Polocrosse Canada

As the name implies, polocrosse combines the sports of polo and lacrosse. It is played outside on a field, on horseback. Each rider uses a cane stick about 40-45” long to which is attached a racquet head with a loose, thread net, where the ball is carried, picked up, bounced and thrown. The ball is soft and is made of sponge rubber, about 4” across. The aim is to score goals by throwing the ball between your opponent’s goal posts.

Polocrosse is messing around by yourself with a stick & ball, playing a little impromptu one on one, or perhaps two on two with some friends, to full-scale tournament play. It’s played throughout the world by people of all ages and riding skills. It’s all Polocrosse, and it’s all fun!

At the elite level Polocrosse is a fast-paced, skilful, exciting game. It presents an incomparable athletic challenge involving speed and stamina, and demands lightning quick reflexes of both horse and rider. More generally it is enjoyed at Club level as a family sport where men and women aged 6 to 70 can compete at various skill levels of competition. Polocrosse appeals to a broad cross-section of the community with players coming from wide and varied backgrounds such as ranch hands, lawyers, carpenters, farmers and business people.

Most of all it is a fun game and has been described as being a bit like hockey on horseback. The game provides good healthy outdoor competition where teamwork and cooperation are highlighted. A unique feature being that it is played at tournaments which are run over an entire weekend and provides families with opportunities to camp together with friends from around the world. It is inexpensive horse sport as you are only allowed one horse for the entire weekend of competition. The game emphasizes horsemanship, ball skills and strategy.

Polocrosse was first developed in England in the 1930’s as a set of exercises to teach and improve riding skills. Reaching Australia in the early 1940’s polocrosse soon evolved into a fast paced competitive sport. Polocrosse is now played worldwide. The 4th Polocrosse World Cup was held in 2011 in the UK and included teams from the host country UK as well as Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Zimbabwe, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States and Zambia. The next World Cup in 2015, being held in South Africa and hopes to host an extra four countries from France, Germany, Norway and Canada. There are many opportunities to travel around the world with teams or friends over the next several years, and even the chance to represent Canada on the next World Cup team. Our youth exchange programs offer wonderful opportunities to travel the world. Canada hosts a number of visiting international players and teams every year. So now is your chance to learn this internationally played sport and meet people with similar interests from around the world!