ESSENTIAL FACTS

What
The Ridley Polocrosse World Cup 2007 is the most prestigious international event ever staged by Polocrosse. Each participating country has an equal chance of winning the title, as the eight competing nations will play in two draws, using an even pool of Australian horses.

At the inaugural World Cup in 2003, Australia played New Zealand in the final with a decisive 32-13 for the Aussies.

The opening ceremony at 9am on Monday 23 April 2007 will be conducted by the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia - His Excellency Major General Michael Jeffery AC CVO MC (Retd). His Excellency is patron of the Polocrosse Association of Australia.  You can open/download the latest media fact sheet by clicking here, or read on.

Who
In addition to Australia, guest nations include New Zealand, United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, the USA, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The entire pool of horses for this unique competition will be supplied and screened by Australia, many will be registered Australian Stock Horses. Concurrent with the Cup will be a three-day Australian Equine Alliance Club Carnival, attracting players from all Australian states and territories to Morgan Park, Warwick.

When
Competition will be held between 23-29 April 2007. Competitors and participants will meet on location in Australia from 15 April 2007 for orientation, preparation and horse allocation. To view a copy of the daily programme and the weekly calendar of activities in the lead-up to the Cup, please click here.

Where
This historic event will be held at Australia’s premier Polocrosse facility at Morgan Park in Warwick on Queensland’s Southern Downs. For more information

Horses
The sourcing of 200 hundred horses for the Cup marks the second largest horse recruitment drive in Australia's peacetime history. The Australian Stock Horse Society is an official promotional partner.

Audience
An on-site audience of some 40,000 is expected, building on the 25,000 people who turned out to watch the inaugural World Cup in 2003 - a crowd which virtually doubled the population of host Warwick Shire. On-site research revealed that just over 25% of the audience who attended the 2003 event was either new to Polocrosse or new to horse sports. (Source: USQ)

With Australians' interest in sport increasing, and particularly in non-major sports (Sweeny Sports 2005), the 2007 World Cup aims to build on that new interest and increase that audience signficantly. While this is a sport enjoyed by the whole family, our primary target market is male, aged 18 to 25.

In association with our committed media partners, the media marketing programme within Australia alone offers access to an estimated:

• Seven million Australians who live outside the capital cities.
• Two thirds of all adult Australians who participate in sport.

In addition to the on-site audience, there are 250,000 Australians who participate in horse sports. Internationally there is a horse sport audience of millions. Horse sports enthusiasts are well-heeled and brand loyal - see more under About the World Cup - Marketing.

To be included in our media distribution list please email Michele Cozzi info@cozzi.com.au