Lockyer Valley Polocrosse

Lockyer Valley Polocrosse Club is riding on a high after their annual carnival was well attended over the weekend with numbers up on recent years.

Lockyer Valley Polocrosse Club secretary, Scott Colwell said it was a great weekend with 32 teams attending, an increase of 5 teams on last year.

The carnival, well known for its laid back atmosphere and great hospitality, attracted players and spectators from all over South East Queensland and Northern New south Wales with almost 200 players and their horses took to the field to battle it out for club pride.

2016 saw the Club experience a downturn in membership after some members moved Interstate and others to larger Clubs. In 2018, with the Club down to just one riding member, running a carnival seemed an impossible task. However, over the weekend, what the Club lacked in numbers, it made up for with a passion for polocrosse to keep their annual carnival on the Queensland Calendar. The Club, assisted by other clubs from the South East Queensland Zone, worked hard to put on a great weekend of polocrosse action in Lockyer Valley.

Tansey 1 and Cunningham 1 went head to head in the exciting A Grade Open final with Tansey coming out victorious. The final score was 22 to 16. Best Horse and Rider Award for A Grade went to Tansey Club Member Beth Hafey. Showing their dominance again in 2018, Tansey Polocrosse Club also won B, D, E and F Grades, with Stanley Rivers 1 preventing them from getting clean sweep by taking out C Grade.

In a repeat of last year, Cunningham Polocrosse Club showed their commitment to junior coaching is working with a win over Gold Coast Polocrosse Club in the Junior Competition. Kayleigh Waugh from Cunningham was named the Best Horse and Rider in Juniors.

To ensure the survival of the Club, Lockyer Valley Polocrosse is looking to rebuild by increasing their membership base this year and into 2019.

"We are looking to reestablish ourselves as strong club in South East Queensland," said Mr Colwell. "We welcome any new players who would like to try the action packed game of polocrosse or those who have previously played and want to return to the sport." For more information on trying polocrosse or playing for the Club, please contact Scott Colwell on 0418 709 075 or email lockyervalley@gmail.com.

The next polocrosse carnival to be held in South East Queensland will be hosted by Tansey Polocrosse Club who are running separate ladies and juniors competitions to help develop those divisions. The action packed carnival will be held this coming weekend.

Polocrosse is an exciting spectator sport. It presents an incomparable athletic challenge involving speed and stamina, and also demands lightning quick reflexes in both horse and rider. It is one of only three sports that Australia can truly claim as its own, the others being Australian Rules Football and Campdrafting.

Being a sport the whole family can play, polocrosse caters for everyone from the expert 'A Grade' and elite player to the once a year 'casual' player.