On Saturday, Border City Lacrosse Club, based in Cumbria, will host their first ever Borders Eights competition as part of a drive to provide more high level lacrosse competition in the north of England.
Despite the congested lacrosse calendar with Bath Eights having taken place last weekend and Stockport and Spencer hosting their own competitions this coming weekend, at least five teams will take part in the new Borders Eights.
Teams from Huddersfield, Newcastle, Border City, Edinburgh and Aberdeen are confirmed while they’re still hopeful for another couple.
Border City will be accepting entries right up until Saturday and are happy to try to accommodate any England Lacrosse and Lacrosse Scotland registered individuals who fancy a game!
The competition will take a round robin format with everyone playing everyone to determine a play-off position which will then lead to a final match with a winner being crowned on the day.
Border City Lacrosse Club Coach, Dan Clements, says the idea behind the competition is to get as much lacrosse played as possible after a such a disrupted year.
“We’re trying to grow lacrosse in Cumbria and South-West Scotland and the more games that are played up here the more exposure the sport gets locally.
“Over the summer, we’ve been coaching children and this will be their first experience of watching in person which we’re all really excited about.
“The Borders Eights will also help us with our constant fundraising efforts and any money raised will go towards developing both our ground and junior lacrosse programme.”
The event will be open to spectators and Dan would love to see as many lacrosse fans as possible at Border City Lacrosse Club’s Brampton ground in Cumbria on Saturday (there’s even catering on-site!).
As they don’t quite have the technology to live stream the event, heading to the ground in person will be the only way to watch. And who doesn’t want to watch a bit of live lacrosse after the 18 months we’ve all had?
If you’re unable to attend the competition but still want to contribute to Border City’s fundraising, they’ve set up a dedicated JustGiving page (click here) with the primary goal being raising funds for a container to store their lacrosse equipment safely and improve access for coaching and outreach programmes.
Dan’s final message was to those people in parts of the UK where lacrosse isn’t traditionally played.
“We believe in giving these things a go at Border City and starting lacrosse in a county not known for playing the sport has been a challenge, but it isn’t insurmountable and we hope others will also approach the game in a ‘give it a go’ fashion and produce their own home grown lacrosse scenes. Let’s hope from small acorns, mighty oaks grow.”
If you or your team wants to take part in Borders Eights, simply message them on Facebook HERE or Instagram HERE or get in touch with them via email at cumbrialax@gmail.com.
