Gentlemen, I have recently received a spate of messages asking about the date for the 2007 edition of the Mekong Cup. I take this interest as an encouraging sign that MC’07 is already a highly anticipated event, since we normally don’t even start discussing the tournament’s date until January!
So I have gone to the trouble of consulting my farmers’ almanac, various astrological charts, and the Bank of Thailand’s official list of public holidays to consider what date will be most suitable for hosting this year’s tournament. After inputting all the data into Churchill Pryce’s mainframe computer, the gizmo at the back spat out a punch card which read “Saturday, April 28th, 2007.” This will be the first time that we hold the event in April, since it’s typically the first or second weekend of May (i.e., in May, the hotel will let us in at the same low-season rates that we’ve enjoyed every year). The date should be as early as possible to minimize the likelihood of rains, tsunamis, coup d’etets, etc. The reason for wanting to bring the tournament forward is because Saturday, May 5th is “Coronation Day” in Thailand, which you might know is a “dry” holiday honouring the highly revered King of the Kingdom (
Please note: DRY HOLIDAY = bars will be closed = we’re better to consider another date). Saturday, May 13th is a likely to conflict with the KL International Ice Hockey Tournament, so we’re better to avoid being too close to the KL tournament. Finally, an April 28th tournament will give most people an opportunity to turn the MC2007 into a long weekend in Phuket if you take the Monday off work, since Tuesday, May 1st is “Labor Day” across
Asia.
I’ve received confirmation from the Amari that they will give us the same great rates, as follows: Bht 2,600.- nett inclusive buffet breakfast for single room Bht 2,800.- nett inclusive buffet breakfast for double/twin room Bht 4,000.- nett inclusive buffet breakfast for triple room They’ve raised the price for the lunch and dinner by a bit more than $1 and $2, respectively. So once I’ve sat down to do the budget I’ll let you know whether the price of the entry fee will jump from $50 to $55 (it probably will go up to $55, since the Baht continues to appreciate against the USD).
So mark Saturday, April 28th, 2007 on your calendars and plan your training schedules early. Mekong Cup 2007 is only 177 days away!!! Cheers, John Casella
Executive DirectorChurchill Pryce Capital (
Thailand) Company Limited25th Floor,
Silom Complex Office Tower
191 Silom Road
10500 Thailand
Tel. (662) 632 1280 Ext. 275Fax. (662) 632 1271 /3For further information on our services,Visit: www.churchill-pryce.com
February 22, 2007 at 4:35 pm |
Gentlemen,
I have been a bit slow off the mark in the New Year, but I’ve finally finished the tournament budget for the 13th Annual Mekong Cup International Ball Hockey Tournament. As you might recall, the tournament has been confirmed for Saturday, April 28th, 2007. The tournament format will be consistent with past years. We’re expecting essentially the same teams as last year although we might find ourselves with a new “Asean Team” made up of a mixture of people from Saigon, Taiwan, ISB, etc. The sooner we can confirm all the teams, the better!
With the costs of our F&B going up (~10%) and the Thai Baht strengthening against the US Dollar (~10%), we have had to raise the tournament entry fee to US$60/player. Again, this fee will cover the Pasta Buffet Lunch, BBQ Banquet Dinner, all-you-can-drink water & electrolytes for the day, bananas, Red Bull, champagne for the victors, championship hardware, participant medals, 2 experienced hockey referees, and much, much more.
To make it simple for teams to pay their entry fees (and to avoid hassles from the Bank of Thailand’s new and mysterious monetary controls), we will collect each team’s Entry Fees at the Friday evening pre-tournament Captains’ Meeting. But, to avoid last minute surprises, I will need to confirm each team’s attendance and your approximate number of players by no later than April 1st.
Also, keep in mind that this year’s Mekong Cup has been brought forward into the tail-end of Phuket’s “busy season,” so the sooner you can confirm your players the better your chances of securing accommodations; the Amari Coral Beach Resort has been chockablock so far this year! Furthermore, Tuesday (May 1st) following the Mekong Cup is the Labor Day public holiday all around the region and many visitors will be coming to Phuket for a 4-day long weekend (good idea for our boys, too), so there’s a real risk that this higher demand will mean that the Amari may not be able to hold our rooms for us beyond the 1st of April!
The Amari room rates are as follows (the Baht exchange rate is now ~ Bht35 = US$1):
Bht 2,600.- nett inclusive buffet breakfast for single room (~US$74)
Bht 2,800.- nett inclusive buffet breakfast for double/twin room (~US$80)
Bht 4,000.- nett inclusive buffet breakfast for triple room (~US$114)
You can send me your initial room booking info. ASAP and I will send it to the tournament contact at the Amari to set up each team on the tournament registry; I’ll give the Amari your contact emails (and vice versa) so that each team can then contact the Amari if you need to make any subsequent changes to your team’s booking, directly.
I hope you’re all as excited about this year’s Mekong Cup as I am!! If I’m missing any e-mail addresses from those that are being sent in this message, please let me know. Also, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me.
Cheers,
John Casella
September 27, 2008 at 3:55 am |
Hi John! I have been looking for information relating to a possible 2009 Mekong Cup?If you have any information if there is a tournament? and when? that would be highly appreciated. You seem to be well informed on what is going on . We are a few of us interested in playing a tournament in Thailand.We are from Montréal Canada. Thank you in advance
Cheers
Stéphane Laporte