Inverell’s premier polocrosse competition and Australian Stock Horse sale event, the Swan Cup, is just around the corner with organisers at the Inverell Polocrosse Club finalising preparations for the Easter Long Weekend event.
Billed as an incentive horse sale and polocrosse competition, this year’s Swan Cup is scheduled for March 29 to March 31 at the Inverell Polocrosse Grounds on Eddy Park Lane, roughly 10 km West of Inverell.
Polocrosse is a team sport combining polo and lacrosse. It’s played on horseback. Players use a fibreglass stick with a racquet head attached to pick up a ball and score points by throwing it into the opposing team’s net.
Vice president of the Inverell Polocrosse Club Cameron Neville told the New England Times that the polocrosse competition is built around the Australian Stock Horse sale, which is the main focus, and offers an outstanding catalogue of stock horses.
According to Cameron the combination of the sale and a polocrosse competition is unique to Inverell; to his knowledge, “we are the only ones that do it this way.”
Cameron said the polocrosse section of the Swan Cup has some key differences that help it stand above similar competitions. It will have a larger than usual number of teams and a total prize pool estimated to be in excess of $30,000 across the entire event.
“Generally, at a polocrosse carnival, you can expect to get around 15 to 20 teams; we will have at least 50 teams come to the Swan Cup,” Cameron said.
“Everyone is welcome to come have a look and see the best players in the country playing for the highest prize money on offer in a competition like this in Australia,” he added.
Along with all the usual action offered by the Swan Cup, Cameron says this year a junior’s division is set to debut. Just like in the men’s and women’s teams, a mix-and-match approach is very much allowed. Usually polocrosse carnivals require teams to be made up of people from the same club
“In some of the smaller competitions, you have to play with your team, you can’t mix and match with people from other clubs or other areas,” he said.
“In our competition, you can play with whoever, people from Warwick, Victoria, or the middle of QLD, wherever you like.”
The Swan Cup is the brainchild of the Inverell Polocrosse Club, which runs the event. For more information, keep an eye on the Swan Cup Facebook page, which posts regular updates.
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