2007 NATIONALS PUTS SOLENT ON THE MAP!!!!
- photo gallery - click here

WHO'S SOLENT...???
This was a common question asked all over the weekend at the biggest tournament in the UK polocrosse season!
The crowds were curious, opposition were nervous, but the Solent Players were ready to go out and show the UK who these new kids on the block were!

Going out with a D and C grade Teams (with the excellent help from the Western Phoenix for loaning us Nick Foley and Alice Humphries in the C team) we were pleased as punch just to put out 2 teams in our first year running as a polocrosse club!
So you can imagine how thrilled we all are walking away with not 1 but 2 shields!!!!!

The Teams....
The D grade team consisted of 4 brand new players to this sport...Jess Fagot a natural and elegant number 1, Richard Balmforth (who has just learnt to ride this year!!!!) the aggressive No.3 kiwi! Emma Flynn, the handy number 2 and Dan Kelly the flash number 1 who just loves to show off his tricky scoring and awesome off side pick ups!
Not forgetting the help of experienced players Heather Kelly on her horse minni...who had a major operation on her face only 5 weeks ago! and Rachel Imber on a horse she has just bought and never played!!!
This team of players have never played together before, but the team work, skill and sure determination saw them through to winning all 3 games over the weekend! Awarding them Winners of the D grade!

The C grade...
Consisted of old time Legend Matt Fookes! who has come back playing this year after 3 years out of the game, he has been taking it easy in D grade this season, on a young horse but he couldn't resist showing off in C grade at Nationals....so he forked out a cool sum on hiring a polo pony that has never even seen a polocrosse stick and ball!!!!!

The number 2's were Ally Kelly on her courageous and fiery mare, Ice! and Zoe Marsh who has been absent from the sport for 2 years (previously a member of Centaur...a local pompey lass!!!)

I (Caroline Kelly) was out the back as a 3 on my new baby horse Ronaldo! And as mentioned before we majorly benefited by having Nick Foley as 1 and Alice Humphries out the back as a 3....thank you so much to the Western Phoenix we couldn't of won this without Nick and Alice!
That left us battling it out in the C grade, consisting of 2 pools of 3 teams, we beat both teams in our pool leaving us to battle it out in the finals with Celyn on sunday!

The Matches....

Friday 24th
SOLENT ‘D’ V ARDEN
The D grade came up against Arden on Friday, and the question was asked by their most experienced player…Olly Gardener, “so who’s Solent then?’ and I swiftly replied…”well your about to find out!!!”
This was a tough match, Arden were on form, but couldn’t beat the skills of our 2 number 1’s, Jess and Dan who were banging in the goals, winning 10:7

SOLENT ‘C’ V CELYN 2
The C team were against Celyn 2…the tough guys Chris Illingsworth, Barry Aymor and John Marsland in the first chukka…Matt was on true form knocking them goals in at the speed of lightening! But then by total shock Matt and I were bombing it down the pitch and heard the whistle blow, we looked behind and saw Zoe on the floor!!! The poor love was bucked off at a gallop and she landed on her head!
But after being checked over by the paramedics she wiped her tears and was ultra brave and got back on the pitch! (although later that eve she could’t remember a thing!?!?!)
We won the match 17:5 we were up on goal difference but the Celyn guys made us work for it!!!!

Saturday 25th
SOLENT ‘D’ V CENTAUR / PENDLE
The D team came up against fellow Solent player, Jane Fookes…loaned out to Centaur and other local lass, Toni Marsh! This was an incredibly close match, being even scores one minute, then one down then pulling it up to finally winning by 1 goal!
Some awesome work was done from the 3’s out the back, feeding the ball neatly to the 1’s to score and win the game!

SOLENT ‘C’ V WESTERN PHOENIX
The C grade had the misfortune of Nick and Alice playing against their own club! Including Nick playing up against his own sister!!! Poor Alison Barnett was doubling up on what seemed the hottest day of the summer!
But Solent pulled their socks up and won 16:0
Western Phoenix played a great game, and have all come so far since forming 2 years ago!

Sunday 26th – THE FINALS!!!
SOLENT ‘D’ V KENT TARGET
The D graders came up against Kent Target to complete their round Robin stint of the tournament, having won all our games of the weekend, we were certain to make sure we won this final game…sending us to the top of the league and winning the division!
This was also a tough game, as players and horses tired over the weekend players had to pull up their socks to secure passes, pick ups and goals!!!
The 2’s played a vital part in this game, taking players and feeding the balls to their 1’s. It was a tough call to name man of the match, but as the results went the ‘girl’ of the match was well awarded to Jess Fagot for her amazing area skills and accurate scoring.
The final score is not known by me….but I know they won by a few!
Pics coming soon!

C Grade Final! – SOLENT V CELYN 1
Nail biting stuff was about to happen at 1pm, all team players were extremely well behaved the night before, all having early nights and not drinking…to make sure we all passed the random breathalyzer test the next day!
We were lead onto the pitch by umpires Kerry Bean and Kim Lampard from Pendle, in front of a huge roaring crowd in the grandstand.
The whistle blows and the first section are on! Celyn took us by surprise by the 1 getting the ball in the first line out and scoring in the first 10 seconds!!!
Matt took no time in beating that, by swiftly pinching the ball and heading straight for the goals, firing one straight at the poor goal judges!
The girls in Celyn played a fast game, and it was up to Solent to slow it down and make everything count! The whistle blows again and the first section (Matt, Zoe and me) leave the pitch 2 all!
Nick, Ally and Alice take on the next 6 minutes, with Nick pumping in the goals like a crazed mad man (just what we like) but its close, with every other goal being scored by Celyn.
Then sometime during the game, umpires blow up a young Simon Amor smacking poor Nick in the face, giving him a nose bleed!!!! A goal is awarded to us and play starts again!
Just when Nick recovers from that…his horse takes a nasty tumble, both horse and rider fall down and his horse, Beanie rolls completely over…luckily missing Nick!!!
But this still didn’t knock this brave young man outta the game! He hops back on to complete the game and we win something like 15:10…I think!!!!
We all rushed to the pitch, ecstatic, ballistic and overjoyed to of won the C grade UKPA National Championships 2007!

Pics of the C grade Winning Team...

Ally Kelly	Caz Kelly	Zoe Marsh
Nick Foley	Alice Humphries	Matt Fookes