We are Family

The ICWI/Hi-Pro Family Tournament ends the season in style
By Shane Chin.  Photos by Victoria Chin

The 2009 polo season finished with a bang, with spills and thrills and high drama as the Hi-Pro/ICWI Family Tournament proved again to be one of the most competitive tournaments on the calendar. Defending the family name brings out all the competitive facets in the players, the low goal section had a record of nine teams entered initially, but due to some injury, teams had to be reshuffled and we ended up with seven teams. The quarter finals  got under way at both clubs to see who would advance to the semis, the first team to advance  was  the Lalors as they spanked  the Melvilles with a 5 to 0  win, Ouch!!!!!! The second game was between the Dougalls and the Wates, with another surprising out come of 4 to 1 in favor of the Dougalls.While in St. Ann the Chin #1 team played the Vernon team to see who would advance, that outcome was 5 - 0 in favor of the Chin team.

The teams advancing to the semis met at St. Ann to battle it out for the final two spots, the first game played saw two Chin teams coming up against each other, the Chin #2 team (Shane Chin, Paul Chin, Rachel Turner, Michele Subaran) team beat the Chin #1 team (Kurt Chin, Junior Chin, Stevie Fong-Yee, Rory Vernon) team by 8 goals to 6 1/2 in a fast, exciting match in which the Chin #1 team actually held the lead for a while until the last chukka. Shane Chin scored 7 of the 8 goals for the Chin #2 team and brother Paul contributed a goal at the end of the game while brother Kurt scored all 6 goals for the Chin #1 team.

In the 2nd match the Lalors (Dennis Lalor, Paul Lalor, Jason Wates, and Hamish Wates) defeated the Dougalls (Jonathan Dougall, Anna Dougall, Craig Russell, James Robertson) convincingly by 7 goals to 2 in a very slow game of tapping being demonstrated. Jason Wates and Paul Lalor shared the honors with 4 and 3 goals each for the Lalors, while Craig Russell scored the 2 goals for the Dougalls in the first and last chukkas. The Finals  brought to the table the highly favored Lalor team( Dennis Lalor, Paul Lalor, Jason Wates, and Hamish Wates) against the Chin #2 team (the under dogs) consisting of brothers Paul and Shane Chin, along with Rachel Turner and Michele Subaran. 

Both teams won their semi-final matches fairly convincingly in totally contrasting styles so the match up was much anticipated as Shane Chin had been unstoppable, scoring 7 of their 8 goals racing up and down the field and Jason Wates had controlled the ball with his dribbling skills for much of his match. The final saw both teams firing on all cylinders in the 1st chukker, by the  4th chukker though they had both lost momentum with the ICWI/Lalor team squandering several golden opportunities to score, which ultimately was to be to their detriment. Finally, Rachel Turner converted a 30-yard penalty for the Hi-Pro/Chin team to take a brief 3 goal lead but then Hamish Wates converted 2, 30-yard penalties for the ICWI/Lalor team to close the gap. However, the clock ran down on them and the Hi-Pro/Chin team held on to win by 6 goals to 5.  This is the first team that has sported two women players to win the finals.

HI-PRO & ICWI FAMILY POLO TOURNAMENT - HIGH GOAL SECTION
The semi-finals of the Hi-Pro/ICWI Family Polo Tournament High Goal Section were played at the St. Ann Polo Club (July 30, 2009).  The first match between the Chin #1 team of Kurt Chin, Junior Chin, Lesley Fong-Yee and Andy Vernon and the Wates team of Mark Wates, Ricky Wates, The Hon. James Robertson and Marc Melville. The game was a fast, clean, even game as both teams tried very hard to score, lady luck smiled on the Wates team as it was their day in the sun with a 7 to 5 win for them.

The 2nd match between the Chin # 2 team of Shane Chin, Paul Chin, John G Byles and Craig Russell and the Lalor team of Paul Lalor, The Hon. Dennis Lalor, Jason Wates and Jorge Donovan was quite lackluster as the game was scoreless up until the 3rd chukka. The score then remained tied at 3 all until the end of the 5th chukka when Paul Chin’s wires disconnected and he left field in a huff, over a disagreement with the umpire. The Chin team played on despite their missing teammate, the Lalor team snuck in a goal to put the ICWI team back into the lead. The 6th chukka proved to be a run away as the Chin team lost their team mojo and the Lalor team won by 7 goals to 3.

The finals of the season ending High Goal section pitted the ICWI/Lalor team of The Hon. Dennis Lalor, Paul Lalor, Jorge Donovan and Jason Wates met the Hi-Pro/Wates team of Ricky Wates, Mark Wates, The Hon. James Robertson and Marc Melville. The finals were shaping up to be a real family affair as father was pitted against son in the Wates Clan. Bets were placed to see if the old dog still had it in him to prove to the young whipper snapper he still ruled. The Hi-Pro team of Mark and Ricky Wates, with The Hon James Robertson and Marc Melville challenged the ICWI team of Paul Lalor and the Hon Dennis Lalor, with Jason Wates (son of Mark Wates) along with resident pro Jorge Donovan.

The ICWI/Lalor team came out firing as Jason Wates opened the scoring to knock off the handicap received by the Hi-Pro/Wates team and Donovan scored 2 more to give them an early lead, one which despite Dennis Lalor’s unfortunate encounter with the St. Anns ground as he tested it for “firmness”, and his ultimate replacement by Junior Chin, they managed to hold on to, to win by 10 goals to 8.  The Wates clan put up a spirited defense, and at one time in the 2nd chukker even held the lead…  but the day belonged to ICWI.. I guess the young whipper snapper did have the edge after all. The prizes, consisted of commemorative plaques that were then handed out along with the beautiful Kay Sullivan sculpture of a mare and foal to the victorious team and Jorge Donovan was acknowledged as the Most Valuable Player and The Hon. James Robertson’s horse in the 4th chukka was adjudged Best Playing Pony. After the Prize Giving everyone chowed down on the sumptuous dinner provided by the Chin family and boogied energetically to DJ Troy’s traditional session until the early hours to close the polo season out in fine style