British Lacrosse Ltd has announced its incorporation as the official national co-ordinating body for men’s and women’s elite lacrosse in Great Britain.
Building on a rich heritage of elite lacrosse, the creation of British Lacrosse formalises the structure for the most talented players in England, Scotland and Wales to become part of British squads where they will benefit from a best-in-class performance pathway to represent Great Britain at the World Games and subsequently at the Olympic Games, if (as is anticipated) lacrosse makes a return as an Olympic sport in 2028.
England Lacrosse CEO, Mark Coups, says the incorporation of British Lacrosse as the official national co-ordinating body is a massive step in the right direction for the sport in Great Britain.
“As the sport of lacrosse looks towards next year’s World Games and beyond to the possibility of being showcased at an Olympic Games, we are delighted that British Lacrosse has now been developed to become an incorporated company.
“It has been so important to build on the past Home Nations work and to now have established one national co-ordinating formalised body overseeing the sport and the players through the three Home Nations (England, Scotland, and Wales) and England Lacrosse will do everything we can to assist British Lacrosse wherever needed.”
In addition to this formal incorporation, and with the help of the men’s and women’s Head Coaches, Tom Wenham and Phil Collier, British Lacrosse has also made further appointments to the staff teams as they prepare for next year’s World Games.
These appointments have been made with a remit that both teams will collaborate closely and this has been considered in their selection.
British Lacrosse is committed to building a truly joined up and cohesive joint men’s and women’s performance programme and these appointments are one of their first steps.
Current Head Coach of the Scotland national team, Ailsa Stott, who also has the unique experience of playing for Great Britain at the last World Games in 2017, and former Head Coach of the Scotland U19 team and current England Assistant Coach, Kate Nelson-Lee, have been appointed as Assistant Coaches of the British Lacrosse women’s team.
As part of British Lacrosse’s efforts to put in place a wider support team to help the women’s squad to prepare for next year’s World Games, current Wales Head Coach, Erica Erb, has also joined the coaching team.
“I was very impressed with the quality of applicants for the Assistant Coach roles”, said Head Coach Phil Collier.
“This is reflected in the appointments we have been able to make. I am really excited and look forward to working with the coaches to prepare the best Great Britain team we can and to compete successfully at next year’s World Games.
“Our coaching team offers a good balance of international playing and coaching experience, together with a range of complementary skills both on and off the field.
“And with all three Home Nation Head Coaches involved, I believe this will ensure a genuine collaborative approach, helping to mitigate the challenge of preparing the Great Britain team without disrupting the Home Nation teams’ own preparations for the 2022 World Championships.”
As part of the men’s coaching team, former England Coach, Ravi K Sitlani, and England Box Lacrosse Coach, Andy Downing, have joined as Assistant Coaches.
In response to their appointments, men’s Head Coach, Tom Wenham said:
“I’m enormously excited to be working with two such experienced and well-connected coaches.
“Ravi is ideally placed to support British Lacrosse and the men’s team with his managerial and organisational skills as well as his considerable coaching expertise.
“There’s likely to be a lot of cross-over between Box lacrosse and the 6s format in terms of the style of play and Andy’s experience as a Box coach, as well as his wider connections with the Box format, will make him an invaluable addition to the coaching staff.
“I’m sure that both will have a huge impact and having them on board is a really exciting step forwards as we build towards the World Games in Birmingham, Alabama next summer.”
Sallie Barker who has been co-ordinating the Great Britain squads for many years and becomes Chair of British Lacrosse commented:
“These are exciting times. We’ve always believed in the potential of achieving more together across the Home Nations.
“By formalising our structure and efforts, British Lacrosse will complement and support the ambitions of England, Scotland and Wales and benefit from the high levels of capability, experience, and expertise they have in promoting, developing and leading the sport we all love in their own countries and on the world stage.”