This is a question we get all the time which normally leads to explaining, “No, it isn’t what the royal family plays, but Harry is more than welcome to join us next time he’s in South Africa.”

As the name implies, Polocrosse is a combination of elements of Polo and Lacrosse. The basic form of the sport was first seen being played in England in an indoor arena. It was created to improve the riding skills of students such as balance, co-ordination, control and just overall confidence.

In 1938 a couple of Australians caught wind of this and after watching it being played, brought the concept back to Australia where they developed the game into what we know today.

Polocrosse is a team sport designed to force players to pass the ball amongst themselves engaging the entire team to work together. Each team is made up of 6 players which is split into 2 sections of three. The names of the positions are very technical, try to keep up here. There is the “One” who is the attack or striker player and the only person allowed to score, the “Two” is the centre or midfielder and the “Three” is the defender.

There are normally 3 or 4 chukkas in a game which comprise of 6 – 8 mins. The field, being a little larger than a soccer field, is divided into 3 sections with 2 end zones on each end and the midfield being the middle section. The “One” and the opposing “Three” of each time are the only players allowed in their respective zones. Everyone is allowed in the midfield. To make it even trickier, the ball isn’t allowed to be carried into the end zones but must be either bounced or passed. The aim of the game; to score more points than your opponents. You score when the “One” throws the ball between two rugby looking posts.

Polocrosse is played in about 20 countries around the world and in July 2015, South Africa hosted the world cup at the Shongweni Polo Club. With the dedicated team work of our entire polocrosse community and the Polocrosse Association of South Africa, they set a high standard for polocrosse internationally. A bragging point for South African Polocrosse is that our South African team kept the title of world champions at both 2011 and 2015 world cups. Played against 7 other nations, it ended in a thrilling final against Zambia with a final score of 32 – 23 beating some or our traditional sporting rivals such as Australia, New Zealand, England and Ireland. We are proud to boast that our South African players are some of the best in the world along with our horses which are locally bred and are brought on by our own players. South Africa will be seen defending their title in Australia in 2019.

The Walkerville Polocrosse Club in Gauteng, Johannesburg South hosted an Intro to Polocrosse half day clinic.

For more information email madrap83@gmail.com or robynlk64@gmail.com