Singapore Polo Club

Last updated
Singapore Grounds
The Club
Singapore Polo Club
Location80 Mount Pleasant Road
298334
Singapore
Executive suites20
Surface Desso GrassMaster
Construction
Broke ground1914
Opened1941
Renovated1941
Tenants
Singapore Polo Club

The Singapore Grounds, or better known as Singapore Polo Club is a varied sports centre in Singapore. It is one of the oldest grounds in Singapore.

Contents

History

Polo was introduced to Singapore by officers of the King's Own Royal Regiment who were stationed on the island. The Singapore Polo Club was founded in 1886, making it the oldest polo team in what was once British Malaya and one of the oldest sporting and social clubs in Singapore. From its formation until 1914, it played at the Race Course, a major sports venue up until the 1930s, in present-day Farrer Park. [1]

Grounds

The Singapore Polo Club was located at Balestier Road since 1914, but moved to Mount Pleasant for needs of better facilities. After numerous fundraising attempts, the grounds were finally founded by Singapore Turf Club, on the condition that they use it as a practice and recreational grounds and had status of it. The Japanese Imperial Army sent volunteers to collaborate in the attempts of a national identity, and the ground was complete and open for play by 1941.

However, during The Second World War, the ground was used as a gun emplacement area by the Japanese Defence Force and was rented as a squatters camp by the Salvation Army and Japanese Defence Forces. After the war, Lord Mountbatten became the patron of the ground and re-established the Polo Club. He used his British and Royal influence to renovate the Grounds and establish it as an improved playing area, with a newly renovated pitch. [2]

The grounds are also the headquarters of the Asian Gaelic Athletics Association, or the Asian GAA. [3]

Pitch

A new type of grass called Desso GrassMaster was installed in 2000 to improve to surface's quality. The grass, which is natural grass with enhanced artificial roots, is suitable for polo, Gaelic football and hurling, as well as the other sports played there. [2]

Facilities

The ground also has a number of suites and other activities. There is a bar and restaurant, riding area, gym, spa, Jacuzzi, swimming pool, as well as two tennis courts and the pitch.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polo</span> Equestrian team sport

Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ball through the opposing team's goal. Each team has four mounted riders, and the game usually lasts one to two hours, divided into periods called chukkas or "chukkers".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Croke Park</span> Sports venue in Dublin (Republic of Ireland)

Croke Park is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Since 1891 the site has been used by the GAA to host Gaelic sports, including the annual All-Ireland in Gaelic football and hurling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polo Grounds</span> Sports venue in Manhattan, demolished 1963

The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 through 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built for the sport of polo. Bound on the south and north by 110th and 112th streets and on the east and west by Fifth and Sixth (Lenox) avenues, just north of Central Park, it was converted to a baseball stadium when leased by the New York Metropolitans in 1880.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaelic games</span> Set of sports originating, and mainly played in Ireland

Gaelic games are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the most popular of the sports, are both organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Women's versions of hurling and football are also played: camogie, organised by the Camogie Association of Ireland, and ladies' Gaelic football, organised by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association. While women's versions are not organised by the GAA, they are closely associated with it but are still separate organisations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Valley (London)</span> Football stadium in London, home to Charlton Athletic FC

The Valley is a 27,111 capacity sports stadium in Charlton, London, England and has been the home of Charlton Athletic Football Club since the 1920s, with a period of exile between 1985 and 1992. It is served by Charlton railway station, which is less than a five-minute walk away from the stadium. An alternative route is the Jubilee line; exiting at North Greenwich, and changing for route 161, 472 and 486 buses, which stop outside the stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Stadium, Singapore</span> Multi-purpose stadium in Singapore

The Singapore National Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Kallang, Singapore, and is the national stadium of Singapore. Opened on 30 June 2014, it was constructed on the site of the former National Stadium, which was closed in 2007 and demolished in 2010. The 55,000-seat facility serves as the home stadium of the Singapore national football team, and is the centrepiece of the Singapore Sports Hub project—a sports and recreation district that also incorporates nearby Singapore Indoor Stadium and other sporting venues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaelic Park</span>

Gaelic Park is a multi-purpose outdoor athletics facility, located at West 240th Street and Broadway in Riverdale, Bronx, in New York City in the U.S. state of New York. Since 1926 the grounds has been used as the venue for Gaelic games in New York, and since its purchase by Manhattan College in 1991 it has hosted numerous American college athletic events.

McGovern Park is the current headquarters, and principal Gaelic games facility, of the London GAA. It is situated in South Ruislip, west London and the facilities are managed by Veritable Venue Management.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jalan Besar Stadium</span> Stadium in Singapore

Jalan Besar Stadium, officially the Jalan Besar ActiveSG Stadium, is a football stadium located in Kallang, Singapore. The stadium is part of the Jalan Besar Sports and Recreation Centre, a community sports facility that includes the stadium as well as a swimming complex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Multi-purpose stadium</span> Stadium designed for multifunctionality over specificity

A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy that stresses multifunctionality over specificity. It is used most commonly in Canada and the United States, where the two most popular outdoor team sports – Canadian football/American football and baseball – require radically different facilities. Football uses a rectangular field while baseball is played on a diamond and large outfield. Since Canadian football fields are larger than American ones, the design specifications for Canadian facilities is somewhat less demanding. The particular design to accommodate both is usually an oval, although some later designs use an octorad. While building stadiums in this way means that sports teams and governments can share costs, it also imposes some challenges.

Australian rules football in Asia dates back to 1910 but was only sporadically played until the 1980s after which it has boomed. Clubs have begun in most Asian countries and a governing body for the region, AFL Asia was formed in 2008 to coordinate the Asian Championship and promote its affiliated leagues. AFL Asia estimates that there are now more than 10,000 Australian Football players across Asia.

Aberdeen University Sports Union (AUSU) is the sports union at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. It is a constituent part of Aberdeen University Students' Association. It is not responsible for facilities and rents time for its clubs from Aberdeen Sports Village.

The Asian County Board (ACB) of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), also sometimes known as Asian GAA, is one of the county boards of the GAA outside Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Coimbatore)</span> Multi-purpose stadium in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu

Nehru Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. Constructed in 1971, It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium has a capacity of 30,000 spectators. The stadium was used as home ground of I-League club Chennai City FC.

St Bartholomew's and The Royal London Hospitals FC ("SBLHFC") are the football club of Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, having been formed from the merger of two formerly distinct hospital football clubs each with a long history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polo in India</span>

India is the birthplace of modern polo. The modern game of polo is derived from Manipur, where the game was known as 'Sagol Kangjei', 'Kanjai-bazee', or 'Pulu'. It was the anglicised form of the last, referring to the wooden ball that was used, which was adopted by the sport in its slow spread to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skënder Halili Complex</span>

The Skënder Halili Complex is the sports training facility and academy headquarters of Albanian football club KF Tirana. It is located off of Rruga e Kavajës, near the Birra Tirana factory. The training complex was posthumously named after Skënder Halili, who was one of the club's most notable associates, both during his playing career and after. The complex features a full sized natural grass football pitch, as well as a smaller astro turf fan along with dressing rooms used by senior team as well as some of the youth teams. In December 2014, work began on both the Skënder Halili Complex and the Selman Stërmasi Stadium in order to fully renovate these grounds to be used by the club, and at the training ground the training facilities were all improved which included the dressing rooms and even the single stand that holds a small number of spectators for those wishing to attend training sessions and even occasional friendlies that are played at the ground.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Bangkok Sports Club</span>

The Royal Bangkok Sports Club is an exclusive sports club in Bangkok, Thailand, best known to the public for its horse racing venue. Founded in 1901, it was the first racecourse in the country and one of the oldest golf courses. Originally serving Western expatriates and Thai aristocrats, the club was at the centre of development in the introduction of modern sport to the country during the early 20th century. The club has since maintained its exclusivity, and has a reputation as a domain of high society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mardyke (UCC)</span>

The Mardyke, also referred as the Mardyke Sports Ground, is the main sports campus of University College Cork (UCC), located at the western end of the Mardyke area near Cork city centre. The grounds and fitness facilities used by sports team representing, the general student body, and members of the public. Outdoors, there are floodlit grass and all-weather pitches, used for soccer, rugby union, Gaelic games, and hockey. Kayakers train in the adjacent North channel of the River Lee. There is a tartan track for athletics, where the Cork City Sports are held annually. The most notable performance came in the hammer throw on 3 July 1984, when the world record was broken six times in one evening by Yuriy Sedykh and Sergey Litvinov.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyersall Park</span> Historical landmark in Singapore

Tyersall Park is an estate in Singapore, bound by Holland Road and Tyersall Avenue, and near the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Previously a private land belonging to the Sultan of Johor from 1862, some portions of it had been acquired by the Government of Singapore in 1990 and in 2009 respectively.

References

  1. "History". singaporepoloclub.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-26. Retrieved 2016-03-30.
  2. 1 2 "THE SINGAPORE POLO CLUB". lapolo.in. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  3. "The Games begin – in Singapore". The Mayo News. Retrieved 2023-04-13.