27 England players announced as part of British Lacrosse men's training squad

27 England players have been named as part of British Lacrosse’s 30-player 2023/24 men’s training squad, including nine players who represented England at the 2023 World Lacrosse Men’s Championship in San Diego in June.

The training squad has been chosen by Head Coach, Tom Wenham, alongside Assistant Coaches, Ravi K. Sitlani and Andy Downing as they begin to prepare for the Hong Kong Super Sixes Invitational (26 December 2023 - 1 January 2024).

The latest squad announcement comes after a hugely successful first cycle in 2021/2022 that saw a men’s and women’s team represent Britain at The World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, USA for the first time.

In that competition, both the men’s and women’s British Lacrosse teams finished fourth after tight bronze medal matches against Japan and Australia respectively.

The 2023/24 British Lacrosse women’s training squad will be announced in due course once the final selection has been made.

For more information about British Lacrosse and their plans for the future, click HERE.

British Lacrosse 2023/24 Men’s Training Squad (England players in bold)

Jack Allen
William Baxter
Drew Bickerton
Tom Bracegirdle
Lyndon Bunio
Sam Burgess
Tobias Cleaver-Ross
Nick DeCaprio
Hal Dwobeng
Danny Hilditch
Casey Hughes
Ryan Hunns
Elliot Hurry
Jordan Jones-Smith
Tommy Kirkland
Elliot Leonard
Cam Major
Luke Mills-Doig
Ben Page-Laycock
Hugo Peel
Jamie Powell
Will Prescott
Tomos Rosser
Alex Russell
Will Shirt
George Shonfeld
Josh Simpson-Pink
Ryan Sweetman
Matt Tatton
Ming Trinh

Vacancy | England Women U20 Assistant Coach/es

England Lacrosse is seeking to appoint an England Women U20 Assistant Coach/es to directly assist the Head Coach to deliver the highest quality coaching and contribute to a performance environment for athletes that will represent England on a European and World sporting stage.

The ideal candidate will have:

· A minimum of three years’ relevant coaching experience working with high potential/performance athletes.
· Experience of working with athletes aged U18-23.
· Experience in the development of individuals including auditing of strengths and weaknesses, producing personal development plans.
· Experience of monitoring performance and producing feedback and reports.

The successful applicant/s will have the opportunity to contribute to the development and implementation of plans for the U20 programme and tasked with assisting the Head Coach in developing a culture which challenges players to operate daily at the highest standards required to achieve sustained development.

Please note, this is a voluntary role with reasonable and necessary expenses provided.

Successful applicants will need to have availability to commence delivery at a camp planned for 26/27/28 October.

Application closing date:  Monday 4 September 2023.

For more information about the role, click HERE and HERE.

Vacancy | Women's Performance Transitions Assistant Coach

England Lacrosse is seeking to appoint several Women’s Performance Transitions Assistant Coaches to directly assist the Head Coach in Talent ID and delivery of the highest quality coaching, contributing to an enhanced development environment for athletes with the potential to represent England on a European and World sporting stage.

The ideal candidate will have:

· A minimum of three years’ relevant coaching experience working with high potential/performance athletes.
· Experience of working with athletes aged U18-23.
· Experience in the development of individuals including auditing of strengths and weaknesses, producing personal development plans.
· Experience of monitoring performance and producing feedback and reports.

The successful applicant(s) will have the opportunity to contribute to the development and implementation of plans for the ‘Performance Transition’ programme and tasked with assisting the Head Coach in developing a culture which challenges players to operate at the highest standards and inspires them to pursue their ambitions of representing England Lacrosse at international competition in the future.

Please note, this is a voluntary role with reasonable and necessary expenses provided.

Successful applicants will need to have availability to commence delivery at a camp planned for 14/15 October.

Application closing date: Monday 4 September 2023

For more information about the role, click HERE and HERE.

Nominations open for Sporting Equals Awards 2023

Nominations are now open for the Sporting Equals Awards 2023 that aims to “recognise the hard work and dedication of ethnically diverse players, coaches, and organisations within the sports sector”.

Sporting Equals is accepting nominations for a number of categories including England Athletics Coach of the Year, British Army Community Champion of the Year, Community Sports Project of the Year, UK Sport Rising Star of the Year, Sportswoman of the Year, Sportsman of the Year, and Youth Sport Trust Young Sportsperson of the Year.

The Awards will take place on 21 October 2023, during Black History Month, at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, London, and will be hosted by comedian and TV personality, Judi Love.

Sporting Equals is an organisation that exists to promote ethnic diversity across sport and physical activity, and is the only organisation in the UK to do so.

Originally set up in 1998 by Sport England, in partnership with the Commission for Racial Equality, Sporting Equals is now a fully independent body and a national partner of Sport England. 

To find out more about the Sporting Equals Awards 2023 or to nominate someone, click the HERE.

Applications open for SBL Winter Box League 2023 Team Coaches & Managers

Southern Box Lacrosse (SBL) has announced that applications are now open for the position of Team Coaches and Team Managers at the 2023 Winter Box League.

In addition to four existing men’s teams, the second season of the Winter Box League sees the introduction of two women’s teams, taking the total number of teams to six.

Successful applicants must have valid England Lacrosse membership, be over the age of 18 at the time of application, and not be currently serving any form of suspension issued by a regional association and/or England Lacrosse. Applicants for the role of Team Coaches must additionally have a valid coaching qualification of at least Coaching Field Lacrosse (Level 2).

Team Coaches will be responsible for selecting players during the draft process, coaching their allocated team for the duration of the Winter Box League, and setting the standard for commitment, professionalism and integrity expected by their team. Team Coaches are expected to be available on each game day.

Team Managers will support the Team Coaches, be the primary contact with the league management team, be the primary contact point with their squad, ensure the Winter Box League and their team are promoted in a professional manner via social media, and be responsible for team equipment, such as playing jerseys. Although preferable, the Team Manager does not need to attend each game day.

This year, the Winter Box League has the ambition to appoint a paid coaching mentor(s), who would be available to any of the Team Coaches in an advisory capacity. This is to encourage applications from coaches experienced in other formats of lacrosse, such as field or sixes, who want to learn the box game.

The league game days are:

•  Sunday 10 December 2023

•  Sunday 17 December 2023

•  Sunday 7 January 2024

•  Sunday 14 January 2024

All games will be run out of the Oxford Academy 3G Dome, OX4 6JZ. 

Each Team Coach and Team Manager will receive a £40 match fee, per game day attended, and may claim up to £25 in travel at 40p per mile.

To apply, email admin@southernboxlacrosse.org with the following information:

1. Full name.

2. Contact email and telephone number.

3. England Lacrosse membership number.

4. Position applying for; Team Coach or Team Manager.

5. Any previous affiliation or preference for a Winter Box League team, including if you have a preference to work with a men’s or women’s team.

Applications close at midnight on Sunday 17 September 2023.

The SBL league management team will review applications and contact applicants within five working days.

South team wins first game of 2023 North v South box lacrosse series

The South team claimed victory over their rivals from the North in the first game of the 2023 North v South box lacrosse series with a 7-6 win at Macclesfield Rugby Club, Cheshire, on Saturday.

Louis Alhage scored four, including the eventual winner within the final two minutes of the match, in a standout performance for the South team.

Iain Murray, Jamie Powell, and Albert Whitehead also got their names on the scoresheet as the South team started the 2023 series the way they finished the 2022 edition, with a win.

The North team were unfortunate, however, having never been behind in the game until the South’s seventh goal and the ever dependable Matt Marsh and Luke Mills-Doig, who both scored a brace, ensured their team pushed the South all the way.

And, the North even had chances to draw level late on with Elliot Leonard being denied by Eliot Pugh’s shoulder before Will Allsop shot just wide.

But it was the South’s day and they take a 1-0 lead into the second game of the series at the same venue on 26 August.

A development game was also played prior to the main event, showcasing some of the best up and coming box lacrosse talent in the country.

In that game, the South team also took the win running out 11-3 victors with a hat-trick for Russell Farrer and two goals for Ben King.

The games were followed by a bumper two-hour women’s box lacrosse session led by England Assistant Coach, Andy Downing, as the women’s game continues to prepare for the first ever Women’s Box Lacrosse World Championship in September next year.

Watch both games in full HERE.

North 6-7 South
(2-1, 3-3, 5-4, 6-7)

North scorers | Marsh (2), Mills-Doig (2), Edwards, Dury

South scorers | Alhage (4), Murray, Powell, Whitehead

North (Dev.) 3-11 South (Dev.)
(2-2, 3-6, 3-8, 3-11)

North (Dev.) scorers | Best, Gartside, Lewis

South (Dev.) scorers | Farrer (3), King (2), Davies, Milson, Morton-Smith, Piper, Rosberg, Russell

North squad

Jacob Brindle (GK)
1 Ollie Allsop
2 Cai Jefferies
8 Ming Trinh
9 Elliot Leonard
10 Nathan Edwards
11 Kristien Warren
12 Matt Marsh
13 Luke Mills-Doig (c)
15 George Dury
18 Sam Burgess
19 Luke Maloney
21 Elliot Bickerton
30 Will Allsop
31 Ollie Rogerson

South squad

6 George Bascom
13 Callum Counihan
17 Rob Harris
23 Jamie Powell
25 Andy Thomas
28 Jacob Nichols Cook
33 Louis Alhage
44 Travis Payne
48 Albert Whitehead
51 Tom Roche (c)
66 Kieran Garvey
89 Eliot Pugh (GK)
91 Peter Shepherd
93 Will Mallonee
97 Kyle MacQueen
98 Iain Murray
99 Valts Grinsberg

Wendy Reynolds appointed as Chair of Umpiring Advisory Group

England Lacrosse is delighted to announce that experienced official Wendy Reynolds has been appointed as the new Chair of the Umpiring Advisory Group (UAG).

Reynolds brings more than 35 years of lacrosse experience, 20 years of that as an umpire, to the role and succeeds Paul Bibby who left the role last year.

Assistant Head at Heathfield School, Ascot, Reynolds began playing lacrosse in 1987 as a goal-keeper and represented England for 14 years picking up a World Cup silver medal (1993) and bronze medal (1997) in the process.

After retiring from playing, Reynolds had a desire to remain involved in lacrosse at a high level and eventually moved into umpiring, representing England once again at every U19 and senior World Championship between 2003 and 2013 and being a part of the umpiring teams in two gold medal games.

Since 2014, Reynolds has been a member of the World Lacrosse Officiating Committee and a World Championship Lead Mentor/Assessor and in 2017, she was awarded the World Lacrosse Emeritus Award for Women’s Officiating.

Upon her appointment, Reynolds said:

“I have already chaired this committee under a different title, from around 2006–2009 and then had to take more of a back seat due to work commitments. I was still involved assessing at events but now want to get more involved again and help the next stage of officiating development.”

The UAG, working under the guidance of the Officiating Advisory Group and National Lacrosse Committee, is responsible for leading on the strategy for the future of umpiring in England.

The Group provides guidance and expertise on the application of rules for the domestic game, works with regions to promote umpiring across the country, and acts as a point of contact for any relevant umpiring issues.

Ian Ashworth appointed as Chair of Refereeing Advisory Group

England Lacrosse is delighted to announce experienced official Ian Ashworth has been appointed as the new Chair of the Refereeing Advisory Group (RAG).

After originally playing lacrosse at school before losing contact with the game, Ashworth first qualified as a Level 1 referee when his youngest son was 10 and his Boardman and Eccles team needed assistance with officials for junior games.

From there, Ashworth progressed to senior lacrosse as a club official before moving onto higher officiating qualifications and Chairing the North of England Officials’ Association.

Having been an official for almost 23 years now, Ashworth has represented England at both European and World Championships and has been an Officials’ Coach at three World Championships including at the 2023 World Lacrosse Men’s Championship in San Diego.

Ashworth continues to officiate domestic men’s lacrosse and mentor officials at a grassroots level and becomes the Chair of the RAG with immediate effect, succeeding Mark Buckley.

England Lacrosse would like to place our thanks on record to Mark whose experience and knowledge has been invaluable since his initial appointment to the Group.

The RAG, working under the guidance of the Officiating Advisory Group and National Lacrosse Committee, is responsible for leading on the strategy for the future of refereeing in England.

The Group provides guidance and expertise on the application of rules for the domestic game, works with regions to promote refereeing across the country, and acts as a point of contact for any relevant refereeing issues.

Registration open for the 2023/24 Mixed Lacrosse Leagues

Registration is now open for the England Lacrosse Mixed Lacrosse Leagues ahead the 2023/24 season with entry open to all England Lacrosse affiliated clubs and universities.

The EL Mixed Lacrosse League fixtures typically take place on Sundays from October through to March with teams split into regionally based leagues depending on the geographical spread of entries.

All teams will play each other both home and away in their regional league before the top teams move into play-offs, culminating in the Mixed Lacrosse League Championship game as part of the National Club Finals at the end of the season.

Cambridge University were the winners of the 2023 Mixed League Championship, taking the title for the second year in a row, defeating Oxford City Lacrosse Club in both finals with the Mixed Lacrosse final being added to the National Club Finals for the first time in 2022.

Teams will be responsible for sourcing and booking facilities for their home games and arranging transport for away games.

Home teams are also required to provide 2 umpires per game. Umpires should be qualified with a minimum level 1 women’s umpiring qualification.

 All players competing in the EL Mixed Leagues must be aged 16 or over and hold a valid England Lacrosse Individual Membership for the 2023/24 season.

The entry cost for this season is £95 per team and registration is open until Tuesday 29 August.

Registration opens for 2023 BUCS 6s tournament

Registration has opened for the annual BUCS 6s tournament taking place on Sunday 15 October 2023 at Nottingham Trent University.

Universities have until 11:59pm on Tuesday 19 September to register their teams with players able to join teams until 11:59pm on Tuesday 10 October.

The BUCS 6s competition has been a staple of the university lacrosse calendar for a number of years now and was held at the Coombe Dingle Sports Complex in Bristol between 2017 and 2021 when it moved to Nottingham Trent University.

In 2022, the University of Nottingham won both the men’s and women’s Championship titles while Cardiff University and Newcastle University took home the men’s and women’s Trophy titles respectively.

Traditionally an eight-a-side tournament, the format was changed in 2021 to fit in with the new sixes version of lacrosse.

Registered teams will be split into two competitions, the Championship and the Trophy, and seeded based on their position in the BUCS Lacrosse 2022-23 season.

Premiership universities’ first teams will be allocated to the Championship with any remaining spaces allocated to the next best finishing position; the remaining teams will be allocated to the Trophy along with any second or third teams.

For more details on how to register your team, click the button below.

Oxton Lacrosse Club to host Sixes Lacrosse camp

Oxton Lacrosse Club, Merseyside, are set to host a specialist Sixes Lacrosse camp this summer with two top England internationals confirmed as coaches.

Taking place on Friday 4 August 2023 at Oxton Lacrosse Club, the specialist camp will welcome players who play the women’s game from age 14 upwards to learn from two of the best in the game.

England internationals Torz Anderson (British Lacrosse, The Fly) and William Baxter (British Lacrosse, The Fly) who both have extensive Sixes Lacrosse experience will be coaching at the camp, imbibing their knowledge to the next generation of talent.

The camp is the brainchild of brand new organisation, Lacrosse Up North, who host lacrosse camps, coaching sessions, and events in the north of England; their Oxton Lacrosse Club camp will be their first venture.

The camp costs £30 per player and will take place from 1pm-5pm.

To sign up, please complete the Camp Booking Form HERE and for any enquiries, please email Lacrosse Up North on lacrosseupnorth@gmail.com.

Annual North v South box lacrosse series begins this weekend

The annual North v South box lacrosse series begins on Saturday with the first game seeing some of the best players in the country battle it out to be crowned champions.

Taking place at the specialist box lacrosse facility at Macclesfield Rugby Club, Cheshire, that recently hosted The Tasko Cup, the first game in the 2023 North v South series will also feature a development North v South game before the main event.

In the first North v South series since the inaugural event in 2021, the South team will be hoping to retain the title they won two years ago after a 2-1 series win.

And after a year’s break due to the 2022 European Box Lacrosse Championship, the 2023 series is set to be the biggest and best ever with spectators being welcome to all three games completely free of charge.

Both squads feature several international players with extensive box experience and good memories of winning gold at the Euros last summer.

It will also prove valuable high level competition for our country’s top box players as we move just over a year out from the 2024 Box World Championship.

Following Saturday’s match-up, Game 2 will take place again at Macclesfield Rugby Club on 26 August with the concluding third game being hosted at Oxford Academy on 29 October.

To learn more about box lacrosse, follow @englandboxlax, @southernboxlax, and @northernboxlax over on Instagram.

Game 1 Schedule

12:30 | North v South (development teams)
14:30 | North v South

South Squad

Goalie
Eliot PUGH
Ben STOWE
Callum COUNIHAN
Tom ROCHE (c)
Peter SHEPHERD
Valts GRINSBERG
Jacob NICHOLS-COOK
Billy RAWLINS
Albert WHITEHEAD
George BASCOM
Kyle MACQUEEN
Iain MURRAY
Sean KEANE
Cory BRUCE
Will WALKER
Jamie POWELL
Louis ALHAGE
Ben BUCHANAN
Will MALLONEE
Rob HARRIS

Coaches
Rob INGHAM CLARK
Alan KEELEY

North Squad
Jacob BRINDLE
Jack TAYLOR
Luke MILLS-DOIG
Will ALLSOP
George DURY
Ming TRINH
Sam BURGESS
Kristien WARREN
Nathan EDWARDS
Elliot LEONARD
Dave GROVES
Matt MARSH
Dan ECKERSALL
Drew BICKERTON
Cai JEFFERIES
Luke MALONEY
Ollie ALLSOP
Elliot BICKERTON

British Lacrosse open expressions of interest ahead of 2023/2024 cycle

British Lacrosse has opened its expressions of interest form to all eligible men’s and women’s players ahead of the next Sixes Lacrosse cycle in 2023/2024.

The men’s and women’s British Lacrosse programmes will be assembling training squads from which teams will be selected to travel to the Hong Kong Super Sixes Invitational (26 December 2023 - 1 January 2024) and the EuroLax Sixes Cup (dates TBC).

This comes after a hugely successful first cycle in 2021/2022 that saw a men’s and women’s team represent Britain at The World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, USA for the first time.

In that competition, both the men’s and women’s British Lacrosse teams finished fourth after tight bronze medal matches against Japan and Australia respectively.

Looking forward, the 2023/2024 competition cycle gives British Lacrosse a clear short-term focus as they restart their sixes programme and begin their preparation for the 2025 World Games in Cheng Du, China.

Due to the differences in training schedule, the deadline for expressions of interest for the women’s programme in 1 August 2023 while the deadline for the men’s is 4 August 2023.

To read more and to complete the expression of interest form, click below.

London Knights win 2023 Tasko Cup

London Knights took home their fourth consecutive Tasko Cup title on Sunday after they beat Disley Dynamos 7-2 in the final of the first edition of the tournament to take place since 2019.

Taking place over two days at UK Lacrosse’s brand new box lacrosse facility at Macclesfield Rugby Club, Cheshire, the 2023 Tasko Cup saw five men’s teams compete against each other, first in a round robin-style group stage before two semi-finals and a final.

And for the first time, women’s teams were invited to play two exhibition matches that saw SBL Ravens take on a UK Lacrosse team with UK Lacrosse coming out on top on both occasions.

The Tasko Cup was founded in 2014 by Jamie Tasko and Peter Dunits 13 years after the pair of ex-pats from Canada founded England Box Lacrosse with the help of their friend Joe Darkins.

Growing the box lacrosse game in England at that time proved difficult and in 2007, Tasko and Dunits set about starting an initiative to grow the game; this eventually led to the founding of The Tasko Cup.

Speaking a number of years ago, Tasko said:

“The initiative that Peter Dunits and I took back in 2007 started a top-down approach to building the sport. The grassroots work that Alan Keeley has done on organising The Tasko Cup is just as important and may have a longer lasting impact on the sport.”

In previous years, The Tasko Cup has struggled for a permanent and suitable venue but the 2023 edition saw it held at the purpose built box lacrosse facility at Macclesfield Rugby Club that has also held several other lacrosse events since its opening last year.

And it was the biggest event to date with 120 players in seven teams playing 16 games taking part over the two-day competition.

To watch every minute of the 2023 Tasko Cup, click HERE.

To get involved in box lacrosse, check out Northern Box Lacrosse HERE or Southern Box Lacrosse HERE.

2023 Tasko Cup Results

Round Robin

Heaton Hornets 2-12 Disley Dynamos
Scotland Grizzlies 1-11 London Knights
Heaton Hornets 6-4 SBL Capitals
Disley Dynamos 4-4 London Knights (Knights win on penalties)
Scotland Grizzlies 1-9 SBL Capitals
Heaton Hornets 1-12 London Knights
Disley Dynamos 9-1 Scotland Grizzlies
London Knights 11-2 SBL Capitals
Heaton Hornets 7-7 Scotland Grizzlies (Hornets win on penalties)
Disley Dynamos 7-1 SBL Capitals
SBL Capitals 2-4 Scotland Grizzlies

Semi-Finals

Heaton Hornets 3-8 Disley Dynamos
London Knights 7-2 Scotland Grizzlies

Final

London Knights 7-2 Disley Dynamos

Tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP)

Matt Marsh (London Knights)

Women’s Matches

SBL Ravens 4-5 UK Lacrosse
UK Lacrosse 8-2 SBL Ravens

Tasko Cup Winners

2014 | LCC Radotin
2015 | London Knights
2016 | London Knights
2017 | Heaton Hornets
2018 | London Knights
2019 | London Knights
2020 | No competition held
2021 | No competition held
2022 | No competition held
2023 | London Knights

English officials shine on international stage

Michael Leahy (far left) and James Hawksworth (second from left) ahead of officiating the bronze medal game at the Men’s World Championship

English officials have shown their skills on the world stage this summer with a host of officiating appointments across the Men’s World Championship and Women’s U21 Euros.

There were 19 appointments made across the two tournaments representing a hugely successful championships for our officials and assessors including multiple medal match selections.

A bumper group of on-field officials represented at the Men’s World Championship in San Diego in June; Mark Buckley, Peter Davidson, Thomas Hamey, James Hawksworth, Michael Leahy, Dean Mohareb, Andy Higginbottom, and Emma Jones were all selected as referees for the tournament along with Chi Fung (Dennis) Cheng and Chi Shing (Edwin) Leung who are based in England but represented Hong Kong, China.

In further off-field roles, Phil Pearson took up a role in the Leadership Team as Deputy Referee-in-Chief and Graham Blyth as Officials Administrator while Ian Ashworth and Gregg Irwin were part of the Referee Coaching team during the tournament.

For the bronze medal game between Australia and Haudenosaunee, James Hawksworth was appointed Head Referee with Michael Leahy as Chief Bench Official - Leahy also officiated on the opening game of the championship between USA and Canada.

Emma Jones was also a part of the first all-female on-field officiating crew on the Last 16 game between Haudenosaunee and Hong Kong, the first ever at a Men’s World event.

Following the Men’s Worlds, Annabel Campbell, Helen Mavin, and Brucie Morris were all selected to officiate at the Women’s U21 European Championship in Prague.

Helen and Annabel were both part of the officiating crew for the bronze medal match between Sweden and Wales, with Annabel also receiving the officials Heart of Lacrosse award for her steadfast, calm support of the umpiring team.

Paul Bibby and Wendy Reynolds were also part of the leadership group in Prague as Deputy Umpire-in-Chief and World Lacrosse Observer respectively.

England Lacrosse would like to congratulate all our officials and assessors who represented with distinction on the international stage this summer.

English officials and assessors at the Women’s U21 Euros

Helen Mavin and Annabel Campbell at the Women’s U21 Euros

Annabel Campbell receiving the Heart of Lacrosse award at the Women’s U21 Euros

Emma Jones (left) on the first all-female officiating crew at the Men’s World Championship

Michael Leahy (far left) and James Hawksworth (second from left) before officiating the Men’s World Championship bronze medal match

England's Emma Pearce to offer midfield workshop at St Swithun's Triple Arrow Camp this summer

England under-21 midfielder, Emma Pearce, will be delivering a dedicated midfield masterclass at St Swithun’s School this August, as part of our summer 2023 Triple Arrow Camp series.

The Winchester-based camp will take place from 7th to 10th August, and will see Emma return to her old school grounds to share a wealth of tips with the next generation of midfield talent.

Following recent success at the ELF Women’s U21 Championship in Prague last week, Emma will be sharing a wealth of tips on ‘the ride’, advice on transitioning into positions of attack and being a threat to goal. The workshop will also cover transitioning as a midfielder into settled attack.

She is keen to emphasize "as important as it is to be athletic and fast on the pitch, lacrosse IQ is something that you also have to have, if you want to play at a high, competitive level”

Emma looks forward to drawing on her experience playing at an international level in the U21s European Championship and at the University of Nottingham, alongside fellow England player, Sienna Parekh.

She adds “following the recent success at the European Championships, I have learnt many invaluable lessons which I'm keen to share with up and coming players, especially those looking to improve as a strong two-way midfielder”

Girls age 10 to 16 are able to attend as a day camper or in a residential capacity, for four days of focussed training. Available places are booking up quickly, so we advise booking soon to avoid any disappointment!

To register for a space on the St Swithun’s School camp- or any of our other Triple Arrow Camps this summertime- please click the button below.

England win U21 European Championship after win over Czechia

England ensured back to back ELF Women’s U21 Lacrosse Championship titles after defeating Czechia 9-4 in an enthralling 2023 final in Prague on Sunday.

After a tense start from both sides, Charlie Bell opened the scoring after 11 and a half minutes but with just 30 seconds left in the first quarter, Czechia were level after Eliška Hanzlová scored her fourth of the tournament.

England came out in the second and were very assured in their possession but were unable to turn their control of the ball into goals until Grace Davison found herself high up the pitch and fired home from close range to ensure every single England out-field player scored at the tournament.

Czechia were resolute in their game plan, remaining in the game, and they found themselves level once again when Ellen Pantazopoulou scored direct from a free position.

But, in what was a turning point in the game, captain Millie Cant put England back in front with the last play of the half.

England returned to the field after half-time with renewed confidence and quickly punished Czechia with Sofia Wise keeping up her record of scoring in every game at the tournament before Molly Light capped a brilliant performance in midfield with a goal as well.

Czechia remained within touching distance as Barbora Koděrová hit her team’s third of the day from a free position but England upped the pressure and pulled further ahead through Wise, Annie Mather, Rachael Ball, and Carys Johnson as the game entered the final 15 minutes.

With 10 minutes left on the clock, Pantazopoulou scored Czechia’s fourth but it proved to be too little, too late as England were able to see the game out and win the Championship title 9-5.

Watch the game in full HERE.

England points scorers | Wise (2G, 2A), Ball (1G, 2A), Bell (1G, 1A), Cant (1G, 1A), Davison (1G), Mather (1G), Light (1G), Johnson (1G), Renders (1A)

Czechia points scorers | Pantazopoulou (2G), Hanzlová (1G), Koděrová (1G)

England top points scorers

1. Wise | 18 (16G, 2A)

2. Ball | 15 (3G, 12A)

3. Mather | 14 (9G, 5A)

4. Cant | 12 (8G, 4A)

5. Bell | 11 (5G, 6A)

6. Johnson | 11 (6G, 5A)

England Results

England 14-7 Czechia | Group A Game 1
England 12-4 Wales | Group A Game 2
England 24-1 Italy | Quarter-Final
England 17-5 Sweden | Semi-Final
England 9-4 Czechia | Final

England's Charlie Bell to deliver dodging masterclass at Withington Girl's School

U21s European Championship goal scorer, Charlie Bell, is set to deliver a specialist dodging and shooting masterclass to girls aged 10-16 at Withington Girl’s School later this summertime.

Charlie says “as an attacking player, I know everyone loves scoring goals!”

As such, she will be leading a dedicated workshop and coaching players on power shots, precision shots, and dodges to help attacking players get into those crucial shooting positions.

Charlie has been a part of the England Lacrosse National Academy set-up for four years now, and also recently won Home Internationals with the England squad.

Charlie added “I’m super excited to be able to share some of my recent experiences and tips that I have learnt whilst competing at recent tournaments, with a particular focus on dodging and finishing shots”

The two-day day event is scheduled to take place on 21st and 22nd August 2023. To book your child’s place, please click here to be redirected to our website.

England face Czechia in U21 European Championship final after semi-final win over Sweden

England will play hosts Czechia on Sunday in the 2023 ELF Women’s U21 Lacrosse Championship after a commanding 17-5 win over Sweden in the semi-finals in Prague.

Another four goal haul for Sofia Wise, a hat-trick from captain Millie Cant, and goals for Carys Johnson, Lara Renders, Molly Light, Lucy Evans, Charlie Bell, and Rachael Ball ensured England swept aside Sweden to reach a second successive European Championship final in this age group.

England started in their usual quick manner and were 3-0 up with five minutes gone on the clock with goals through Johnson, Cant, and Renders.

But Sweden, who had scored a massive 64 goals in just four games before the semi-final, were not going to go down without a fight and finished the quarter strongly, getting to within one goal of England as Ava Main and Emma McCrea scored to make the score 3-2.

Just before first quarter time, Bell eased any nerves for England as she fired home from a free-position to see her team go in at the break with their three goal lead still intact.

England came back out for the second quarter smelling blood and played a perfect 15 minutes of lacrosse with Wise, Johnson, and Evans all adding to England’s tally within four minutes of the restart.

Then a bizarre moment as England were gifted a goal as Maja Hunter attempted to pass the ball to her goalie under pressure from the England offence but instead played it into her own net.

This rocked Sweden and England saw out the half, adding another goal in the process through Wise.

A barn-storming second quarter was followed by a slightly more leisurely third from England who eased off Sweden in the opening few minutes, conceding two in quick succession as Main and McCrea gave their team some hope with the score at 9-4.

But Wise was there again when England needed her, as she has been through the entire tournament, and scored her hat-trick goal followed shortly by her fourth of the game to increase England’s lead before Cant finished off the scoring in the third quarter with her second of the day.

Sweden did not lay down, however, and Main grabbed a deserved hat-trick goal early in the fourth before England’s quality and class shone through once again as they finished the game in style, hitting five goals without reply through Cant, Light, Evans, and Bell to see out the game and book a spot in the U21 European Championship final.

England will play Czechia in the 2023 ELF Women’s U21 Lacrosse Championship at 2pm BST on Sunday.

Watch the semi-final game versus Sweden in full HERE.

Watch England’s final versus Czechia on Sunday HERE.

England points scorers | Wise (4G), Cant (3G), Bell (2G, 2A), Johnson (2G, 1A), Evans (2G), Ball (1G, 3A), Light (1G), Renders (1G), Mather (2A), Pearce (1A).

Sweden points scorers | Main (3G), McCrea (2G), Czajkowski (1A), Runske (1A).