The World Cup committee and the United Kingdom Polocrosse Association have today been forced to announce a change of venue for the competition, with under 6 months to go before play gets underway. The event was meant to be held at Bishop Burton College in Yorkshire but today in a brief statement it was announced that the event was relocating to Onley Grounds equestrian centre in Warwickshire.

No reason was given for the switch in the statement but there have been rumours of uncertanity about the venue within the UK over the last couple of months. It has been suggested that the World Cup committee were struggling to reach a final agreement with Bishop Burton and that now they have decided to walk away.

Onley Grounds (also known as Rugby Polo Club) is where the UKPA held their National Championships in 2010 and were already intending to hold the Nationals there again in 2011, along with an early season tournament. There is no doubt Onley Grounds is a top class playing venue, with laser levelled pitches and a great deal of space to accommodate all the facilities which are needed for the event. It also has the advantage of being in the centre of England and closer to the main cities of London and Birmingham than the original venue and this could help get more spectators through the gates to watch the competition.

In truth the venue switch makes little difference for the competition, most of the World Cup plans are thought to be easily transferable and the new venue should be able to easily host the competition. The main problem for the World Cup committee now concerns accommodation bookings that the visiting teams for the World Cup have already made around Bishop Burton College for the two week competition but they are believed to have asked the visiting countries to initially try and cancel their bookings and obtain refunds for any deposits paid and then if there are any problems to contact them.