And So The End Is Near…

And so the end is near and we face the final curtain… Well, maybe not quite but it is the end of the UK playing season and also the last you will hear from us at Polocrosse Extreme for a few months as we are off to see if there is any polocrosse in Asia (Editor’s note: we have heard rumours of it being played in some downtown bars in Bangkok so we intend to go visit them all…). Unfortunately time has defeated us and we don’t have time to write a full report on the UK Nationals but we would just like to say congratulations to all the winners.

The highlight for us must surely be seeing new clubs and clubs who have worked hard developing players over the years doing well. Celyn coming second in the A grade as they continue to go from strength to strength each year was brilliant to see and a great tribute to the amount of time and effort the Simkin family have put into developing players such as Simon Amor and Annie Mitchell. Canterbury Colts winning the B grade in only their third season was definitely a great achievement, though you had to feel sorry for Cotswold finishing runners up for the second year in a row.

Then there was Ledbury, who got second place in the E grade and their junior team battled hard throughout which was great to see in their first full season, and Vale Impi claimed the C grade this year, having lost out in the group stages last year. Kent and Arden battled it out at Juniors and Primary Juniors and shared the spoils with a win and second spot each and showed that the future of polocrosse in the UK is in very safe hands.

In the leagues it was Arden who just held on on the main league. Kent got within 20 points thanks to their strong showing at Nationals but Arden win their second league title. Vale Impi continued to show their strength with third place, though they will perhaps be disappointed that they were not as strong as they were last year, and Cotswold also showed that they have improved since last year in fourth spot.

In the league according to size Highlanders were dominant throughout and though we will have to wait and see if they exist next year as a club, it might prove to be a fitting end to them if one of the best known clubs in UK polocrosse claim their first ever league win in their final year. Ashfields for the second year in a row took the runner up spot in the league according to size and they have to be congratulated on sticking with the same team as last year and stepping up to play B grade for a lot of the season and showing that they could compete there and still score points.

So to all our readers au revoir for a few months, we will be back in time for the new year and the new season! Enjoy a few months off, maybe chat amongst yourselves on the forum or maybe just forget all about polocrosse for a little while….that’s not really going to happen is it!

To see the final league tables click here

Full Results

The Miss Muffet Trophy – Paso (Debbie Harris, Kent Target)
Bombers Prize for Best Junior Rider – Alex Brown (Kent Target)
Bombers Prize for Best Junior Horse and Rider – Katie Loutsiou and Doc (Arden)
Kirsch Cup – Huw Carthew (Welsh Dragons)
Flecha Peron Award for Veteran Horse – Tallie ridden by Tanis Loutsiou, owned by Gill James (Arden)
Retraining of Racehorse Prize for the Best Retrained Race Horse – Dave, Alison Barnett (Canterbury Colts)