The Royal Marines lacrosse team made an historic inaugural trip to the United States to take on the US Marine Corps as part of the Virginia Gauntlet 3 sports tour in April.
Formed in August last year by Corporal Stephen Bateman, the Royal Marines lacrosse team played scrimmages against Hudson Hellfire, the US Naval Academy League Team, and an all-star Annapolis team during their trip.
After successfully applying for a grant from The Lacrosse Foundation to help them purchase equipment for the team alongside some generous donations from Northern Soul and Eastcoast Dyes, the first ever Royal Marines lacrosse team began their journey in October 2023 with a few training sessions as and when players were available.
Fast forward to early April this year and 13 lacrosse players travelled to the United States as part of a 250-strong cohort of Royal Marines personnel representing over 25 sports heading stateside for the competition.
The Virginia Gauntlet 3 sports tour is a tour by the Royal Marines with the aim of competing against the US Marine Corps. However, all sports teams are welcome regardless of whether a fixture is organised with the US Marine Corps or not.
This is where the new Royal Marines lacrosse team comes in with all but two of the 13 players travelling to the US being a beginner and a game against the US Marine Corps not on the cards on this occasion.
After spending five days at West Point Academy training day and night to bring people up to speed, the team completed some joint training sessions with the West Point Academy league team, Hudson Hellfire, before playing a mixed scrimmage with them, a first taste of competitive lacrosse for the players; this was followed by a trip to see the Army v Navy lacrosse game before heading to Virginia Beach.
In Virginia Beach, the Royal Marines lacrosse team trained with the Old Dominion University team before travelling to Annapolis to train with the Navy team and play a mixed scrimmage with them; a final fixture against a team of veterans was then played.
It wasn’t all lacrosse, however, with the players enjoying social trips to see the local nightlife, sightseeing in New York City, a beach day in Virginia Beach, and a weekend in Washington DC.
The next step in growing the Royal Marines lacrosse team is to introduce the game to as many Marines as possible through hosting several sessions at different units.
If you’d like to get involved in the Royal Marines or Royal Navy lacrosse teams, please make contact via the NavyFit website: Lacrosse | Royal Navy (mod.uk).
