By Belinda Radford
Nine players from Canada traveled across the border to compete in the American Polocrosse Association Nationals for 2004 held on Tomahawk Ranch near Douglas in Wyoming on the 4th & 5th September. Hosted by the Cross Family and Matt and Thea Chesney, the tournament drew over 150 players from across the US and Canada with the culmination of the finals on the Sunday afternoon.
One of the Canadian players, Dave Melnyk from near Okotoks, Alberta, was part of the winning Masters Team and brought back with him a silver buckle for his effort.
Representing the Canadian team were Don Mortimer, Sean and Jacquie McArthur, and Al, Sue and Kayla Hicks, all from around the Okotoks and Millarville areas. This team put a up a strong performance in the B Grade competition but were closely beaten in their first game by the eventual runners up in the B Grade, the Central Texas Chicks. They also had three other hard fought close games including a win against Washington State on Sunday morning.
Also travelling for the weekend were Renee Hicks who competed with Washington State Team in the C Grade competition, Lesley Plant who played in the Washington State B Grade team and Krystalle Darnel who cheered everyone on.
Dave Melnyk teamed up with two other players from the US, and competed in a round robin for the weekend to become the Masters Winners. Again there were some hard fought chukkas with one player nearly 80 years old taking part. Colin Field from Queensland, Australia who has been over here in Canada for the summer and helping the Canadian players was rewarded for his hard work by winning the award for the Best Conditioned Horse in the Masters Division.
There were 20 teams competing in the open competition, three junior sections and three Masters. Teams traveled from Washington State, the East Coast, Texas, Minnesota, Colorado and Canada.
Rain delayed the start of play on both days, but the three fields were soon full of fiercely contested games, with one game in the A Grade taking extra time into two chukkas to separate the teams. Sunday lunchtime was a spectacle as all teams presented for a Grand Parade and the exceptional voice of host Michele Cross sang the National Anthems for Canada and the United States
The weekend ended with the finals for the three open grades. Winning A Grade were the Texas Lone Stars over Camp Stewart another team from Texas in a very close game coming down to a single goal in the dying seconds of the game. Third place went to East Coast.
B Grade was won by the Washington Polocrosse Equip team consisting of four members of the Alcott family. In one of the best games over the whole weekend, they defeated the all girls team, the Central Texas Chicks. Third place went to host club Tomahawk Ranch.
C Grade was won by the Minnesota Extreme team who attended the Nationals the previous year and did not win a game. Kokopelli a Colorado team were runners up, with the Mountain Central team another Colorado team placing third.
The finale for the weekend was an exhibition game between Team Canada and the USA. Playing for Team Canada were Sean and Jacquie McArthur, Don Mortimer, Al and Kayla Hicks and Dave Melnyk. Unfortunately in the first Chukka, Jacquie McArthur, was injured and was ably replaced by Lesley Plant. Team Canada put up a great performance with some great passages of play, but were unable to beat the Americans on the day.
The hospitality provided by the Cross Family and staff and friends on the Tomahawk Ranch was exceptional. Players and visitors were treated to some typical Wyoming fare on Saturday night in “Roby’s Kitchen†with rattlesnake, Wyoming prairie oysters, prairie dogs and buffalo on the menu. Fortunately the rattlesnake and Prairie dogs were well covered in a French Onion Dip flavour.
Back in Canada, 19 players turned out for the last game day of the season at the South Glenmore Park, Calgary on Sunday 19th September. Calgary Club will still continue with practice sessions on Thursday evenings, with a possibility that games may continue on Sunday afternoons through to October if the weather is fair.
CANADA POLOCROSSE