Southern Box Lacrosse (SBL) has announced its schedule for, as well as the four teams taking part in, this weekend’s first ever Box Fest event.
With games taking place every 30 minutes, the event will see Capitals, Knights, Hitchin/Oxford, and Steelheads battle it out to become the inaugural Box Fest champions at the home of box lacrosse in the south of England, the 3G Dome at Oxford Academy, on Sunday 18 September.
Primarily aimed as a development event, the four teams will each play six games consisting of two 10-minute halves, before a third place game and a final to complete the day.
Mid-way through the day, there will be a dedicated women’s-specific box lacrosse coaching session, led by SBL coach, Rob Clark, but women are also welcome to join the main competition too!
The event is designed to be as inclusive as possible with box lacrosse first-timers mixing with some of the 2022 European Box Lacrosse Championship winning England team; the European Championship trophy will be on show with plenty of opportunity for people to take pictures.
Earlier this week, SBL also announced the captains and assistant captains for each team with Sam Perry leading Capitals assisted by Ben Young and David McColl, Alan Keeley heading up Knights with Primal Fernando by his side, Rob Ingham Clark taking the armband for Steelheads alongside Austin Holgate and Rob Harris, and Russ Farrer captaining Hitchin/Oxford with David Leach as his assistant.
Box Fest is a precursor for a planned SBL Winter Box Lacrosse League running out of Oxford this December and January; the new league aims to attract the best box players in the country, competing within four teams, over four Sunday game days.
If you’re interested in taking part in this year’s Box Fest, there’s still time to sign up via the SBL website HERE at a cost of £30 or £15 to attend only the women's-specific session (additional box lacrosse equipment is available to hire via SBL, selectable when the entry fee is paid).
Box Fest Schedule
10:30 | Gates open
11:00 | Capitals v Knights
11:30 | Hitchin/Oxford v Steelheads
12:00 | Women’s session
13:30 | Capitals v Hitchin/Oxford
14:00 | Knights v Steelheads
14:30 | Steelheads v Capitals
15:00 | Hitchin/Oxford v Knights
15:30 | Steelheads v Hitchin/Oxford
16:00 | Knights v Capitals
16:30 | Steelheads v Knights
17:00 | Capitals v Steelheads
17:30 | Hitchin/Oxford v Capitals
18:00 | Knights v Hitchin/Oxford
18:30 | Break
18:45 | 3rd Place
19:15 | Final
20:00 | Gates Close