ARMIDALE’S Tim Upjohn will join his Australian teammates in Wee Waa this weekend for their final hit out ahead of their trip to Portugal for the horseball world cup in August.
The junior and senior Australian sides are among five teams playing at the North West Horseball Carnival on Saturday and Sunday.
The Northern Tablelands and North West dominate the Australian sides with players selected from Tamworth, Barraba, Gunnedah, Wee Waa, Limbri and Armidale.
The teams played in their representative teams for the past two horseball carnivals, with the senior team reaching the A-grade finals at both events.
With most team members relatively new to the sport, they have been guided by former Portuguese international player JJ Campeao to work on set plays, passing and communication in the lead up to the world cup.
Mr Campeao, a trackwork rider based at Mackay, has given the teams hands-on coaching with two training weekends at Moonbi and Attunga, but has also supported the group through Facebook.
He’ll join the teams in his home country for the world cup, held at Ponte de Lima.
“We’ve got a pretty new team, but we’ve all got different skills and JJ has helped us work to our individual strengths to improve as a team,” senior captain Chris Young said.
“We’re all looking forward to getting over there and competing, but then also bringing back what we’ve learnt to improve the sport in Australia.”
The Australian Horseball Association has about 50 members, playing mostly in the New England and North West.
“We’re looking to build our membership and the more people who go overseas for horseball to learn about how it’s run over there, the better it’ll be for the sport in Australia,” Mr Young said.
To become a member, email horseballaustralia@gmail.com
