Braidwood's Aaron Clarke (24) has been selected by the Polocrosse Association of Australia in the squad of 16 to prepare to defend the title of world champions at the 2007 Polocrosse World Cup, to be held in Warwick on Queensland's Southern Downs 23-29 April 2007.
Aaron has recently returned from attending a coaching weekend at Wanganui NZ as part of the selection process and reported that he was happy with his riding and play in New Zealand and he is know looking forward to the 2006 season which will culminate in Camden at the Australian National Championships.
Australia will defend its World Cup title against New Zealand, UK, USA, Canada, Ireland, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Four other guest nations are likely to attend. The event is expected to draw a live onsite audience of 40,000. The event venue, Morgan Park in Warwick is rated Australia's top Polocrosse facility.
Aaron has been riding since he was 2, and playing polocrosse since he was 5 years old. He has competed and won major competitions in and around the Braidwood district. Sported for Pony Club at the Zone Sporting competitions and won BEST Sporter under 15 yrs at State. He has competed at the Schools equestrian Event at Coonabarabran and also won Best Sporting competitor for his age group. He has travelled to Canada to play as well as New Zealand 3 times.
He has played for NSW at the Sydney Royal Show and the Royal Brisbane Show, has been a member of the NSW Intermediate (under 21) victorious team at the Australian Nationals in Warwick, Naracoorte and Darwin, and has been named Best number 1 player and Best Intermediate player at Warwick, Best Number one player in Naracoorte.
Aaron was named in the NSW Open team in 2004 and was victorious over Victoria playing as a number 2, and was named BEST number 2 for the competition. Over the years he has been a dominate player in the Braidwood team that have competed at the NSW Club Championships and a major player in the Southern Highlands representative side that represents this area against the 7 Zones in NSW. He has won numerous Best Player awards at these competitions over the years.
Commenting on the squad, national coach Ross Shepherd said the line up included four players from the victorious 2003 World Cup, plus a lot of new and young blood. The final team of eight players (four men and four women) will be announced at the conclusion of the 2006 Polocrosse National Championships at Camden in October. More info on the World Cup see www.polocrosse.com.au/worldcup
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