Sport England Announces COVID-19 Financial Support Including Support for Clubs

Sport England has announced it is making up to £195 million of funding available to help the community sport and physical activity sector as it negotiates the on-going COVID-19 crisis.

The package is additional to any funding support provided by the Government and part of it will go towards assisting the sport of lacrosse to make it through the current situation largely unscathed.

Sport England say their package will include:

• A £20 million Community Emergency Fund, which will be opened immediately for local clubs and community organisations to bid into. Grants between £300 and £10,000 are available;

• A £5 million pot for existing partners to bid into if they are facing specific and immediate financial difficulty;

• An additional £55 million to support their sectors during an on-going period of restrictions, to fund new and innovative ways to keep people active and then, when the period of restrictions is over, to help organisations get back to business and adjust to a different environment;

• A £115 million rollover of current funding into 2021/22 to give long term certainty to over 100 well established partners who play a vital role in the delivery of sport and physical activity in England. 

England Lacrosse CEO, Mark Coups, welcomed the announcement from Sport England, saying:

“The news of the £195 million worth of additional funding is welcome news given the current global climate and we, as an organisation, look forward to assisting Sport England in any way we can to ensure our clubs up and down the country get through this crisis unharmed”.

A large part of the announcement is the £20 million Community Emergency Fund that is “specifically targeted at clubs and organisations who have a role in supporting the nation to be active but who are experiencing short term financial hardship or the ceasing of operations due to the impact of COVID-19”.

Sport England say that the types of organisations eligible to apply for up to £10,000 grants include “local clubs forced to close at short notice but who are facing ongoing costs around maintenance and utility bills and voluntary and community sector organisations who deliver or enable sport and physical activity”.

This will undoubtedly provide a huge boost to lacrosse clubs and organisations up and down the country who have concerns about cashflow in the present situation. 

More information regarding this Emergency Fund as well as details on how to apply can be found below. England Lacrosse can also provide support to any clubs looking for assistance in applying to the Emergency Fund.

The announcement also included information regarding next year’s funding for organisations:

“Given the cashflow concerns in the sector, Sport England has also agreed that it will consider requests to release six months of the coming year’s funding (50% of awards) to its partners, meaning additional funding will be available sooner. 

This latest announcement comes after Sport England’s recent decision to offer major flexibilities to those who currently receive funding, including the ability to change timings, targets, and redirect money to new activity in response to COVID-19.

All of these new measures have been brought in by Sport England following extensive consultation with England Lacrosse as well as other organisations across the sport and physical activity sector in England.

The full announcement as well as further information regarding each set of funding within the package can be found here:

England Lacrosse Receives Letter from Princess Anne

England Lacrosse has received a letter from our patron, HRH The Princess Royal in light of the COVID-19 virus pandemic.

In the letter, which was delivered to all her charities, organisations and military affiliations, Princess Anne wrote:

“As I have had to postpone my visits for this spring and summer, I did just want to record how much I appreciate the difficulties you all face over the next few weeks and months’.

She went on to write:

“Many of you will have found ways to adapt your skills, which are so important to the organisations you either work or volunteer for, to help in your own isolation or to help others cope better in those many jobs that cannot stop.

“I was planning another charities forum this summer to outline the value of understanding each other’s strengths and achievements as well as the added value of working better together. The next forum will be especially interesting, with many important lessons to be shared.

“I look forward to hearing from you and catching up as soon as possible. Thank you for all you do, wherever you are”.

England Lacrosse would like to extend the Princess’s sentiments to the whole lacrosse community at this particularly challenging time for the sport of lacrosse.

You can view the full letter from the Princess Royal HERE.

2020 Australian Lacrosse Association Challenge Cancelled, ALA Announce

The Australian Lacrosse Association (ALA) have today announced the cancellation of the 2020 ALA Challenge due to take place in July.

This decision affects our senior women’s national squad who were due to fly out and compete in a test series against the senior Australia women’s national squad alongside the ALA Challenge and, although disappointing, is absolutely the correct decision to protect the health and wellbeing of those involved.

Australian Lacrosse stated the decision to cancel was reached “following the continued uncertainty as the world responds to the ever-changing COVID-19 situation.

“As several countries close their borders, airlines are in turmoil and we simply do not know when this situation will end".

On a more positive note, the ALA revealed they “hope to re-evaluate [their] events later in the year and look forward to holding a successful January 2021 ALA Southern Crosse Tournament”.

Information regarding the January 2021 tournament will be announced later this year and the statement ended by asking the lacrosse family to “stay safe and healthy”.

In response to the statement, Jane Powell, England Lacrosse National Performance & Talent Development Manager, said:

“This test series was shaping up to be a hugely exciting contest just one year out from the Women's World Cup, but we support the decision by the ALA fully as the health and wellbeing of the participants is our first and only priority at this time.

“We're communicating with the senior women’s national squad on best practice for health and wellbeing during this time to ensure everyone is ready to hit the ground running in the run up to the 2021 World Cup".

A Message from England Lacrosse CEO, Mark Coups

Dear England Lacrosse fans, 

I hope you and your families are well and coping with the current national emergency.

At the moment, we are all, quite rightly, focused on keeping ourselves and loved ones safe and England Lacrosse encourage you to follow our government's advice to combat the COVID-19 outbreak.

With an eye to the coming months, I wanted to reach out to you in this time of uncertainty and provide you with some reassurance about the future of lacrosse.

The England Lacrosse leadership team have been holding daily calls and monitoring the coronavirus and the impact it will have on lacrosse activity.

As far as is possible, we are focused on ensuring postponement and not cancellation.

However, it is inevitable that the 2019/20 lacrosse season, both internationally and domestically, will be severely affected.

We are working with European and World Lacrosse to provide information on international events and, with our key volunteers in the Regional Associations, on our domestic competitions and we will inform you as decisions about these are made.

I have been in regular communication with Sport England and other government agencies with regard to their support for National Governing Bodies and community club sport to make sure that the provision for sport to start again once the coronavirus measures have been lifted is in place. 

I want to reassure you all that lacrosse activity will be able to start again, as soon as it is permissible and safe to do so.

Thank you for your support for lacrosse; keep active and most importantly please stay safe and well.

Regards,

Mark Coups (England Lacrosse CEO)

Men's European Lacrosse Championships Will Not Be Held in 2020, ELF Announce

The European Lacrosse Federation (ELF) and the European Lacrosse Championships Organising Committee have announced today that the Men's European Lacrosse Championships (ELC20), originally scheduled for 23 July - 1 August in Wroclaw, Poland, will not be held as planned in 2020.

In a statement released earlier, they made it clear that their “first priority is to the safety of lacrosse participants”. 

They went on to say that “for this reason, the potential health risks and uncertainty posed by the global COVID-19 virus pandemic are simply too great to proceed with the event as originally planned. 

“ELF are initiating a consultation process with the 29 team managers and National Governing Bodies that had planned to participate in the event to assess possible options for the Championships. Following this consultation, ELF and the Organising Committee will announce future plans for ELC20.

As a result of the postponement, the accompanying Festival tournaments, in which our Under 23 Women were due to participate, will also not take place this year. 

For similar reasons, the ELF has also said that their Annual General Meeting, originally scheduled for early August, will not be held in Wroclaw this year either. 

The ELF is currently exploring alternatives for the AGM, but they have said there will be an AGM in 2020. 

They finished their statement by saying:

“We would like to thank our NGBs and the tournament organisers for their continued input and support, and the wider international lacrosse family for following the advice of public health authorities and doing our part, as a sport, to help combat the global pandemic”.

England Lacrosse would like to express its sadness and disappointment that the tournament cannot go ahead as planned but fully supports the decision as it is in the best interests of the health and wellbeing of everyone who would have been involved.

Jane Powell, England Lacrosse National Performance & Talent Development Manager, said:

"Whilst we are all disappointed that the tournament cannot go ahead as planned, we fully support the decision, being in the best interests of the health and wellbeing of everyone who would have been involved.

“We're communicating with the men’s national squad and all other teams on best practice for health and wellbeing during this time to ensure everyone is ready to hit the ground running once things are back in order and we now await future announcements regarding the tournament”.  

England men’s national team Head Coach, Doug Shanahan, said:

“The coaches, managers, and players of England’s men’s national lacrosse team are disappointed to learn of the cancellation of ELC2020.

“However, at this unprecedented time in our world history, we understand the decision completely and appreciate the consideration to everyone’s health and safety.

“We shall continue to practice and train as soon as it is safe to do so, and prepare ourselves to participate whenever it is rescheduled. 

“In the meantime, we hope everyone in the lacrosse community stays healthy and we look forward to better days ahead”. 

To read the ELF’s statement in full, please click HERE.

Men’s U19 World Championship Will Not Be Held in 2020, World Lacrosse Announce

In a statement released last night, World Lacrosse and the Limerick 2020 Organizing Committee announced that the Men’s U19 World Championship, originally scheduled for July 9-18 in Limerick, Ireland, will not be held in 2020.

World Lacrosse cited “the potential health risks and uncertainty posed by the global pandemic brought about by the COVID-19 virus” as the reason why the event cannot go ahead as planned.

They went on to say:

“World Lacrosse has initiated a consultation process with all 20 member-National Governing Bodies that had planned to participate in the event to assess a full range of options for the Championship.

“In addition, later this week, World Lacrosse will host two virtual “town hall meetings” for representatives from its member-National Governing Bodies and Continental Federations to obtain further feedback and recommendations regarding the Men’s U19 World Championship and other international lacrosse activities.

“Importantly, World Lacrosse would like to thank its National Governing Bodies and Continental Federations for their continued input and support, and the wider international lacrosse family for following the advice of public health authorities and doing our part, as a sport, to help combat the global pandemic”.

World Lacrosse and the Limerick 2020 Organizing Committee will have an announcement in April addressing future plans for the Men’s U19 World Championship.

World Lacrosse is also currently exploring alternatives for the WL General Assembly, originally scheduled to take place in Limerick, but is committed to holding an annual meeting in 2020.

England Lacrosse would like to express its sadness and disappointment that the tournament cannot go

Jane Powell, England Lacrosse National Performance & Talent Development Manager, said:

"Whilst we are all disappointed that the tournament cannot go ahead as planned, we fully support the decision, being in the best interests of the health and wellbeing of everyone who would have been involved.

“We're communicating with the U19 squad and all other teams on best practice for health and wellbeing during this time to ensure everyone is ready to hit the ground running once things are back in order and we now await future announcements regarding the tournament in April”.

To keep up to date with the latest information from World Lacrosse and to read their statement in full, visit their website HERE.

Hong Kong Lacrosse visit the National Schools Lacrosse Championships

At the end of February, Hong Kong Lacrosse took time out of their busy international schedule to visit the National Schools Lacrosse Championships 2020 in Aldershot.

They were attending the tournament to watch some of the exciting and high quality lacrosse being played by the 3,500 school girls who took part.

Raymond Fong (pictured above), CEO of Hong Kong Lacrosse and China Lacrosse, visited with a small group of representatives from Hong Kong Lacrosse and was impressed with what he saw.

“It’s eye-opening; it's such a big tournament”, Mr Fong said about the National Schools Lacrosse Championships.

“We’re looking to put something similar in place in China because we’ve had some real interest from a few schools back home to do something like this”.

Mr Fong also revealed that, in addition to taking in the National Schools Championships, he was in England to chat with England Lacrosse about the opportunities both National Governing Bodies can give one another in the future.

“There’s lots of discussions to be had”, he remarked.

“We’d love to have a UK-based team enter the Hong Kong Open at some stage and it’d be great to develop the 6-a-side game together as this version of lacrosse gains more interest through the Olympic initiatives”.

“Like I said”, he finished, “there’s lots of discussions to be had but we’ve been impressed by England Lacrosse overall; the hospitality has been overwhelming”.

Raymond Fong and Hong Kong Lacrosse were able to see Wycombe Abbey win the U19A Championship at the National Schools Championships as they defeated Benenden 4-0 in the final.

Read all about that victory below:

To find out more about Hong Kong Lacrosse and what they do, click the button below:

Wollaston School, with the help of England international, Eliot Pugh, starts offering lacrosse!

Just before Christmas 2019, Wollaston School in Northamptonshire introduced lacrosse onto the school syllabus in their P.E. lessons.

This was the brain child of Assistant Head of the Science Department and England international box lacrosse goal-keeper, Eliot Pugh.

As Wollaston prepares to close its doors indefinitely in line with new government guidelines to help stop the spread of COVID-19, we sat down with Eliot to ask him a few questions about why the school wanted to introduce lacrosse, what challenges they encountered as a state school trying to fund lacrosse and what’s next for the sport within Wollaston in the future.

First of all, what impact has the current situation had on the school?

The shutdown has been a very strange experience as it feels like the end of the summer term but no-one was prepared for it.

It has been very hard for the year 11 and 13 students who feel left in limbo and quite a few feel at a loss as they have spent so long preparing for exams which are now not happening.

We will still be opening though to support the children of 'key workers' and those who are vulnerable or in care.

So, for me, my days are going to continue at work but with some obvious changes to who I will be teaching and what I will be teaching as we try and support all pupils both at school and those working from home. 

Now, onto lacrosse, why did the school decide to start offering the sport just before Christmas? 

The school had previously done a bit of pop lacrosse and had some sticks in the store room. When I joined the school in 2018, I did a couple of talks to the P.E. department on how best to use them.

Then, after returning from the World Indoor Lacrosse Championships (where I represented team England) in September last year, there was a bit of buzz about the sport in the school so I worked with the P.E. department to work out how we could use this to develop the sport in the syllabus.

We also had a new member of P.E. staff (Emily Cattell) join us in September 2019 who had coached lacrosse at her previous school and played at the University of Birmingham. She started doing sessions with her classes.

I then spoke to my friends at Stowe School (Giles Cuddy and Rob Ingham Clarke) who offered us some proper girls sticks for free. I picked these up and our year 9 and 10 girls have been using them in P.E. lessons ever since.  

What challenges has the school encountered being a state school and starting to offer lacrosse?

 The first challenge was getting the sticks but thankfully the guys at Stowe were brilliant in supporting us.

The next challenge was not having any proper lacrosse balls, goals or space to play the sport.

The girls spent the first few weeks using tennis balls (or cricket wind balls) and shooting into small 5-a-side football goals.

We also haven't been able to train up any goalkeepers yet.

There was never any real problem with getting the girls enthusiastic; in fact, the majority of them prefer doing the lacrosse sessions over the other major sports such as netball or hockey.

We have been very lucky to solve most of these problems with a grant from the Lacrosse Foundation which has allowed us to purchase four goals and some balls. This has meant that we can start introducing proper rules to the girls and getting them used to the idea of match situations. 

Why is it important for state schools to offer different sports like lacrosse instead of the usual football, netball etc.? 

I think it’s very important in helping to breakdown perceived social barriers between state and private school pupils.

For instance, our girls were really looking forward to taking on the challenge of competing against Stowe School which was due to take place on 18th March but was unfortunately postponed.

We have agreed to reschedule either in the summer term or at the beginning of the next academic year. 

Many of our pupils would not have known about lacrosse before I joined and it has been great to see the enthusiasm many have had for the game.

It has also helped some pupils who wouldn't usually be interested in the more 'main-stream' sports, get into sport; they have found something that they find fun and interesting.

In every school that I have introduced lacrosse to I would say that the majority of pupils have enjoyed it and wanted to continue it further. 

And finally, what does the future hold for lacrosse at Wollaston? 

I think the sport will grow a lot with the girls; I’ve already seen some significant talent with a lacrosse stick in year 7 and 8.

We ran a 'beat the goalie' event for Sport Relief where I was in goal and we had students having a go at scoring past me with a lacrosse stick.

There was a lot of new players from the lower years coming to have a go and while only one scored, there were some very good techniques on display.

After expanding the girls game further, we have set a target of entering the National Schools competition either next year or in 2022 with at least one team.

Alongside that, I would like to put in another grant for a start up package of boys equipment and look at introducing that as well, perhaps with the sixth form (who would be old enough to join local clubs such as Milton Keynes for training). 

For more information about the Lacrosse Foundation and the grants it offers click below:

England v Japan International Series (May 2020) Postponed

Following government advice, and in collaboration with England and Japan Lacrosse, the decision has been taken to postpone the England v Japan international series on Saturday 2 May and Sunday 3 May 2020.    

This is deemed to be the best course of action given the COVID-19 pandemic and uncertainty regarding the ability to stage public events. 

Any supporters that purchased tickets for either of the England v Japan fixtures will be able to use that ticket on the rearranged date, which will be confirmed as soon as possible.

If they are unable to attend the rearranged date, supporters will be offered the option of a full refund. 

At this stage, supporters are requested to wait for confirmation of the rearranged fixture date, at which point we will contact you by email to confirm next steps.

Triple Arrow Easter Camp Programme Postponed

In light of the current COVID-19 situation and following government advice, England Lacrosse has taken the decision to suspend its nationally run lacrosse activity until further notice. 

The suspension includes all our competitions and domestic events, player pathway activity and youth programmes.

This suspension also applies to the Triple Arrow Lacrosse Camp Programme.

England Lacrosse have been communicating with the host venues for this Easter’s Camp programme and we are continuing to ensure all camps will be rearranged for summer 2020. 

As soon as dates are confirmed we will communicate these on the Triple Arrow and England Lacrosse websites as well as on social media.

Anybody who already had a place on an Easter Camp will be offered a transfer to any one of the summer camps for 2020; alternatively, full refunds will be provided if a camper has already booked their summer 2020 position. 

 We appreciate your cooperation and patience during this time and we aim to confirm dates for rearranged camps as soon as possible and commence plans for transfers and refunds. 

For the full England Lacrosse statement regarding COVID-19, please click HERE.

If you require any further information please contact Kerrie Lawler directly on k.lawler@englandlacrosse.co.uk or 07811336823.

Updated Head Office Opening Hours Due to COVID-19

England Lacrosse, through the dedication and professionalism of staff, have been able to maintain uninterrupted head office opening hours to this point in the COVID-19 pandemic.

We now feel it prudent to reduce the hours the office phone is open, this is to allow head office staff to travel to and from the office at non peak times and allow for more staff members to work from home. 

Please be aware England Lacrosse will be operating the phone system between the hours of 10am and 2pm. 

Please note that all staff will be monitoring emails and mobile phones during the normal working hours. 

Currently, the office building England Lacrosse is hosted by remains open, this is being regularly reviewed and any changes to this will be communicated directly.

If the building is closed then we will operate a voicemail to email system allowing the head office phone function to continue.

South team wins inaugural North vs South box lacrosse game

The South team came away with the bragging rights after they won the first North vs South box lacrosse game 8-5 on Sunday (15 March).

Due to the current situation and government advice, the game was played behind closed doors at the Midlands Roller Arena, Lutterworth, but that didn’t stop the game being played at breakneck speed and with suitable aggression.

It always looked like the South team’s game to lose, however, as they took an early 3-0 lead through goals from Austin Holgate, Rob Holmes, and England international, Gavin Abrahamson.

A goal from Jamie Powell and a brace from Tom Bracegirdle in the second quarter saw the team made up from players from the south of England go in 6-2 ahead at half-time.

During the final two quarters, the North team came into their own and were able to keep the South team largely at bay.

England forward, Matt Marsh, who scored eight goals at last year’s World Indoor Lacrosse Championships, including four in the narrow defeat to the USA in the bronze medal game, scored three goals without reply at the end of the fourth to make sure the South team had to work hard for their victory.

The match may well have been even closer if it hadn’t been for some world class saves from England international goal-keeper, Eliot Pugh, in the South team’s net.

In a tense final few minutes, he managed to keep out Marsh as well as Josh Simpson Pink to keep the score at 8-5 and ensure the South team got the victory over the line.

This game marks the first in a series of North vs South box lacrosse matches as England search for players and prepare for the 2021 European Box Lacrosse Championships.

All being well, the second North vs South battle will take place on Saturday 9th May with the third a week later on Saturday 16th May (both in Sheffield).

You can keep up to date with the North vs South games and everything box lacrosse by following England Lacrosse, England Box Lacrosse, Northern Box Lacrosse, and Southern Box Lacrosse on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

You can watch the first North vs South game in full by clicking the button below:

North Team

Goalkeeper

Isaac Tweedale (Timperley)

Defence

Matt Tatton (Brooklands)

Will Allsop (Brooklands)

Jamie Sutton (Manchester Waconians)

Andy Ellison (Heaton Mersey)

Tom Hallam ( Mellor)

Oli Roberson (Mellor)

Chris Wainer (Heaton Mersey)

Transition

Jason Erwin (Brooklands)

Eliot Leonard (Norbury)

Attack

Dom Fitzgerald (Manchester Waconians)

Cai Jefferies (Heaton Mersey)

Sam Patterson (Stockport)

Josh Simpson Pink (Mellor)

Ollie Allsop (Brooklands)

Dave Groves (Stockport)

Matt Marsh (c) (Mellor)

Coach

Andy Downing

South Team

Goalkeeper

Eliot Pugh (Milton Keynes)

Ben Stowe (Welwyn Warriors)

Defence

Chris Hockey (Spencer)

Peter Shepherd (Camden Capybaras)

Albert Whitehead (Spencer)

Corey Jamieson (Milton Keynes)

Tom Roche (c) (Mellor)

Taylor Harrison (Spencer)

Transition

Austin Holgate (Camden Capybaras)

Gavin Abrahamson ( London Raptors)

Ben Stringer (Hillcroft)

Tom Bracegirdle (Spencer)

Attack

Ben Buchanan (Spencer)

Rob Holmes (Spencer)

Jamie Powell (Unattached)

Pete Wilson (Bristol Bombers)

Sam Perry (Hitchin)

Ben Colville (London Raptors

Coach

David Leach

Alan Keeley

Officials: Michael Leahy & Rob Clark.

Applications for The Lacrosse Foundation Bursary Scheme now being accepted

Applications for The Lacrosse Foundation Bursary Scheme have gone live and are now being accepted.

The Lacrosse Foundation Bursary Scheme, managed by England Lacrosse, has been introduced to provide financial assistance to athletes in the England Lacrosse Talent Pathway (Academy – U23 England) who are not able to meet the financial requirements for continued participation.

Athletes who meet the criteria will be able to apply for annual financial assistance within the following areas: subsistence; travel; equipment; training; and tour costs.

England Lacrosse’s Talent Pathway Manager, Jane Powell, is enthusiastic about the new bursary scheme saying:

“This is a good step forward to helping us make sure our Talent Pathway is accessible for all those with the potential to play senior international lacrosse. A massive thank you to The Lacrosse Foundation for their support in providing the bursary finances to make this a reality”

The Lacrosse Foundation, who work tirelessly to ensure lacrosse is a sport that can be accessed by anyone, are also excited about what the future holds:

“The Lacrosse Foundation exists to grow and develop the sport of lacrosse. By working with England Lacrosse to create this bursary programme, The Lacrosse Foundation intends to both widen access to the sport and grow talent through participation in the Talent Pathway”

For more information regarding the bursary scheme and for details about how to apply, please click below:

Teams announced for North vs South box lacrosse game

The teams for the hotly anticipated North vs South box lacrosse game have been announced and include thirteen of the twenty-three England players who played at the 2019 World Indoor Lacrosse Championships.

England stars Eliot Pugh, Chris Hockey, Albert Whitehead, Tom Roche, Gavin Abrahamson, and Ben Colville have all been selected for the South team while Matt Tatton, Will Allsop, Jamie Sutton, Chris Wainer, Dom Fitzgerald, Cai Jefferies, and Matt Marsh will play for the North team.

Andy Downing, who coached England in the summer, will lead the North team with David Leach and Alan Keeley taking charge of the South team.

This game is a landmark for box lacrosse in England and follows on from the successful 4th placed finish at the World Box Lacrosse Championships in Canada last year.

England beat Israel in the pool stage, Finland in the first knockout game, and Israel again in the quarter final before falling to Canada in the semi-final.

They then showed how far box lacrosse has come in England over the past few years by pushing a very good USA side all the way in the third place play-off.

The North vs South game is a big chance to showcase a different form of lacrosse and highlight its strengths with the aim of drumming up more interest in the sport in the build up to the 2021 European Box Lacrosse Championships.

The game takes place this Sunday (15 March) at the Midland Roller Arena, Lutterworth.

A full programme for the game can be found here:

In addition to the game on Sunday, two more North vs South matches have been announced; the first will take place on Saturday 9th May and the second on Saturday 16th May, both in Sheffield.

Full teams can be found below:

North Team

Goalkeeper

• Isaac Tweedale (Timperley)

Defence

• Matt Tatton (Brooklands)

• Will Allsop (Brooklands)

• Jamie Sutton (Manchester Waconians)

• Andy Ellison (Heaton Mersey)

• Tom Hallam ( Mellor)

• Oli Roberson (Mellor)

• Chris Wainer (Heaton Mersey)

Transition

• Jason Erwin (Brooklands)

• Eliot Leonard (Norbury)

Attack

• Dom Fitzgerald (Manchester Waconians)

• Cai Jefferies (Heaton Mersey)

• Sam Patterson (Stockport)

• Josh Simpson Pink (Mellor)

• Ollie Allsop (Brooklands)

• Dave Groves (Stockport)

• Matt Marsh (c) (Mellor)

Coach

• Andy Downing

South Team

Goalkeeper

• Eliot Pugh (Milton Keynes)

• Ben Stowe (Welwyn Warriors)

Defence

• Chris Hockey (Spencer)

• Peter Shepherd (Camden Capybaras)

• Albert Whitehead (Spencer)

• Corey Jamieson (Milton Keynes)

• Tom Roche (c) (Mellor)

• Taylor Harrison (Spencer)

Transition

• Austin Holgate (Camden Capybaras)

• Gavin Abrahamson ( London Raptors)

• Ben Stringer (Hillcroft)

• Tom Bracegirdle (Spencer)

Attack

• Ben Buchanan (Spencer)

• Rob Holmes (Spencer)

• Jamie Powell (Unattached)

• Pete Wilson (Bristol Bombers)

• Sam Perry (Hitchin)

• Ben Colville (London Raptors

Coach

• David Leach

• Alan Keeley

PLEASE NOTE: THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED - England vs Japan - Twickenham Stoop Tickets on sale now!

Tickets are now on sale for the southern leg of our England v Japan International Series at the Twickenham Stoop on Sunday 3 May.

Get the chance to see both our senior international teams in one place as they take on their Japanese counterparts in a double-header at the Twickenham Stoop, home of Harlequins Rugby.

And England Lacrosse members can get tickets at the cheapest available price by taking advantage of the 20% early bird discount available now until 1 April by using the discount code sent to all members via email.

England will welcome Japan for two international double-headers, bringing top class lacrosse back to England against world level opponents.

The teams will first meet in Manchester on 2 May opening with a women’s game before the headline match between the men’s sides.

The line up will then be reversed on 3 May with a men’s opener followed by a second meeting between the women’s sides to take place at the Twickenham Stoop.

Tickets give entry to both games on that particular day giving fans the opportunity to watch both international men’s and women’s lacrosse all in one place.

Match times:

4:00pm - England Men v Japan
6:30pm - England Women v Japan

England Lacrosse Members will receive 20% discount! - Check the email account linked to your membership for your discount code email.

Members Ticket Prices:

Adult Member (before 1 April): £10.40
Junior/Student/Over 65s Member (before 1 April): £5.60

Adult Member (after 1 April): £13
Junior/Student/Over 65s Member (after 1 April): £7

Full Ticket Prices:

Adult Full Ticket Price (before 1 April): £13
Junior/Student/Over 65s Full Ticket Price (before 1 April): £7

Adult Full Ticket Price (after 1 April): £15
Junior/Student/Over 65s Non-Member Full Ticket Price (after 1 April): £10

All tickets are being sold through the Harlequins ticketing site which is linked on this page.

Purchasers will need to create an account with Harlequins to buy tickets. Once signed in, select your individual seats using the seat map, and then select which ticket types you require. Enter your discount code at the checkout, if applicable. Each purchase is subject to a small booking system transaction fee.

Please Note:

If you would like to make a group booking of 10 or more tickets please call the Harlequins Box Office 020 8410 6000.

Tickets are also still on sale for the Northern double-header in Manchester on Saturday 2 May.

Wycombe Abbey crowned National Schools U19A champions

Wycombe Abbey produced the perfect day’s performance at this year’s National Schools Lacrosse Championships to storm to victory in the 2020 U19A Championship.

They defeated Benenden 4-0 in the final to claim their first U19 Championship since 2015 when they beat Lady Eleanor Holles.

All the sides competing had been raring to go after persistent poor weather cancelled play on Day 1 of the competition.

But Day 2 saw glorious sunshine and despite the wet ground around the site, the pitches held up fantastically well to ensure a full day of high level action.

Wycombe Abbey came through their pool section with a 2-1 record in the morning matches, overcoming St Swithun’s and Lady Eleanor Holles, but losing out to Downe House to set up a Last 16 match with St Helen & St Katharine.

They came through that 3-1 before seeing off last year’s finalists Guildford High 4-0 in the quarter-final to advance to the semi-final.

After coming through their close semi-finals (Benenden beating Berkhamsted 2-1 and Wycombe Abbey scraping past St Catherine’s 3-2), the stage was set for a tense finale.

But Wycombe Abbey took their momentum from their final four victory to blow Benenden away in the showpiece contest.

Their shooting was deadly accurate, and Emily Wallace, named goalie MVP, produced a perfect display to record a clean sheet when it mattered most.

It was also a particularly special moment for Wycombe Abbey coach, Ruby Smith, who won the Championship exactly 10 years ago as a player for Godolphin school.

The final score reflected Wycombe Abbey’s dominance and they claimed a deserved title to take back to High Wycombe for 2020.

2020 School Challenge Cup qualified teams: Wycombe Abbey, Benenden, St Catherine’s, Berkhamsted, Bedford Girls, Downe House, St Swithun’s, and Guildford High

U19A Division 1 Winners: St Paul’s Girls 3-2 Putney High
U19A Division 2 Winners: Marlborough College 3-2 Queen’s Chester
U19A Division 3 Winners: Queen Margaret’s 3-2 Harrogate Ladies College

MVP Awards
Goalie: Emily Wallace (Wycombe Abbey)
Defender: Honor Gibbs (Benenden)
Midfielder: Alex Cant (St Catherine’s)
Attacker: Mia Rogers (Wycombe Abbey)

Vivien Jones Memorial Award: Bryony Bovell (St Catherine’s)

2020 National Schools Championships LIVE

To get updates from the 2020 National Schools Lacrosse Championships straight to your phone - Download the 'Macoocoo Tournament Viewer' from your app store where you can follow your chosen teams and stay in touch whether you're at the event or following from afar!

National Schools Under 15B and Under 13 tournaments postponed

England Lacrosse and venue grounds staff have been working hard over the last week on our National Schools Championship fields to mitigate the extremely wet weather we have been experiencing recently.

Having assessed the site for the coming days, some of the pitches on the event site are unfortunately unplayable.

As a result of the pitch situation and general condition of the site, the decision has been taken to postpone and reschedule the U15B and U13 competitions.  

We will be working on a rescheduling of the competitions over the coming days and will communicate further details to you all once decisions have been made as to future arrangements.

If you have booked tickets in advance to spectate either of the postponed tournaments, we will provide further communication once a decision has been made on the future arrangements.

U19A competition update: Saturday's play cancelled

Due to the adverse weather which we have encountered overnight and this morning, the decision has been taken to cancel play today.

All eight pitches are currently in a playable condition, and with the dry weather forecast ahead they are likely to improve over the next 24 hours.

However, the wider site is currently under a significant amount of water and we are not able to guarantee the safe movement of people around the venue. Staff will be spending the day ensuring the site is safe for teams to arrive tomorrow.

We have re-scheduled the U19A as a one-day tournament to be played tomorrow.

Play would follow the pool and knockout schedule that is already planned, using last year’s seedings to populate the divisions and the pools. This will be available on Macoocoo as soon as possible.

Thank you to all teams and spectators for your cooperation and understanding at this time.