There is no other polocrosse competition quite like the Four Nations! Sections compete not only for their own age category but also to help their team win the overall competition. There are five separate trophies up for grabs which are as follows:
The Triple Diamond Trophy – Donated by the Witehead Family this is awarded to the overall winning Nation
The Scott Senior Trophy – Donated by the Scott Family this is awarded to the Nation who wins the Senior competition
The Nvable Junior Trophy – Donated by Nvable Ltd this is awarded to the Nation who wins the Junior competition
The AKT Minis Trophy – Donated by Anna Kimber Tarbuck this is awarded to the Nation who wins the Minis competition
The Field Shield – Awarded to the Nation who demonstrate both the best team spirit and the best care for their horses and ponies during the training camp and competition.
Scoring Methodologies:
The Field Shield is judged by an independent judge for each day and the teams are marked on four categories, with a maximum of ten point available for each category. The team that scores the highest total points over the compettion wins the trophy.
Each of the Trophies for the Seniors, Juniors and Minis are based on the results of the games that take place over the weekend between the relevant sections of each Nations. Each Nations earns two points for a win and one point for a draw and the team with the most points at the end of the weekend wins the trophy. In the event of two or more nations being level of points then the placings will be determined by the result between the two nations in question or by goal difference (if the two nations drew or three or more nations are on equal points).
The Triple Diamond Trophy was previously determined by looking at the overall score in each match, which was worked out by adding the scores of the Minis, Juniors and Seniors sections together. However, it has been changed in 2023 to ensure that all sections contribute equally to the overall result and a Nation cannot win the overall competition simply based on one of their sections being very strong. So in 2023 the following points will be awarded based on how the Nations do in each of the three categories (Minis, Juniors and Seniors):
1st – 4 points
2nd – 3 points
3rd – 2 points
4th – 1 point
Bonus points – If a nation does manage to win all three sections of their game against another nation (i.e. their Minis, Juniors and Seniors all win that match) then that nation earns a bonus point towards the Triple Diamond Trophy.
In the event of two or more nations being level of points then the placings will be determined by the overall result between the two nations in question or by overall goal difference (if the two nations drew overall or three or more nations are on equal points).
Use of Players and Horses during the competition:
Each section of each nation’s team (Minis, Juniors and Seniors) have four players with three on the pitch at any time. Each player has to play a minimum of six chukkas over the weekend, unless due to player or horse injury they are unable to do so.
Each team has one horse per player. In the event of a horse being vetted out a substitute horse can be bought in. A horse can be played by more than one player, providing they play within the same grade and do not exceed their allowed total playing time during the weekend.