The UK Polocrosse Association (UKPA) and the Pony Club have announced they will jointly run a Coronation Polocrosse Tournament on the 10th and 11th of June, to be held at Dallas Burston Polocrosse Club in Warwickshire.
The event will see teams from both Pony Club and UKPA Clubs take part in a range of grades and feature a wide range of players, from complete beginners to international stars. Alongside the tournament will also be a three game test match series between the UK and Western Australia, who will be visiting on an overseas tour, which will give players and spectators the chance to see top quality action with the UK’s best players and horses taking part. The first test match will take place on the evening of the 9th of June, with two more over the weekend on the Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
For the Pony Club teams, the event will act as a qualifier for the summer championships in August and give their branch and centre players another chance to play competitively together as they prepare to represent their clubs at the championships. Pony Club teams and UKPA teams will take part in mixed grades, ranging in ages from Primary Juniors to Seniors and split by ability, but as well as overall prizes there will also be separate prizes for the best Pony Club team in each grade and Pony Club teams will earn points towards the Pony Club Polocrosse league for 2023.
Iain Heaton, Pony Club Polocrosse Chair, said, “We wanted to hold an additional Pony Club Polocrosse tournament in the summer to get more Pony Club members playing and allow teams a better chance to get ready for our Championships, as previously there has been a lack of dedicated, national level Pony Club Polocrosse competitions between April and August. However, it has always proved hard with the busy summer schedule but we hope that by holding it jointly with the UKPA and a fair way before the championships, we can give players the opportunity to play for their respective Pony Club teams without causing conflict with their UKPA clubs.”
George Wilson Fitzgerald, UKPA Chair, said “We know that the Pony Club is the major source of future UKPA members, with most of our top players having started their riding journeys there. So we wanted to work with Pony Club to try and ensure there are enough opportunities for Pony Club members to play competitively during the summer. Pony Club teams can take part in all the UKPA summer tournaments without having to join a UKPA club, but we know that at points it is hard, particularly for more experienced players, to balance playing for their Pony Cub versus their UKPA Club. So we wanted to put on a specific event which can hopefully help with this.”