LawtonAsia London Irish Nellies become first all-female team to compete in the King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament.


The World Elephant Polo Association established the rules for Elephant Polo back in 1982, but it wasn’t until 2001 that the King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament was first launched in Thailand by Anantara Resort.

This year the weeklong tournament was contested by 12 teams from around the world; each team fielding three players and three elephants at any one time. The game itself, played on a marked pitch 100 metres long by 60 metres wide using a standard polo ball, is divided into two 7-minute “chukkas”, with an interval of 15 minutes.

Throughout the tournament, the elephants were afforded the greatest of respect and proceeds went towards their welfare, sustenance, employment and medical treatment, plus provided funding for mahout training

The LawtonAsia London Irish Nellies — Claire McNicholl, Vanessa Donkin, Katie Friedman and Joy Sopitpongstorn — were a match for their male opponents in every aspect of the game, without really getting the luck their entertaining play deserved. Despite scoring 13 times in the tournament, and stomping all over their opponents in their last game to win 2:0, they finished just one place outside the top ten.

We’d like to say a big ‘thank you’ to our colourful girls for their great sportsmanship and for helping to make the tournament such a success.

Over 200,000 US dollars were raised for the National Elephant Institute, to be used for the welfare of these magnificent creatures. A further one million baht was also raised at the tournament-concluding Gala Dinner and this was donated to the Elephant Conservation Centre — estimates put Thailand’s total elephant population at just 4,000 (2,500 domesticated and 1,500 in the wild).

TOP PAGE

The new underwriter behind the new Premier International Healthcare plans After 3 years with Generali, we have reviewed the market and decided on a change. From now onwards, Premier International Healthcare plans will be underwritten by Aviva and international assistance will be provided by International SOS (ISOS). If you’ve lived in the UK, you’ll probably be familiar with Aviva, thecompany behind the Norwich Union and Commercial Union brands.

Aviva is the world’s fifth-largest insurance group with over 57,000 employees serving around 45 million clients.

Aviva brings a wealth of knowledge, together with financial strength and security, to our new Premier International Healthcare plans. It also has a regional office in Singapore to speed communication and administration.

We chose these new companies for their size, reputations and accessibility: both have major support operations in the Asia time zone and regional offices in Singapore. ISOS, with over 5,000 professional staff and companies in 70 countries, also has a branch here in Thailand.

We are confident these changes are for the better, but importantly they provide enhanced benefits for you:

• Full coverage for chronic illnesses such as diabetes and cancer
  conditions (provided they originate after you obtain your policy)
• Direct settlement at major hospitals throughout Thailand
• Multi-lingual staff to assist with enrolment, queries,
  and administrative procedures
• 24-hour toll-free emergency helpline
• Medically-trained personnel to assist with claims management
   and payment
• 24-hour emergency evacuation and repatriation
• Pre-travel advice, with information on vaccinations, etc
• The financial security of the UK’s biggest insurer

If you’d like to know more, just call one of our consultants on 02 654 1170

It allows direct settlement at local hospitals and provides an increased level of overall benefits compared to a standard local policy. It also offers the option of adding Dental, Optical and Personal Accident benefits.

The plan has a lifetime limit of 20 million baht and is underwritten by LMG Pacific Healthcare, part of the Liberty Mutual group, one of the largest financial organizations in the world.

Key Benefits

• Coverage up to 5 million baht per year
• Choice of medical care providers
• Recreational sports cover
• Guaranteed renewability – regardless of age and medical
   condition
• 24-hour emergency assistance
• Emergency evacuation
• Competitive premiums

For a complete list of terms and definitions call us now on
02 654 1150 Ext 101 or 114
NOTE: Premier Lite is only available to those living in Thailand