Club Focus | Rainbow Rexes

For the month of July, our Club Focus series is back as we showcase the great work being done in the community by Rainbow Rexes Lacrosse Club.

Founded six years ago in 2018, Rainbow Rexes Lacrosse Club is the world’s first LGBTQ+ inclusive lacrosse club for players of all abilities and all identities.

Initially starting with just one men’s rules team, the club has expanded to include a women’s rules team and a mixed rules team that play at a variety of levels from beginner right through to highly experienced and the club continues to grow each year.

Founder Ed Connolly says that Rainbow Rexes Lacrosse Club was created for three principal reasons:

“The first was to make a space that was safe for LGBTQ+ athletes to play lacrosse whether they were veterans of the sport or beginners just finding it for the first time; the second was to raise awareness about LGBTQ+ issues in sport so that was from the highest level of the governing bodies down to the grassroots clubs; and the third was to make a really fun and competitive team structure that competed at the highest levels of lacrosse down to grassroots so that everyone can get a stick in their hand.”

Despite being the world’s and UK’s first inclusive lacrosse club, Rainbow Rexes are not the only LGBTQ+ sports club in the world, something which Connolly thinks is a hugely positive thing for his club.

“There is a network of incredible clubs globally that regularly inspire us or that we look to for inspiration when we’re trying to champion our cause. We’re also not the only social justice lacrosse club in the world - there are other amazing initiatives that are seeking to improve equity in lacrosse just as we are.”

What makes them stand out from the rest, however, is, as Connolly puts it, Rainbow Rexes’ “balance between fun and excellence in lacrosse”.

“By that, we mean we all want to go out first and foremost to have a smile on our faces and really enjoy being on the pitch with our team-mates: those could be people you’ve only just met through to dear friends you’ve made along the way with us.

“By excellence, we also mean, whether you’re a beginner catching your first ball or you’re a veteran who’s going to score that golden goal, we want you to play at the highest possible standard that you feel comfortable at and that you’re able to perform. We want you to play lacrosse the Rainbow way!”

Rainbow Rexes don’t play a traditional season structure like many of the clubs around the country as they usually play at tournaments throughout the year as well as the occasional friendly with other teams across their men’s, women’s, and mixed rules teams.

Men’s rules team captain Ollie Briggs sees this as an advantage for the team.

“Playing at tournaments or friendlies throughout the year can be quite advantageous for some of our members because it means they can play for a more traditional club during the regular season and then come and play for us at tournaments or one of these friendlies.”

As Connolly was keen to point out, Rainbow Rexes welcome people of all abilities to tournaments and friendlies, whether they’re complete beginners or seasoned veterans, with Brakes saying it’s all about mindset when it comes to playing for his club.

“All we ask is that people come in with the right mindset and they’re happy to encourage the safe space that we create for our team members.

“Because we only play at tournaments, we don’t have a traditional training schedule but we do run training camps around once a year in the summer that’s a big all day thing playing lots of lacrosse that’s usually followed by an inclusive social.”

Rainbow Rexes try to host socials on an ad hoc basis throughout the year that are always as inclusive as possible and a variety of activities are organised ranging from, amongst other things, fun days in the park, nights out, and watching lacrosse as a group.

Women’s rules team player Lizzie Bottrill said that joining Rainbow Rexes helped her through a really difficult time.

“I remember when I reached out to the club on Instagram and I had just come out and, because a lot of my community before had been quite religious, I lost a lot of that community when I came out.

“Knowing there was this lacrosse team, because I always loved lacrosse, that was not just an open and safe space but also a space that really celebrated that and queerness and the diversity of different sexual identities and gender was amazing.

“For me finding it, even though I’ve only played a few times, was really healing. So I think it’s really important that it exists.”

Natasha Gage, Rainbow Rexes mixed rules team captain, said the club has allowed her to be her authentic self.

“I joined the club about two years ago when I saw the Rexes play in a tournament. I really wanted to play with them and I think the Rexes is one of the first teams I’ve played for where I can properly be myself and not have to worry about hiding or saying the wrong thing. I can play, have fun and that’s why I love playing with them.”

Rainbow Rexes Club Manager Amy Bowen says the club is the perfect mix of fun and social justice.

“What’s super cool about the Rexes is we’re such a visibly queer and fun and talented team. We don’t have trials or anything but we’re just here to have a great time, play some great lacrosse and also engage with other lacrosse players bringing up conversations about being LGBTQ+ in sport.

“It’s really amazing to have this community where you can engage with other people, with allies, with other members of the community and provide support for them while also campaigning for LGBTQ+ rights in sport alongside that.”

If you want to get involved with Rainbow Rexes, they can be contacted through Instagram HERE or their website HERE.

Club Focus | Border City Lacrosse Club

Throughout the 2023/24 domestic season, we’ll be highlighting a different club each month to showcase the great work being done in the community by clubs around the country and our club for February is Border City Lacrosse Club.

Border City was founded in Carlisle, Cumbria in April 2019 after a call went out on Facebook for men in the region looking to get involved in lacrosse.

The original founding group included current Club Captain, Joel Castley, his brother Jack Castley, Laurie Clark, Dan Clements, Ross Irving, Mike Orme, Josh Soper and later Morgan Tebb-Roger (when home from college in the United States).

The club started small but this eight-strong group of lacrosse enthusiasts met for a series of throw-arounds on the Harraby 3G pitches in Carlisle, with some of their early training sessions seeing just three players attend.

With huge perseverance, however, the numbers of regular attendees steadily grew as time went on and the club played its first game in June 2019 against Newcastle Knights before joining the Scottish domestic league the following September.

Whilst Carlisle isn’t a traditional hotbed of lacrosse when compared to other areas of the north of England, many people in the local area have had experience of playing lacrosse through PE at school and have a basic knowledge of the game.

Indeed, there was quite a number of ex-players from the north of England, southern, and Scottish leagues, as well as former university and college players in the area who had no means to continue being involved in the game without constant travel.

This all changed in 2019, of course, when Border City was founded with the original aim to get people in Carlisle and the surrounding areas involved in the game, enjoying some training and a bit of a throw-around.

As often happens with this sort of thing, the idea snowballed fairly quickly and the desire to play competitive lacrosse was still strong in a lot of the players who joined the club.

As time has gone by, Border City have relied less and less on that original batch of ex-players and have successfully started developing the game in Carlisle with a large proportion of the current team having never played lacrosse before joining the club.

The club tends to pick up a couple of ex-university players and some new starters every season and currently the numbers are fairly reasonable for a club of their size.

They have had amazing support from The Lacrosse Foundation since they were founded, initially aiding them with equipment purchases, but later funding extensive coaching in schools which has brought a whole group of young players into the game and now the club.

They recently had their first homegrown player, who was introduced to lacrosse at the club, make appearances for the senior men’s team, join the England Lacrosse Aspire Programme, and into the first team at Durham University.

Border City currently has one men’s league team, the Border Reivers, which is made up of Border City and Newcastle Knights players.

After just being relegated from the Championship, they are adjusting to life in the first division and are holding their own against most teams.

The men’s team is coached by the experienced Graham Bland who for many years played for clubs like Hampstead, Buckhurst Hill and latterly Stockport and is well known in the game.

A fledging women’s team currently trains once a week and combines with Newcastle ladies to play regular friendlies; the number of players in this team has grown considerably over the last year and they hope to enter a team into the league as soon as possible.

The women’s team is currently being coached by Vics Law as part of some coaching work she is undertaking for the club in Cumbrian Schools with the assistance of ex-Heaton Mersey player Jo Racle.

A junior boys team has just over 10 players who train once a week with a big conundrum being how to give the young players the experience of regular competition to help maintain their enthusiasm in the sport.

As a club, Border City welcomes all players including absolute beginners and everyone who wants to play for Borders is made to feel at home from day one.

The aim of the club is to establish lacrosse in the region and become wholly sustainable with junior and women’s lacrosse available.

Their number one priority is to make lacrosse, and all the benefits which go with it, accessible to anyone; they particularly believe in inclusivity and also in promoting and protecting the mental health of their members through encouragement and support both on and off the pitch.

Border City operates out of Brampton, Cumbria, training on the astro turf at the local secondary school on a Monday night from 7-8.30pm.

The school currently teaches lacrosse to all year groups so are well kitted out for training sessions with permanent goals and an understanding nature.

They have their own grass pitch a few minutes from their training base at Cotehill Park Sports Ground which they share with Irthing Vale Cricket Club.

They have welcomed Border City with open arms and the two clubs have spent the last few years completely upgrading the pitch and facilities; whilst they aren’t quite at the standard of facilities of some well-established clubs in the league, they have financed and installed a changing room and shower, installed electricity and started renovating the clubhouse with big plans for providing food and drink in the coming years.

During the second weekend in September, Border City hosts an annual eights tournament and 2024 will mark the fourth edition of the event.

It is an opportunity for teams to engage in a really friendly tournament focused mostly on pre-season fun and game time. They hope to extend the competition to include women’s teams this year, having only been run for men’s rules to date.

Border City as a club is trying to create a strong lacrosse culture based on support and encouragement across all age brackets. It is their ambition that lacrosse will become widespread in Cumbria and the Borders with youngsters from all walks of life having the opportunity to play such an amazing sport.

Border City can be contacted by email on cumbrialax@gmail.com or find them on Facebook HERE and Instagram HERE.

Club Focus | Leeds Lacrosse Club

Throughout the 2023/24 domestic season, we’ll be highlighting a different club each month to showcase the great work being done in the community by clubs around the country and our club for January is Leeds Lacrosse Club.

Founded in 2007 by a small group of Leeds University alumni who wanted to continue playing lacrosse after they graduated, Leeds Lacrosse has grown steadily over the past 17 years and comprises one men’s team.

That team currently competes in North of England Men’s Lacrosse Association (NEMLA) competitions, one of just two single team clubs to do so.

Leeds’ short-term aim is to continue to recruit players who live in the local area and grow the club sustainably; like many lacrosse clubs, Leeds was severely impacted by COVID-19 with much of their energies over the past two seasons being focused on bringing player numbers back to pre-pandemic levels.

So far, this season has been a real success in terms of participation numbers and that is something they want to continue as they head into the summer and towards the 2024/25 season.

Being a club with just one team means they are, and have always been, a very mixed-ability side, with new-comers often lining up alongside players with international experience.

That is something they are extremely proud of as one of their mantras is to be open and inclusive to anyone who wants to play lacrosse no matter their ability with a stick in their hands.

With the club being a modest size, Leeds are running without a dedicated Head Coach at present and senior members of the team have been sharing the coaching responsibilities between them.

The use of a coaching rota has proved successful to take any shortcomings on the field on a Saturday and try to solve them at training on a Monday.

Although this system has been working for them during recent months, they welcome interest from any coaches out there who are looking to volunteer their expertise in West Yorkshire!

Leeds believe they’ve managed to strike the perfect balance between being competitive on the lacrosse pitch and being a social, friendly, and welcoming bunch.

They are committed to improving their standard week on week but consider themselves a more beginner-friendly club since a huge number of their players picked up the sport at university-level or later and understand what it’s like to pick up a new sport as an adult.

And when it comes to social events, Leeds believe they do it better than anyone else with the city being home to “Britain’s best pub crawl” (their words), the Otley Run.

Their Christmas and end of season socials have always been popular as well and they’re looking to host bigger socials in the future as the club continues to grow.

This includes more mixed events with Leeds Lacrosse’s women’s team, Leeds Penguins, as they look to continue building that relationship after a successful shuffleboard social in the summer.

Originally based in Harrogate, Leeds Penguins relocated to Leeds in 2003 and has one senior ladies’ team. They welcome new players of all abilities with their aim being to create a fun and friendly environment for new and old players to come and enjoy playing lacrosse while building the awareness of the sport in the local area. 

They believe that what makes them stand out is their friendly, welcoming players, with other teams often commenting on how nice they are to each other!

Looking to the future, they are always on the lookout for new players, and they, like the men’s team, would love to be able to invest in having their own coach.

As Leeds Lacrosse Club start to plan for the long-term future, they have their eyes on the creation of a second men’s team as well as earning themselves some silverware à la the Leeds teams of the past.

Off the field, they want to continue to champion lacrosse in the region and ensure people know there is lacrosse after university in Leeds with an ultimate aim of making West Yorkshire a hub of lacrosse just like that seen across the Pennines in South Manchester.

Men’s Team Captain, Adam Rogers, who joined Leeds in the summer of 2020, couldn’t believe his luck when he found such a fantastic and welcoming club.

"I started playing lacrosse at the University of Leeds and instantly fell in love with the physicality, tactics, and pace of the game, with the people I played alongside making the experience even better. 

“I joined Leeds Lacrosse alongside university to continue improving as a player and to get as much experience as I could. 

“It’s always a bit nervy joining a new team, but joining Leeds couldn’t have been easier. The lads made me feel right at home, and I know I’d have been made to feel equally welcome even if I’d never held a stick before.

“Cut to three years later as Captain and, quite frankly, I still couldn’t think of a better bunch to turn out with every Saturday afternoon to play the sport we all love."

Club Social Media Secretary, James Hutchinson, joined the club in 2021 after moving to Leeds and he says it was one of the best decisions he’s made.

"I've been playing lacrosse since my first year at the University of Nottingham in 2014, looking to try something a bit different.

“After my graduation, I continued to play and when I moved to Leeds in 2021, I was made aware that there was a club in West Yorkshire by a former team mate of mine.

“Moving to a new area is always difficult, but the boys welcomed me straight away and made me feel at home in Leeds - both the lacrosse club and the city.

“Now in my third season, I can say I've formed some fantastic friendships at the club which extend beyond the time we spend on the field together."

Leeds Penguins Co-Captain, Ellen Slay, absolutely loves playing for the Leeds Penguins.

“I’ve been playing lacrosse since school; the England goalie (at that time) was my coach and she inspired me to play!

“When I moved to Leeds, I was keen to continue playing and the Penguins were a delightful, welcoming bunch of players who made me feel like one of their own as soon as I attended training.

“I love the ethos and mentality of the Penguins! It is the most welcoming club I have ever played for; every individual is valued for what they bring to the team.”

Leeds Lacrosse Club trains at Adel Sport and Social Club, Leeds on Mondays (6:30pm-8pm) where it also plays its matches predominantly on a Saturday.

Leeds Penguins also train on Monday evenings at Adel Sports Club with matchdays on Saturdays; as the only team based in the Northeast, they spend many fun car journeys heading over the M62 to take part in the Northwest League. 

Anyone wanting to get involved in the club as a player, coach, or volunteer can contact Leeds Lacrosse Club on Instagram HERE or by emailing mens@leedslacrosse.co.uk; those wanting to get involved with Leeds Penguins should contact them through Instagram HERE.

For more information about the club, you can also check out their website HERE.

Club Focus | Nuneaton Lacrosse Club

Throughout the 2023/24 domestic season, we’ll be highlighting a different club each month to showcase the great work being done in the community by clubs around the country and our club for December is Nuneaton Lacrosse Club.

Nuneaton is a relatively new lacrosse club having been initially founded as a men’s club in 2018 by Chris White, Alex Kelly, Paul White, Alex Rossiter, Tom Porter, Jack Miller, Charlie Allen, Reece McNamara, and Pat Land.

The club had fairly humble beginnings with the first training session taking place on 9 April 2018 at Paul’s Land Park in Nuneaton with goal and equipment stored in White’s garage and car and moved around with the nomadic team as they played in the park, on local five-a-side pitches, and at Nuneaton Sports Academy before finding its now permanent home at Keresley RFC in 2021.

To mark the work the nine founding members did in forming the club five years ago, it was agreed at this year’s Annual General Meeting that they would be awarded ‘Honorary Vice-President’ status, a title that will continue to be bestowed upon those at Nuneaton who have five years’ service and have played a key role in the club’s development.

At the end of April 2019, Nuneaton added a women’s section to their club, driven by Paige Wesley, Amy Johnson, Cari Land, Tayler-Mae Porter, Megan Toop-Rose, and Beth Walker; they continue to be very active in running the team to this day.

The club currently has two men’s teams playing in the South of England Men’s Lacrosse Association (SEMLA) Midlands League with the first team sitting at the top of the table as things stand.

Led by founding member and current Nuneaton Chairperson, Chris White, who has over 25 years’ experience, both men’s teams are incredibly competitive but are also extremely welcoming to new players with and without lacrosse-playing experience.

The men’s second team is ideal for players who are new to the sport as they have a good mixture of newcomers and key experienced players from the club who have leadership roles within the team to help new players learn and improve.

In terms of women’s teams, Nuneaton has one team that is continually growing and welcoming new players of every and all abilities.

Although not part of a formal league structure, the Nuneaton women’s side play friendly matches with local teams on a regular basis and have entered tournaments over the years such as Blues Fest, Bath 8s, the South West Tournament, and Stockport September Sixes.

The women’s team is coached by experienced player, Beth Walker, who began her playing career at Ashton Lacrosse Club in Greater Manchester before moving to Stockport to continue her development.

Walker played at a variety of levels around the country and even across the pond before moving to the Midlands where she played at university and joined Nuneaton.

Rounding off Nuneaton’s teams is their mixed lacrosse team that sees men’s and women’s players playing in the same team against other mixed teams; they tend to play friendlies against clubs in the local area as well as university teams.

Founded as a club whose aim is to have a friendly atmosphere and integration throughout the club, Nuneaton pride themselves in great team cohesion as well as a club-wide friendship, doing things as a club rather than separate teams.

And their big overarching aim is to make lacrosse a larger and more visible sport in the Midlands; before the club was founded, lacrosse wasn’t an accessible sport within the region but since 2018 and Nuneaton’s inception this has changed dramatically.

They’ve had major successes with people who picked up the sport at university and wanted to carry on once they graduated along with people who started playing as children from the north and south who have since moved to the Midlands.

With lacrosse not really being played at school level in the West Midlands, Nuneaton want to grow their name in the local area and have members who live locally, giving them a safe space to play the sport they love.

Despite lacrosse being the club’s bread and butter, they feel the social side of things is what really sets them apart with players socialising after training and, during games, members of the club who aren’t playing are found on the sidelines cheering every member of the team on.

Some of Nuneaton’s biggest social events revolve around annual competitions like Blues Fest and Bath 8s where the whole club spends the weekend together playing and partying.

They also have regular annual socials with the Christmas curry and end of season awards being nice occasions to get together and celebrate their achievements; they love to have regular socials as well with the club’s recent fifth birthday party going down a treat and a game of ‘pass the parcel’ with mini water guns inside quickly turning into chaos!

As the club looks towards the future, they would love to grow their women’s team, increasing the number of players at training sessions and on match days with the aim of playing more matches, entering more tournaments, and coming away with trophies.

The men’s team has a similar goal of growing numbers with the ultimate aim being to add more teams to the two that already exist.

Training takes place at Keresley RFC in Coventry (Burrown Hill Lane CV7 8BE) on Wednesday nights between 7pm & 8:30pm with socialising in the club house afterwards strongly encouraged; home games are held at Keresley RFC usually on a Sunday.

Once players become a regular attendee at the club, there is £20 membership fee along side £3 training session and £5 match fees although those taking part in their first training session at Nuneaton will receive that session free of charge.

Nuneaton’s men’s team captain, Jack Miller, was delighted when he discovered the club shortly after finishing university.

“I picked up lacrosse at Coventry University back in 2013 as a fresher and instantly loved the sport. Just after I graduated there, I saw a post on the SEMLA Facebook page trying to gauge what players were living in the Midlands. A few years after that initial post turned into the start of what is now Nuneaton Lacrosse club.

“I was lucky enough to be one of the original members who founded the club and I can say out of the small time I’ve been playing this sport, of any sport, I think you’d find it hard to match the atmosphere and friendly faces that we have at Nuneaton Lacrosse club.

“This club is all about welcoming in new or experienced players and helping each other develop on and off the field. This club has helped me make some great mates through an awesome sport!”

Club Content Creator, Isabel Brown, believes lacrosse is one of the most welcoming sports and that Nuneaton’s focus on inclusivity is what makes it unique.

“I started lacrosse at university in 2019 and loved the sport and the people I met playing. I found it such as welcoming sport for newcomers and could always be found at every training and game to try and improve my skills.

“Being from Coventry, I never thought I would be able to find a club near me to carry on playing after I graduated, especially a club as wonderful as Nuneaton. However, I found their Instagram, went along to a training session, and was immediately welcomed into the team and the club.

“I’ve loved every minute of being a part of the Bears - togetherness and joy really is at the heart of this club.

“Nuneaton prides itself in the way we’ve grown as a club and welcoming new players to continue our journey.”

For those wanting a little more insight into what Nuneaton Lacrosse Club is like, head to their Instagram, Facebook, or Tik Tok.

If you’d like your club to be featured in our series, please send an email to j.naylor@englandlacrosse.co.uk.