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Lacrosse in England is an amateur sport played mainly by community based clubs and university teams.

Field lacrosse Field lacrosse is a full contact outdoor men's sport played with ten players on each team. The sport originated among Native Americans, and the modern rules of field lacrosse were initially codified by Canadian William George Beers in 1867. ...

was introduced to England in 1876 by

William George Beers William George Beers (May 5, 1843 – December 26, 1900) was a Canadian dentist who founded Canada's first dental journal and served as the founding dean of the Dental College of the Province of Quebec. In addition, he is referred to as the "fat ...

and other Canadians who toured the country playing exhibition matches. A second tour was arranged in 1883; by then England had 60 clubs playing regular fixtures in Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Lancashire, Middlesex and Yorkshire. The first national governing body for the men's game, the English Lacrosse Union, was formed in 1892. A Ladies' Lacrosse Association followed in 1912. The separate men's and women's organisations merged in 1996 to form the English Lacrosse Association, which was renamed

England Lacrosse England Lacrosse is the national governing body for lacrosse in England. The sport is managed through the Men's and Women's Playing Committees and the leagues administered by region: the South of England Men's Lacrosse Association (SEMLA), Nor ...

in 2019. England Lacrosse oversees both the men's and women's national teams.

Men's lacrosse

Men's club lacrosse in England is divided into parallel northern and southern leagues generally running from late September to early April. Each league also organises its own knockout competition known as 'Flags', which culminate in their respective 'Flags Finals' at the close of each season. In addition to the regular season, English clubs host a number of internationally popular tournaments, including Bath 8s, Bluesfest, and the Nick Kehoe International. Northern clubs are governed by the North of England Men's Lacrosse Association (NEMLA), which was formed in 1897 when 10 clubs began playing regular fixtures. NEMLA now comprises a Premiership and four further senior divisions. The South of England Men's Lacrosse Association (SEMLA) formed on the 15th of March 1882 and governs clubs across southern England and Wales. As of the 2019/20 season the League consists of the Premier Division, two further senior divisions (Division 1 and Division 2), and three regional feeder divisions. For the 2018/19 season SEMLA created a new Local League to run alongside the main league to boost the number of competitive fixtures while reducing the travel commitment. The winner of the play-off between northern and southern league champions goes forward to compete against other European league champions for the

Ken Galluccio Cup The Ken Galluccio Cup is the European field lacrosse championship club competition. Organised by the European Lacrosse Federation, it is contested by the champions from European lacrosse leagues. History The idea of the competition was conceived b ...

Ghent, Belgium Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

each year. English clubs are the most successful in the tournament to date with eight out of eleven titles. Stockport are the most successful club in the tournament's history with four titles, while Hampstead, Poynton, Spencer, and Wilmslow have each won one title. The main focus of men's lacrosse popularity in England is in Manchester and the North West. Greater Manchester has hosted the

World Lacrosse Championship The World Lacrosse Championship (WLC) is the international men's field lacrosse championship organized by World Lacrosse that occurs every four years. The WLC began before any international lacrosse organization had been formed. It started as ...

in 1978,

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

, and 2010. A second centre is in the South East, especially in and around London. Men's lacrosse is a common minority sport in universities, which along with club-based youth programs, provide the majority of newcomers with their first experience of the sport. In 2008, a men's

BUCS British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) is the governing body for higher education sport in the United Kingdom. BUCS was formed in June 2008 following a merger of British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) and University College Sport ...

league was introduced, providing greater support and recognition to the men's university teams. The

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

has the distinction of being the oldest university lacrosse club in the UK having formed in 1882 and have contested the Varsity Match with the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

every year since 1903, excluding during the world wars. Oxford lead the series 60-39-5.

Women's lacrosse

McCrone credits lacrosse's limited popularity with Victorian men for its adoption by many girls' public schools in the 1890s. In 1905 former students from

Wycombe Abbey , motto_translation = Go in faith , established = 1896 , type = Independent boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Headmistress , head = J. Duncan , chair_label = Chair ...

, Roedean and Prior's Field schools formed the first women's lacrosse club in England, the Southern Ladies' Lacrosse Club. The club played against sides from public schools and was captained by Audrey Beaton, an Old Roedeanian. In 1912 Beaton led the establishment of the Ladies' Lacrosse Association, which included school teams; Beaton became honorary secretary and Penelope Lawrence, Roedean headmistress, was its first president. The LLA expanded rapidly and established a national team in March 1913. A rivalry with

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

developed when some girls' schools replaced hockey with lacrosse, but lacrosse remained a more minor sport. A close relationship between the LLA and the men's English Lacrosse Union was consolidated with a merger in 1996 to form the English Lacrosse Association. Today, club

women's lacrosse Women's lacrosse (or girls' lacrosse), sometimes shortened to lax, is a sport with twelve players on the field at a time (including the goalkeeper). Originally played by indigenous peoples of the Americas, the modern women's game was introduce ...

is governed by the South East Women's Lacrosse Association (SEWLA), South West Women's Lacrosse Association (SWWLA), and North Women's Lacrosse Association (NWLA).

Youth

Lacrosse is often introduced to boys and girls with a soft stick and ball version of the game called pop lacrosse. Since 1982, the English Lacrosse Association has brought over one thousand coaches from outside the U.K. to teach young players the game.

International

England, Scotland and Wales compete as separate teams in international competitions. In the men's

2006 World Lacrosse Championship 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

England finished in 5th place and in the

Women's Lacrosse World Cup The World Lacrosse Women's World Championship (WLWWC), formerly known as the Women's Lacrosse World Cup (WLWC), the international championship of women's lacrosse, is held every four years. From its inception in 1982, it was sponsored by the gov ...

in 2005, England finished 3rd. In the men's 2007

World Indoor Lacrosse Championship The World Box Lacrosse Championship (WBLC), formerly known as the World Indoor Lacrosse Championship (WILC), is an international box lacrosse tournament sponsored by World Lacrosse that is held every four years. Since the first tournament in 2003, ...

England finished in 4th place. In the 2008, 2012 and 2016

European Lacrosse Championships The European Lacrosse Championships began in 1995, the same year as the founding of the European Lacrosse Federation (ELF), to determine the best national lacrosse team of Europe. The men's tournament was held that first year, with the women ...

England successfully defended their title in the Men's competition, and came second in the Women's competition. The 2010 World Lacrosse Championships were held in Manchester, England from 16–24 July at the Manchester University Sports Ground, The Armitage Centre. The England team finished the tournament in 5th place.

References

External links

England Lacrosse official websiteSouth of England Men's Lacrosse Association official websiteLax Forums - UK & European Lacrosse Forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lacrosse In England