England international players, Torz Anderson and Tom Bracegirdle have been appointed to the England Lacrosse Performance Advisory Group as its first ever athlete representatives.
The Group, which has been running for two years and reports to the England Lacrosse Board, is responsible for advising on all areas of Elite Performance, including Talent.
The pair will help the existing Group to maintain a watching brief on any matters relating to performance, offering advice and support.
At the culmination of a world competition cycle, annual review cycle, tour, health check results or revision of anti-doping policies or procedures, the Performance Group also oversees a review, as part of the monitoring and evaluation procedures.
The decision to appoint athlete representative to the Group comes as it looks to expand and improve its existing operations.
England Lacrosse National Performance and Talent Development Manager, Jane Powell, thinks bringing Torz and Tom on board is great for the Group going forward.
“I am delighted to be able to work with Torz and Tom in this very exciting first step to give our athletes a voice.
“They will both join me on the Performance Advisory Group and will enable a more all-round viewpoint for the direction of our elite game.”
Torz, a multiple Women’s European Lacrosse Championship winner and bronze medal winner at the 2017 FIL Rathbones Women's Lacrosse World Cup, believes having athlete representation on the Performance Advisory Group can only help England Lacrosse and its players in the future.
“This is such a great opportunity for performance athletes in the England teams to help shape and positively influence the way the performance pathway at England Lacrosse is managed.
“I’m really excited to start working with my fellow group members and driving improvements to support our elite lacrosse athletes across both the men’s and women’s squads.”
And Tom, who was part of the England squad that claimed victory at the 2016 ELF European Lacrosse Championship, thinks it’s vital that athlete are listened to when making decisions that will affect them.
“In my experience of being involved within the England Lacrosse Talent Pathway, sometimes the thoughts of the athletes have been left behind. The appointment of athlete representatives on the Performance Advisory Group will hopefully amend this process and help facilitate players to get our voices heard and influence things directly. I am looking forward to help guide these changes as we move forward as a team!”