 6pm. The Segway Polo Club of Barbados would like to thank the BTMI, Courtesy Rent-A-Car, Academy of Sport Cave Hill, What’SUP Paddle Boarding, Brand Fea, Totally Barbados, Earthworks Pottery, Pirate’s Cove, Cool Runnings Catamaran Cruises and Rival Enterprises for their support.