England Lacrosse Team Up with Net World Sports

England Lacrosse are delighted to have teamed up with Net World Sports as part of a one-year partnership deal which will see the Wrexham-based company become an EL official partner.

The deal will offer the lacrosse community yet another tried and trusted vendor where they can purchase pop-up goals, full-sized goals, ball stops, and rebounder nets, amongst a variety of other products in the Net World Sports lacrosse range.

Net World Sports has been a champion of designing and manufacturing the best quality sporting products since 2009 and houses more than 7,000 products, 95% of which are own brand, in their single 120,000 square foot warehouse.

They sell equipment across a huge range of sports from archery and cricket to Gaelic football and pickleball.

As part of the new partnership, Net World Sports will also provide equipment for various England Lacrosse events, including ball stops and coaches’ clipboards at The Fly.

In addition, over the coming months, Net World Sports will be looking at an option to enable an exclusive 15% discount for England Lacrosse members, affiliated clubs, players, and coaches!

They have also made a commitment, as part of the new deal, to work with us to develop bespoke products that would benefit the whole lacrosse community going forward.

England Lacrosse Head of Commercial & Marketing, Caroline Royle, is excited for what the new partnership can bring to England Lacrosse and the lacrosse community as a whole.

“This partnership with Net World Sports is a fantastic opportunity for England Lacrosse and the lacrosse community in general to benefit from some high quality lacrosse equipment. We’ve already seen some of their kit in action at The Fly and we cannot wait to start work on testing and developing new lacrosse products as we move forward.”

Lois Jones from Net World Sports said: “We’re thrilled to announce our new partnership deal with England Lacrosse. We’re looking forward to enhancing players’ game experience through supplying a range of different match-day and training equipment. Net World Sports are excited to get more involved with this great sport as we work closely with the England Lacrosse coaches to test and develop the best quality training equipment.”

To check out the Net World Sports range, click below:

Stockport Lacrosse Club to Host September Sixes Competition!

Stockport Lacrosse Club in Greater Manchester are set to host a brand new competition working within the rules and framework of the new 6-a-side rules.

The competition will take place over two days in September, with a junior competition taking place on Saturday 11th and a senior tournament on Sunday 12th.

Any and all teams, whether they are from the north or the south of England, men’s or women’s, are welcome and clubs are able to enter more than one team in each age group/category, with maximum numbers of 10 players per team.

The cost of entry to the Stockport September Sixes competition is a discounted £20 per team if paid prior to 1st September 2021, with entry after this date moving to £30 per team.

Stockport will be working hard to obtain assistance with officials but a requirement for entry to the tournament will be for each team to provide their own referee/umpire to cover each game.

The event will take place at Stockport Lacrosse Club, Beech Road, Stockport, SK3 8HD and the proposed competition schedule will look something like this:

Junior Competition (Saturday 11th September)

• U12 Boys (Pitches 1 & 2), U11 Girls (Pitches 3 & 4) - 9.30 Start

• U14 Boys (Pitches 1 & 2), U13 Girls (Pitches 3 & 4) - 12.30 Start

• U16 Boys (Pitches 1 & 2), U15 Girls (Pitches 3 & 4) - 15.30 Start

Senior Competition (Sunday 12th September)

• Senior Men (Pitches 1 & 2), Senior Ladies (Pitches 3 & 4) - 11am Start

As this is a brand new competition, playing a new format of lacrosse, some of the times above may vary and, if there is sufficient demand, Stockport may be in a position to host a U19 men’s and U18 women’s competition on the Sunday.

To register your interest, please send an email to stockportlacrosseclub@gmail.com.

Former England and Current GB Head Coach, Tom Wenham, Appears on BBC's The Repair Shop

Tom Wenham (right) and his Gran, Audrey Brown (far left), who won a silver-medal at the 1936 Olympics.

Former England and current Great Britain Men’s Head Coach, Tom Wenham, appeared on BBC One’s The Repair Shop last week, telling the story of his Olympic silver-medal winning Gran, Audrey Brown.

Tom took his Gran’s running spikes that she wore at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany, to the experts to restore; she helped Team GB to a silver-medal in the 4 x 100m relay, beating red hot favourites Germany in their own back yard!

Upon entering the repair shop, Tom remarked that it was his Gran’s love of running that ultimately started his passion for all things sport.

“Sport’s been an enormous part of my life, all driven by my gran. Her running shoes represent her igniting that fire.”

Audrey was the third leg in the 4 x 100m relay and, with Adolf Hitler watching, helped the team to finish second and win the silver-medal. It was in this race that the German team famously dropped the baton and by all accounts, including Audrey’s herself, Mr Hitler wasn’t best pleased!

Telling the story of how he acquired his Gran’s spikes, Tom said:

“My gran gave me those shoes wrapped in a tea towel in a carrier bag. She gave them to me with no fanfare.

“I’ve also got her Olympic tracksuit top and medal certificate and the suitcase she took to Berlin, covered in all the official stickers.”

Tom comes from a family of very talented athletes, having played and coached the England men’s lacrosse team himself; Audrey’s brother and Tom’s Great-Uncle Godfrey also won a gold and a silver medal at the Games and they are possibly the only British siblings to win Olympic medals on the same day!

The spikes were restored by experienced cobbler, Dean Westmoreland, who removed the old, tired sole, washed the spikes, and polished the leather before putting all the pieces back together so they looked as good as new.

You can watch Tom with his Gran’s spikes on The Repair Shop via BBC iPlayer HERE.

International Olympic Committee Grants Full Recognition to World Lacrosse

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Membership today voted to grant Full Recognition to the international federation for lacrosse (World Lacrosse).

The vote took place during the 138th IOC Session in Tokyo ahead of the upcoming Olympic Games.

For World Lacrosse, the conferral of Full Recognition by the IOC is the fulfillment of a goal the organisation first established for itself more than a decade ago and is a reflection of the vision and contributions of countless volunteers around the globe who have been steadfast in their commitment to support the continued growth of lacrosse by expanding opportunities for participation at every level.

“This is a momentous day for lacrosse enthusiasts around the world and a reason for our entire World Lacrosse family to celebrate,” said World Lacrosse President Sue Redfern. “We are deeply grateful to the Membership of the International Olympic Committee for today’s vote and the expression of confidence it reflects. With Full Recognition comes greater responsibility, and we are committed to serving as an active and engaged member of the international sport community and supporting our partners across sport.”

“We also offer our congratulations to the other international federations who, alongside World Lacrosse, also secured Full Recognition today. We are proud to be your partners and wish you the very best for continued success,” added Redfern.

“The evaluation process for Full Recognition has been intensive, but at every step in the process, the IOC has helped make World Lacrosse a stronger, more effective international federation, and we greatly appreciate the IOC’s ongoing support and encouragement,” said World Lacrosse Chief Executive Officer Jim Scherr. “While today’s decision represents a historic milestone for World Lacrosse, it is not the culmination of our journey. Rather, we will use this new status and the momentum it creates to find new ways to continue expanding opportunities for participation in lacrosse around the globe while supporting even greater growth.”

As part of the evaluation process for Full Recognition, the IOC Sports Department conducted a comprehensive review of more than 500 pages of material submitted by World Lacrosse before making its recommendation the IOC Executive Board.

The grant of Full Recognition by the IOC ensures World Lacrosse will maintain its status as a member of the Association of IOC Recognized International Sports Federations (ARISF).

Additionally, World Lacrosse will continue to be eligible to receive financial support through the IOC Development Program and will continue to benefit from access to IOC meetings, educational seminars, publications and other resources.

Moreover, the conferral of Full Recognition means World Lacrosse and the game it stewards will continue to grow in stature and influence in the community of international sport.

Read the full World Lacrosse statement HERE.

The Fly to Take Place this Weekend!

England Lacrosse’s national sixes event, The Fly, will have its first day of fixtures this Saturday (17 July), featuring four men’s and four women’s teams (Hustle, Rise, Forge, Swift).

The Fly, taking place at Lilleshall National Sports Centre, will be one of the first events in the world to adopt the brand new, and proposed Olympic, version of lacrosse and comes just a few weeks after World Lacrosse unveiled their World Sixes identity. 

Each of the eight teams in The Fly is jam-packed full of international stars from all over the UK and they will compete in a round robin on Saturday to determine their places in a knockout weekend in August. 

Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s competition will be played behind closed doors with a view to being open to fans next year.

However, fear not as both weekends of The Fly will be streamed live on YouTube (more details to follow).

On Saturday (17 July), there will be two pitches with every game on pitch one being streamed, meaning every team will be featured at least once across the day.

Then, on the second weekend (7 & 8 August), every single game will be streamed live for lacrosse lovers all over the world; there really is no excuse for missing one of the first forays into this exciting new format of the game!

If, for some reason, you can’t watch the live stream, you’ll also be able to keep up to date with all things The Fly over on their social media channels (Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter).

The playing squads, Head Coaches, Assistant Coaches, officials, and playing schedule have been announced ahead of Saturday and can be found on The Fly’s very own dedicated website HERE. 

The Fly is sure to be a fantastic event, highlighting some of the best talent in the UK, playing one of the newest and most exciting formats of the game!

"It will be so great to see the campers again and get back out coaching them": Triple Arrow Head Coach, Conor Dockery

In just under a month, the Summer 2021 Triple Arrow Camps schedule will be in full swing after a two-year absence due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Although some amended summer camps were able to take place last year, this year’s camps will mark a return to (nearly) normal and, for the first time since 2019, residential spaces are available for our campers!

Our Triple Arrow Camps Head Coach of three years and the newly announced Head Coach of Team Forge at The Fly, Conor Dockery, is excited to welcome the campers back after what has been a really difficult 18 months.

“It will be so great to see the campers again and get back out coaching them; they get to experience lacrosse in a fun, safe environment with coaches who are highly qualified and have been involved with Triple Arrow Camps for several years.”

And it’s these highly experienced, enthusiastic coaches that Conor, who’s a PE teacher at Queen Anne’s School, Caversham, thinks gives Triple Arrow Camps the edge.

“Some of the coaches have even been campers when they were younger and have now transitioned into a coach on camp.

'“They have had first-hand experience of how a camper may be feeling when they have ‘first day nerves’ and are experienced in helping to make campers feel comfortable and confident.

“Coaches also offer advice on stick stringing, strength and conditioning as well as recruitment to play at University.”

A prolific lacrosse player in his own right having played for Brighton University, East Grinstead, and now Cheltenham Lacrosse Club across the field discipline and Dublin Riggers, Emerald Islanders, London Knights, and the Ireland national team in the indoor format of the game, Conor believes Triple Arrow Camps are one of the best ways for young lacrosse players to improve their game and make new friends.

“I think first and foremost, having the social interaction with players they may not have known before is a real benefit; meeting new people and making new friends who have a similar passion for lacrosse.

“Players also get the opportunity to build up their confidence and self esteem by participating in a variety of fun team-building activities.”

Conor, as England Lacrosse, is also acutely aware that the situation regarding COVID-19 won’t have disappeared come the Triple Arrow Camps and he wants to reassure campers and their parents that all the coaches will be doing everything they can to keep everyone as safe as possible.

“Obviously, we must wait to hear what restrictions will still be in place in a month’s time, but from previous camps, player arrival is staggered and temperatures are checked every morning away from the pitches and all equipment is sanitised regularly.

“We emphasise that players shouldn’t pick up cones or balls with their hands and all these procedures help reduce any risk.”

Summer 2021 Triple Arrow Camps will run in different areas around the country from 27 July - 20 August.

• Caterham School, Surrey (27 - 30 July)

• Oxton Lacrosse Club, Merseyside (27 & 28 July)

• Charterhouse School, Godalming (3 - 6 August)

• St Swithun’s School, Winchester (9 - 12 August)

• Queen Anne’s School, Caversham (17 - 20 August)

England Lacrosse to Celebrate Thank You Day!

England Lacrosse is excited to be celebrating the UK’s first ever national Thank You Day on Sunday 4 July 2021.

The idea of Thank You Day came from a grassroots campaign to hold the country’s biggest ever thank you party in local communities as a way of thanking each other and of building on the community spirit that so many felt during lockdown. 

From the idea being launched just a few months ago, the campaign has won huge support from hundreds of organisations ranging from the NHS to the Scouts and from high profile individuals including Gary Lineker, Michael Sheen, Dame Judi Dench, Raheem Sterling and many more.

The day is expected to be the biggest mass participation event since the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 and we’re urging the lacrosse community to get involved!

Members of the public are being encouraged to mark the day in numerous different ways from picnics to BBQs, outdoor parties to drinks , while of course sticking to Covid guidelines. 

 Organisations are also putting on events through-out the day including:

• 9:00: Join in an hour's exercise across our country’s parks and green spaces.

• 11:00: Power Hour - Keep Britain Tidy, the RSPB and Rotary are organising an hour’s tidy up of parks and green spaces

• 13:00: The Big Lunch are organising small street parties and picnics to get neighbours together.

• 17:00: Cheers for volunteers, led by Ross Kemp and the Royal Voluntary Service is encouraging people to raise a glass or a cuppa with their neighbours, the initiative is backed by thousands of pubs across the country.

• 19:00: The country’s biggest ever BBQ with neighbours, led by Levi Roots, the Scouts and the National Citizens Service.

In addition, at 3pm –  led by Together with Music – individuals, choirs, bands and music groups, are invited to get together and sing or play Christine McVie’s (Fleetwood Mac) classic “Don’t Stop”.

Hundreds of community choirs and schools plan to sing together outside care homes and hospitals to thank residents, patients and staff for everything they have given over the past year.

For more information about the day, head over to the Thank You Day website HERE.

England Lacrosse Announce New Inclusion Advisory Group

England Lacrosse have announced the next phase of their commitment to enhancing and improving equality, diversity, and inclusion in lacrosse with the formation of a new Inclusion Advisory Group (IAG).

The IAG, which will eventually become an integrated part of the England Lacrosse governance structure, will have four main objectives:

• To promote equality, diversity & inclusion throughout all lacrosse activity in England.

• To set clear standards and provide a mechanism to ensure that these standards are met.

• To provide support to the development of improved policy, procedures, and standards at all levels of the game.

• To recommend actions and improvements for adoption by the sport.

More specifically, the IAG will advise England Lacrosse (and its governance structures) on policy, education, and campaigns for equality, diversity, and inclusion and will help with deliberation on cases relating to discrimination and breaches of standards relating to diversity, equality, and inclusion coordinating with the England Lacrosse disciplinary procedures as and when required. 

England Lacrosse CEO, Mark Coups, says the new Group will help propel the organisation forward and ensure it’s always striving to improve in the equity, diversity, and inclusion space.

“The development of the Inclusion Advisory Group is an important step on England Lacrosse’s journey for increased inclusion and diversity throughout the organisation and sport.

“We are committed to positive change in this area.”

As part of the Group, England Lacrosse are seeking to appoint a Chair to help promote equality, diversity & inclusion within the organisation and with a volunteer network that has varying responsibilities, liabilities, and capacity.

The role will also include identifying key issues and trends that may help to promote the game through relevant interventions and supporting the development of any promotion and education of equality, diversity & inclusion.

The ideal candidate for the role will have a working knowledge of the key legislation relating to equality, diversity & inclusion as well as a passion to promote equality, diversity & inclusion as part of a group.

It will be important to have the ability to relate to the lacrosse community at all levels in the game and it would be beneficial to have had experience of working on discrimination cases and advising bodies on good practice, support, and disciplinary action.

The position of Chair of the IAG is a voluntary role but agreed expenses will be reimbursed.

England Lacrosse is seeking an individual who is excited at the prospect of leading this key area for a growing sport. EL has a public facing commitment to board diversity through our Diversity in Leadership Policy and therefore we are seeking applications from ethnically diverse communities, the LGBTQ+ community, and the disabled community.

For more information about the role, read the recruitment pack below:

To apply for the position of Chair of the IAG, please send an updated CV and cover letter, along with a completed Equalities Monitoring Form (found in the recruitment pack) to j.naylor@englandlacrosse.co.uk.

Please note, alternative styles of cover letter, such as a video cover letter, will be accepted and considered as part of an application.

Complete the England Lacrosse University Lacrosse Players' Survey

As we continue to look at ways to support university lacrosse in 2021/22, we are reaching out to any students who play lacrosse in England and Wales to aid our decision making.

The survey will look specifically at competition and participation options and support for workforce within the university sector.

The answers to the survey will help us in planning for the next university lacrosse season and will allow us to be in the best position possible to help the university sector going forward.

Host an England Lacrosse Youth Officials' Course!

Last week, Berkhamsted School hosted England Lacrosse’s first Youth Officials’ Course in over 18 months which saw 16 young people spend time working towards an EL officiating qualification.

The Youth Officials’ Course is part of England Lacrosse’s aim to get more young people aged 14-18 involved in the officiating side of lacrosse, learning more about rules, hand signals, and on-field discipline amongst other things.

As well as the formal course, delivered by experienced tutors, the attendees also benefit from extra on-field training to enhance their experience and assist their progress as officials.

At the end of the course, the attendees will receive a Level 1 umpire qualification which they can use to officiate lacrosse matches and will allow them to progress to level 2 and beyond if they so wish.

If your school or club would like to host one of England Lacrosse’s Youth Officials’ Course like the one hosted by Berkhamsted School last week, simply send an email of interest to England Lacrosse Officiating & Competitions Co-ordinator, Ryan Griffiths, on r.griffiths@englandlacrosse.co.uk.

If you are aged 16 and above, our online officiating courses are also available and can be purchased HERE.

An open letter to government to seek clarity on the future of Primary PE Funding

England Lacrosse, along with a number of governing bodies and sports organisations in the sport sector led by the Youth Sport Trust, have added their name to the below letter to the Secretary of State for Education to seek clarity on the future funding of the Primary PE and Sport Premium.

Dear Secretary of State,

We are writing today to seek urgent clarity on the continuation of the investment made through the Primary PE and Sport Premium.

As you will know, this funding has been made available to primary schools to support their PE and school sport offer since 2013.

The past year has taken an incredible toll on young people’s health and wellbeing. We are sure you will agree that getting young people active again in school has a hugely important role to play in their recovery. As a sector we have been working together to support and encourage schools to offer daily physical activity and weekly PE as core building blocks of the recovery curriculum.

However, with just a few weeks left of the summer term, schools have not yet received confirmation that the PE and Sport Premium will continue into September.

We are becoming increasingly alarmed at the impact this uncertainty is having, at a critical time for schools who are planning their provision for the next academic year. This comes at a time of huge demand from schools, families and young people.

In recent weeks, the lack of confirmed funding has led to a scaling back of initiatives and of jobs among the organisations and individuals who support schools to maximise the impact of their PE and Sport Premium. The delay is leading to a reduction in planned provision and hampering efforts to leverage funding from the private sector to strengthen PE and school sport. We are aware of at least one local authority advising schools to budget on the assumption that this funding will not continue.

We appreciate the huge number of challenges government is tackling at the moment as we emerge from the pandemic. However, with young people’s recovery of such paramount importance, it would be devastating if the national effort to support the recovery of young people’s health and wellbeing was hampered by an avoidable delay in confirming funding for next year.

This national effort to support young people’s recovery would be significantly strengthened by an immediate confirmation from your department that this funding will continue into the 2021/22 academic year.

Thank you for your support.

Loughborough and Nottingham Universities Win 2021 BUCS Lacrosse 6s Championships

Loughborough University and the University of Nottingham won the respective men’s and women’s 2021 BUCS Lacrosse 6s Championships at Coombe Dingle Sports Centre, Bristol, on Saturday.

On what was a day of blue skies and glorious sunshine, Loughborough University defeated the University of the West of England 5-4 in the men’s final while the University of Nottingham worked hard to complete an unbeaten day by coming back from two goals down to beat the University of Exeter 4-3 in the women’s final.

Saturday's competition, the first to take place since 2019, saw the BUCS Lacrosse 8s Championships change format slightly from eight a-side to six a-side to reflect the proposed Olympic version of the game which will potentially included in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

In fact, this was only the third competition in the world to use the brand new 6s rules after tournaments in the USA and Australia in late May.

The day began with a round robin containing the 10 teams in the women’s competition and the nine teams in the men’s tournament.

These 19 teams were then whittled down to eight in each competition for the quarter finals before two semi-finals and a final each, eventually seeing the University of Nottingham and Loughborough University take home the gold medals. The full table of results will be available to be viewed online shortly.

The full women’s final and the second half of the men’s final can viewed below.

And if you’re loving the 6s content then why not follow our brand new 6s event, The Fly, across social media?

England Lacrosse Celebrates Annual Volunteers' Week

Last week saw England Lacrosse celebrate Volunteers’ Week, shining a spotlight on our wonderful volunteers and highlighting what a brilliant job they’ve done, and continue to do, keeping clubs and teams going throughout the most difficult of years.

The official theme for this year’s Volunteers’ Week was “a time to say thanks” aimed at recognising the contribution of communities during the coronavirus pandemic, and we aimed to highlight just a handful of our hundreds of volunteers throughout the week.

We invited the lacrosse community to nominate volunteers who have been especially exceptional over the past year since the start of the coronavirus pandemic and you didn’t let us down!

Featured Volunteers

Sarah Thomas - Vice-Chair at Cheltenham Lacrosse Club

Sarah has been an absolute rock at Cheltenham Lacrosse Club over the past year, taking on a lot of activities and workload that many people do not usually see or appreciate fully.

As a committee member, Sarah has ensured Cheltenham’s teams have the relevant PPE they need to keep safe while playing lacrosse.

She has also played her part on the field by stepping into goal when needed and is someone everyone in the club feels comfortable to talk to.

As a fantastic committee member, a great player and an even better friend everyone at Cheltenham, Sarah absolutely deserves this little bit of recognition.

Chris White - Founder at Nuneaton Lacrosse Club

Chris has been involved in lacrosse in the Midlands for a number of years now but his work founding, and subsequently running, Nuneaton Lacrosse Club three years ago is probably what he is best known for.

Starting a club is no mean feat but Chris managed it by starting small, initially getting a few people together for a throw around, before then expanding to include the two men’s and one women’s teams that there are today.

Excitingly, Nuneaton recently found their own ground too and the work Chris does to (as people in the Midlands say) “get the game on” make him absolutely worthwhile of some recognition this Volunteers’ Week.

Alison Dunn - Coach/Manager/Everything at Oxton Lacrosse Club

With the coronavirus pandemic halting the playing of lacrosse for large parts of 2020/early 2021, it might not necessarily have been the busiest year for Alison in terms of lacrosse.

However, Oxton Lacrosse Club felt that during this year’s Volunteers’ Week was the right time to recognise and acknowledge Alison’s work after more than three decades in the sport.

As well as being a coach, a manager, and whatever other roles she can get her hands on at Oxton Lacrosse Club, Alison has also coached for the North of England at both junior and senior level and has sat on a number of regional and national committees over the years.

Oxton Lacrosse Club and, more generally, lacrosse in the north simply would not be the same without Alison’s work, effort, dedication, and passion over the last 30 years!

Vicky Fathers - Chair at W4 Lacrosse Club

It is an unfortunate fact that without Vicky and her hard-work and dedication for the cause, it is unlikely W4 Lacrosse Club would have continued throughout the last year.

A new venue, more coaches, more athletes, and huge heaps of enthusiasm were all required to keep the club afloat during the coronavirus pandemic and Vicky stepped up to become one of these people who makes things happen to keep kids in sport.

Vicky plays a vital role in the local community and it is only fitting during Volunteers’ Week that wee recognise her work and thank her for everything she does!

Thank-you to every single volunteer working hard and dedicating their free time to supporting lacrosse in England; this is for all of you!

BUCS 6s - Preview

England Lacrosse will be hosting the annual BUCS 6s (previously BUCS 8s) tournament on Saturday 5th June at Bristol Coombe Dingle. This will be the 5th year of the established university event.

We are thrilled to be welcoming back BUCS lacrosse this weekend. The annual tournament takes on a new persona this year as we emerge from covid restrictions. There will be no BUCS points up for grabs, so we expect the day to be a more relaxed competition, inviting teams to simple enjoy being back out on the field with their teammates.

England Lacrosse head of competitions Helen Amos said, “I'm really excited to be able to be out running events and competitions again for the first time since March 2020. It's great to have 19 university teams attending on Saturday after what has been such a difficult period for students. With no BUCS points to play for, the students can really just relax and enjoy their time back out on the pitch in a friendly, but I'm sure competitive environment.”

As you may have noticed by the change in name to BUCS 6s we are also going to be playing rules based on the newly introduced World Lacrosse Sixes game. This means 6 players on each team, 12 on a pitch, 30 second shot clock and no face off / draw after goals.

“Firstly it’s great to have competitive BUCS lacrosse back, we’re really looking forward to just getting out and playing some other University sides. Secondly, the fact that it’s the new 6’s format is exciting - especially in anticipation of The Fly this summer!”

— Head of Lacrosse Nottingham Uni, Mike Armstrong

Event: BUCS 6s
Venue: Bristol Coombe Dingle
Time: 10am - 5pm

Teams Announced for 2021 BUCS Lacrosse 6s Championships

England Lacrosse are excited to announce the 11 women’s and nine men’s teams taking part in this year’s BUCS Lacrosse 6s Championships.

The slightly amended tournament, which will using the new proposed six a-side Olympic version of lacrosse as opposed to the traditional eight a-side game, is the first to take place since 2019.

In that edition of the competition, the winners were Durham University (Men) and University of Oxford (Women) in the Championship Division and Swansea University (Men) and Cardiff University (Women) in the Trophy Division.

This year’s BUCS 6s will take place on Saturday 5 June at Coombe Dingle Sports Complex, Bristol, as it has been each year since 2017, and you’ll be able to follow the action with England Lacrosse on social media!

The teams are as follows with the full schedule due to be released next week.

Women

University of Birmingham 1
University of Edinburgh 1
University of Essex 1
University of Exeter 1
University of Exeter 2
University of Gloucestershire 1
Leeds Beckett University 1
University of Nottingham 1
University of Oxford 1
University of Oxford 2
University of Surrey 1

Men

University of Essex 1
University of Exeter 1
University of Exeter 2
University of Gloucestershire 1
Leeds Beckett University 1
Plymouth Marjon University 1
University of Oxford 1
University of Surrey 1
University of the West of England 1

British Triathlon's Will Evans Appointed New Chair of the National Lacrosse Committee

England Lacrosse are delighted to announce the Head of Clubs and Regions at British Triathlon, Will Evans, as the new Chair of the National Lacrosse Committee (NLC).

Will, who has also worked with England Golf, England Netball, and Rounders England over the past few years, takes over from outgoing NLC Chair, Sallie Barker, who recently became Finance & Governance Director on the World Lacrosse Board of Directors.

Will hopes he can help to continue the good work of the NLC during his tenure as Chair.

“I am quickly learning about many of the things that have already been achieved by the NLC since its inception only a few years ago.

“We have some fantastic people around the virtual NLC table already and my role as Chair is to make sure that we are making the best use of the time we have together and supporting England Lacrosse to grow the game in the right way.

“If we can do that, I know we will be able to step back in a few years and take pride in the part we have played in making that happen.”

A lacrosse novice who is keen to get a stick in his hand very soon and learn to play, Will believes that lacrosse in England is at a really exciting point in its growth and development.

“The opportunity to play a part in this period of lacrosse in England was a really exciting opportunity.

“20 plus years working in sport has given be an appreciation of the role of grassroots sport and of sport in education and this role with the NLC hopefully gives me the chance to help lacrosse in some small way with that development.”

Aside from his day job with British Triathlon and his new role on the NLC, Will’s spare time is almost entirely taken up by his two young daughters and helping them find their way into sport and dancing. But that doesn't mean his own sporting days are completely over just yet!

“My rugby playing days are now behind me and running has taken over as my main form of exercise with marathons and half-marathons in the agenda to give me motivation!”

Will takes over from Sallie as Chair of the NLC with immediate effect and England Lacrosse wish him all the best in the role!

All Sun and Games as Summer Lax Gets Underway!

Last week marked the first set of fixtures in our new Summer Lax programme, taking place across six dedicated hubs based all over the country in Nottingham, Manchester, Bristol, Chiswick, and London (x2).

Summer Lax is our brand new summer lacrosse leagues open to everyone, including those who have never played lacrosse before as well as those who don’t own any equipment.

It is designed to be a space where people from a variety of different backgrounds can get together and play lacrosse in a more casual and relaxed setting than it otherwise might be playing for a club or university team.

During a week when it seemingly rained non-stop, the sun even came out and paid our hubs a visit, much to the delight of the England Lacrosse photographer who managed to get some lovely shots (see below)!

And if these pictures whet your appetite and you’d like to get involved in Summer Lax then you can still sign up and take part in the next set of fixtures.

All you need to do is click the button below and follow the instructions. Simple!

Nominate a Volunteer as Part of Volunteers' Week!

As part of this year’s annual Volunteers’ Week (1-7 June), England Lacrosse is inviting you to nominate a volunteer from the lacrosse community who has been especially exceptional over the past year since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Throughout the week, we will be shining the spotlight on our wonderful volunteers and highlighting what a brilliant job they’ve done, and continue to do, keeping clubs and teams going throughout the most difficult of years.

The official theme for this year’s Volunteers’ Week will be “a time to say thanks” aimed at recognising the contribution of communities during the coronavirus pandemic.

During an exceptionally difficult year, people from all walks of life around the UK have taken the time to volunteer and made a huge difference to people and their communities – just as they do every year.

The Volunteers’ Week website says:

“We’d like to encourage you to take the time to recognise volunteers that helped during the last 12 months and to thank those who usually volunteer but have not been able to because of the pandemic.

“Volunteers are always active at the heart of every UK community and the coronavirus pandemic has rightly raised the profile of volunteering and more people than ever are aware of the immense contribution being made every single day by the UK’s volunteers.

“That is why, on this 37th annual #VolunteersWeek, it’s time to say: thank you volunteers!”

At England Lacrosse, we are well aware that the game we all love is only able to run and be played by so many people all over the country because of the hard-work, dedication, and devotion of the volunteers and, with your help, we want to show our appreciation during this year’s Volunteers’ Week!

You can nominate an exceptional volunteer by completing the form below: