Zimbabwe

History of Polocrosse in Zimbabwe

Polocrosse was introduced into Zimbabwe (then known as Rhodesia) in 1948 by Dr. H.M Strover. He had read about the sport in a magazine on a visit to England and on his return to his hometown of Fort Victoria, now known as Masvingo, he soon had a keen following.

By 1968, 144 players were registered in 12 different clubs throughout the country. The first International Test against South Africa was held in Ladysmith.

1997 saw Zimbabwe become the world champions when we were unbeaten against Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.  

Polocrosse in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe currently has 7 Polocrosse Clubs with approximately 100 players. We are striving to rebuild our Polocrosse all the time with new sponsors coming onboard to support us locally and internationally.  We have had a big interest in new players coming to join in the fun from kids through to adults. Our horsemanship level in the sport is very high, we have had a lot of top grade horses coming from South Africa in the past couple of years which has seen the rise of our standard of Polocrosse in the country. 

Zimbabwe World Cup achievements

• 2003 - 4th

• 2007 - 5th

• 2011 - 2nd

• 2015 - 6th (current ranking)

What will give Zimbabwe an edge?

Our new team coach Gavin Cocker who is originally from Zimbabwe who has been a part of two winning World Cup teams for South Africa coming together with our highly experienced selected players to round off our team well.

Training

Our selected team have been very committed since the selections took place with a lot of work going on and off the field. Our team members live in separate cities but it hasn’t stopped us from getting together as much as possible to work together as a team. Some of our players have also been playing in local tournaments in South Africa and Zambia getting as much possible game time against Africa’s top rated players in preparation for the World Cup. 

Who to watch?

Our entire team!!! All our players have a lot of experience, having all represented Zimbabwe polocrosse at numerous levels and having played together in all our local tournaments and in previous World Cups. We are a very close knit team on and off the field, from our players through to our coaching and management.

Family Connections

Polocrosse truly is a family sport! Check out the family connections of the 2019 World Cup team:

The Sergeants

Sisters Paula Sparrow and Suzanne Sergeant often play with their brother Greg Sergeant. At the 2019 World Cup, Greg's wife, sister-in-law Sophia Sergeant will be playing with the sisters.

In 2013 at the South African Quads,  Greg, Suzanne, Paula and sister-in-law Sophie all played in the same team.

Dad of the family, Sarge, is still playing Zimbabwe Masters. He played against Australia back in 1986 in NSW. At this World Cup there will be Sarge watching, his kids playing, and his grandkids watching.

The Swans and Bakers

Kirsten Swan is playing alongside her husband, Danie Swan, as well as her brother-in-law, Andy Baker.

The 2019 Zimbabwe World Cup team

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