Sandie Creek To Host Polocrosse World Cup Primer

Local club welcomes USA-Zimbabwe Ladies for three-day event at McIntosh

By Corey Cusick

On the eve of the 2024 Polocrosse World Cup, seven members of the United States Ladies Team are coming to Carroll County for an international competition this month.

The three-day event, hosted by Sandie Creek Polocrosse Club of Carrollton, will be held at McIntosh Reserve Park in Whitesburg on April 1416, with a test match set for Friday, April 14, and the tournament on tap for Saturday and Sunday.

The international showdown – the first of its kind hosted by Sandie Creek Polocrosse – leads up to World Cup practices and the 2024 Polocrosse World Cup hosted by South Africa next July.

The USA Ladies Team will square off against the Ladies Team of Zimbabwe, and Sandie Camp of Sandie Creek Polocrosse is extremely proud to host an event of this nature in her own backyard.

“We’ve never hosted an international competition before, but our park at McIntosh is perfect for it. It takes a pretty goodsized field to play on,” Sandie says. “We don’t charge anything to come watch. So bring a chair and plan to spend the day. We’ve got a couple of food vendors. It’s a very fun, fastactioned sport that is for all age levels.”

She notes there is a $5 parking fee that McIntosh Reserve charges, but outside of that it’ll be three days of free, family friendly fun.

Sandie Creek Polocrosse has hosted an American Polocrosse Association (APA)-sanctioned tournament once a year for the past 12 years, but this month’s competition marks uncharted waters for the club.

Polocrosse may seem a bit foreign to most folks across the Georgia landscape – Sandie Creek Polocrosse is the only club in the Peach State and one of 44 nationwide – as it combines elements of polo, lacrosse and netball.

The modern game first originated in Australia during the 1930s and now features more than 6,000 players worldwide. The United States began fielding teams a little over 30 years ago and has competed in every Polocrosse World Cup – held every four years –since 2003.

Camp was first introduced to the sport when local businessman Steve Adams hosted a clinic on his grounds, and she’s been hooked ever since.

The concept of polocrosse serving as a family sport, along with the challenges of quick-thinking on the field and, most importantly, taking care of yourself, your horse and your equipment through exercise and training made it an appealing endeavor.

It ultimately led to the launch of the Sandie Creek Polocrosse Club 15 years ago.

“Husbands and wives play together, our kids play with us. It’s based on level. It’s not a handicap, where high-graders play with you. You play against your own individual level, which makes it a lot more fun and fair,” she explains. “It’s a team sport. You have to take care of your teammates, but it’s a onehorse sport. We only get one horse we play for the tournament, so our horse is our priority.”

The handling of horses is paramount, and Sandie ensures that all of her members understand that, first and foremost. She notes how she takes her horses to Vacation Bible School at Midway Church and does outreach with the church by traveling to local communities and neighborhoods for horse rides and parades.

“Our horses are so gentle because they’re handled so much,” she says. “It doesn’t hype your horse up. It really kind of calms them down because they’re acclimated to so many things.”

The Sandie Creek Polocrosse Club competes in five sanctioned tournaments a year between March and October with the national tournament being held every other year in October.

And just as this particular international event exemplifies, the sport of polocrosse encompasses a world community and family.

“When we go on the field, we cheer for each other and root for each other. When we’re playing, we play to win. But off the field, we’re a community,” Sandy says. “We have big dinners together. We’ll cater dinner every Saturday night at our tournaments. We want it to be more of a community, too. Not just go and compete and you’re done. It’s family. So that makes it really special to all of us.”

The USA Ladies Team is coached by Rob Shuttles, along with assistant coach Gordon Duff and manager Wade Liner. The players representing the United States who will compete against the Zimbabwe Ladies include Ashley Barbour (Grand Bay), Sarah Desai (Carolina), Dori Johnson (Lone Star), Kat Liner (Carolina), Aubrey Shuttles (Lone Star), Emma Strider (Bay Area) and Megan Swift (Music City).

The World Cup test match on Friday, April 14, will start at 5 p.m. with the tournament running from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday at McIntosh Reserve Park. WGW