Polocrosse has continued to thrive in the United Arab Emirates to the point were the polocrosse assoociation which has formed over there has applied to the International Polocrosse Council for Associate membership. In a letter to the International Polocrosse Council, which was published on the IPC’s website. they explain how the sport has spread from its original base Al Dhaid, near Dubai, to another three sites and that in the next year they have great hopes that the sport will grow more and that they will play some inter club tournaments.

Polocrosse first started in the UAE earlier this year were a group of players formally from countries such as Zimbabwe and South Africa established the first club at Al Dhaid. Many feel that the UAE, and other arab countries, are ideally suited to the sport of polocrosse, with a love of horses and fast horse sports such as polo and racing being common. Therefore reports that polocrosse is growing well there might not come as a surprise but it is yet another encouraging sign that polocrosse is growing as a sport.

There is no indication on the IPC website whether the UAE has, or will be accepted as an associate members but Andy Taylor of the UAE Polocrosse Association states in the letter how vital they feel the support of the IPC is, he says “Next season looks to be very promising by being part of the IPC, as not only will this encourage the other nations to come and play in a very fast developing country but it will also help us to regulate, from the beginning, the standards of safety and horsemanship that is so needed in a Middle Eastern Country.”

There is no reason to feel the IPC will reject the UAE request, associate membership is normally granted to countries who request it as a precursor to full membership. The other current associate members are Holland, Norway, France and Germany, while full members are Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Zambia, the USA and Canada.

Update: Per IPC sources the UAE’s bid for associate membership has been accepted.