A battle for state pride
QUEENSLAND locked horns with rivals in a fierce polocrosse battle for state and national pride at the 11th annual Barastoc Interstate Series hosted by Warwick Polocrosse Club over the weekend.
The Barastoc Interstate Series, which was held in conjunction with the Shell Cup Club competition, this year boasted the largest number of teams to date.
As part of the three-day, two-night polocrosse extravaganza, 21 interstate teams from NSW, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia plus a team from New Zealand took to the field in an early indicator of team strength in the lead-up to the Nationals Polocrosse event being held in Swan Valley, Western Australia, at the beginning of October. Many Nationals-selected players for 2018, as well as World Cup contenders for 2019, competed at the highest level in the Barastoc Interstate Series.
The series comprised eight different levels of competition: Men, Women, Under-21 Men, Under-21 Women, Junior Boys, Junior Girls, Mixed Masters and Mixed Under-30s.
Warwick Polocrosse Club’s Les Fraser said the fields played the best they ever had, despite the region being in the middle of a drought.
The club spent considerable money on irrigating the fields to ensure the playing surfaces were safe for the horses and could provide fast competition.
Mr Fraser said the Barastoc Interstate Series was the only yearly interstate competition held throughout Australia.
“This competition is an important annual event because it gives each state a chance to trial their players in the lead up to Nationals competition, as well as giving players a chance to showcase their skill level and horses in front of Nationals selectors,” he said. “We are fortunate to be able to host it in Queensland each year.”
NSW again rode high in the saddle after winning six of the eight categories in the Barastoc Interstate Competition.
In an exciting Open Men’s final, NSW went head-to-head with Western Australia, taking out the win 26–14.
The Queensland Women’s Open team triumphed over NSW for the first time since the inaugural Barastoc Interstate Series with a final score of 20–14.
Best Horse and Rider in the history-making win went to Queensland’s Beth Hafey.