In September 2023 The Lacrosse Foundation (TLF) approved a grant of £5,718 to Stirling Council to help develop the game within central Scotland.

TLF’s grant funded 23 pop lacrosse sets comprising 12 sticks and 12 balls, 10 pairs of pop lacrosse goals and 10 sets of balls.

Lacrosse was not particularly well known in schools, as Stirling Council pointed out:

“The fact that many pupils had limited pre-existing knowledge or experience in lacrosse meant that it was an even field to begin with and this encouraged lots of pupils to come forward and take part [in the sport].”

The grant meant that lacrosse could be delivered in clubs and schools throughout Stirling, which previously was a challenge due to old, damaged equipment or kit with pieces missing.

The project was spearheaded by PE teacher and lacrosse coach Amanda McKie, whose aim was to introduce, grow, and develop pop lacrosse in approximately 10 primary schools and reach around 1,330 children. At the same time, the intention was to develop coaches knowledge and understanding of the game and how to lead and run sessions to ensure continued development.

The children who participated were aged between 5-12 years old and came from approximately 10 primary schools within central Scotland - Balfron, Callander, Crianlarich, Deanston, Doune, Drymen, Killearn, Killin, Riverside and Strathyre.

Stirling Council provided training, coaching resources and equipment for teachers, coaches and high school pupils. The hope was that the impact of this would be the growth and development of the sport through participation, local and national competition.

What has TLF’s grant meant for Stirling?

The new equipment TLF’s grant provided was successful in stimulating interest in lacrosse with children regularly attending a weekly lacrosse club, and leading and coaching during lacrosse P.E. lessons really well. This encouraged and helped other team members with their spacing and technique and gave the children, “a real buzz.”

The club finished the term with a lacrosse team tournament in school, which the pupils loved and the children’s interest in pop lacrosse grew to the point where they were attending interschool competitions.

Teachers also loved the sport, with one of them running an after-school club for 16 children and two teams competing locally and nationally. Due to the success of these teams, and the commitment and enthusiasm of the children, Sterling Council reported that:

“…the profile of the sport has been massively raised within our community. This has created a legacy where younger children look forward to joining the team when they are old enough and the older children go to secondary school looking for development opportunities. A club now runs at the secondary school.”

Killearn went on to become Scottish pop lacrosse champions, much like Strathblane in 2023, and to play at the English Nationals on the 26th June 2024 in Birmingham.

But this was not a straightforward road as funding was needed for the children’s trip because schools in Stirling are small community establishments.

The kids rose to the challenge by organising a bake sale which raised money for their trip and to support the sport within the community. It was also good fun and exciting, especially travelling to competitions and staying overnight in hotels.

How did they fare?

Killearn’s passion for, and skill in, lacrosse resulted in them taking third place in the Plate competition!

Overall, Stirling Council reported that:

“This project has been a huge success with many pupils taking up and demonstrating their love of lacrosse.”

So what does the future hold for lacrosse in Stirling?

Stirling Council has successfully conquered the schools, and is now setting its sights on promoting lacrosse to universities and clubs too. Who knows, we may be seeing more Scottish champions roaring across the lacrosse fields south of the border!

The Lacrosse Foundation is a UK registered charity.   As such, donations made to TLF which meet defined criteria can also be eligible for Gift Aid, which can boost the value of the donation by 25%.

TLF is dedicated to supporting and growing the game of lacrosse across Great Britain, aiming to:

• promote community participation;

• assist in the provision of facilities; and

• advance the education of young people in the sport of lacrosse.

If your donation meets one (or more) of those aims, it should be eligible for Gift Aid. 
[NB. The donor needs to be a UK taxpayer, and to have paid sufficient Income Tax during the tax year].

Two main types of donations

Donations can be made as either:

• a ‘general’ contribution to TLF funds, for us to use towards grant applications which we approve as part of our ongoing activity to grow the game;

  OR

• to support ‘specific’ projects for lacrosse clubs, associations, and organisations.

Important:  For a donation to be eligible for Gift Aid, there cannot be a direct benefit to the individual making the donation; e.g. a parent contributing to their own child’s equipment or travel costs.

Examples where previous ‘specific’ donations HAVE been eligible for Gift Aid (illustrating the amount of Gift Aid generated):

• Towards the repair and maintenance of a lacrosse clubhouse/pavilion;
  [Donation received: £4,750 (plus additional Gift Aid = £1187.50).  Total = £5,937.50]   

• To a regional lacrosse association’s junior development scheme;
  [Donation received: £5,000 (plus additional Gift Aid = £1250.00).  Total = £6,250.00]    

• To reduce the traveling & preparation costs of the U20 National team to an overseas World Championship.
  [Donation received: £10,800 (plus additional Gift Aid = £2700.00).  Total = £13,500.00]    

How to make a donation

To make a donation to The Lacrosse Foundation:

• Please send a brief email to us at info@thelacrossefoundation.co.uk summarising your proposed donation:

  • for a ‘general’ donation - we will provide you with our banking details enabling you to make the payment, as well as the appropriate Gift Aid Declaration for you to complete & return;

  • for a ‘specific’ donation – in addition to a summary of your project, please include your contact phone number.  We will then contact you to discuss your proposal, which will enable us to confirm whether your requested purpose will meet Charity Commission requirements, and thereby be eligible for Gift Aid.

Thank you for your support in helping us to grow the game of lacrosse in Great Britain.  

Belhaven Hill School is a co-ed preparatory school based at Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland (about 30 miles east of Edinburgh).  In September 2023, TLF approved a grant to provide a set of 20 field lacrosse sticks, balls & goggles, plus goalkeeper equipment to introduce the sport at the school.

The Lead for Lacrosse at the school is Rosie Langton, who having previously played the game, wanted to give their boys and girls a chance to try a new sport.  It was hoped this could then provide opportunities for matches with other schools or clubs, as well as offering a lacrosse taster to other children from local primary schools in the surrounding area.

The equipment arrived at the school amidst great excitement, and no doubt some curiosity from the pupils, with a weekly Tuesday evening lacrosse session now scheduled, but having to compete with other mainstream sports (hockey, netball & cricket) offered to pupils at the school.

In March 2024 in conjunction with Lacrosse Scotland, a 'Lacrosse Taster Session' was held as part of an Open Day at the school, and this saw over 60 children, boys and girls, with a mix of lacrosse experience and from different places, all playing lacrosse. This in turn helped to boost to the number of youngsters (particularly boys) signing up for the Tuesday evening sessions - with nine of the 20 in the lacrosse group now being boys.

In May 2024, the team had their first match against the Edinburgh Thistles, which the children really enjoyed and saw a couple more boys (who were new to lacrosse) signing up to play.  Lacrosse Scotland (also funded by TLF) delivered a Lacrosse Coaching course to Belhaven and PE teachers from other local schools, and it is hoped that these teachers will go on to promote lacrosse in their own schools.  Another notable event saw Belhaven send U9, U11 and U13B teams to a ‘Lacrosse & Netball Coaching Festival’ at St George's School, Edinburgh, which helped to introduce the sport to more of the school’s pupils.

The positive start for lacrosse at the school has continued, seeing a number of school-leavers choosing lacrosse as their main sport at senior school, and one of them now playing with Lacrosse Scotland.  The challenge will be to maintain this momentum, where lacrosse (as ever) will have to compete with the other sports clubs for time and a full fixture list. 

There will hopefully be opportunity for more coaching in the neighbouring primary schools, which can supplement the initial interest raised at the first ‘Taster Day’, and provide CPD to the local PE teachers, with TLF potentially providing those schools with some beginner equipment.  Playing matches between schools has proven elsewhere to generate fun and interest for the youngsters, so it would be great if this can happen here.

Rosie Langton (Lacrosse Lead at Belhaven) told TLF:
“The grant has been transformational in terms of the opportunities we have been able to offer the children at Belhaven and beyond.  My immediate aim is to maintain our regular lacrosse numbers at 20, with a good mix of boys and girls, and maybe organise some matches in the summer term.  We hope to offer another lacrosse taster session to include the local schools, and are considering introducing lacrosse to our own younger pupils (ages 5-8 yrs) and throughout the rest of the school (ages 8-13yrs) via our PE programme.”

Border City Lacrosse Club was founded near Carlisle in April 2019 , and in 2020 the club applied to The Lacrosse Foundation for a grant to help to establish & launch the club.

Since then, the club based in Brampton (9 miles E of the centre of Carlisle) has done an amazing job of spreading the sport in the north of the county. TLF has funded field sticks for three secondary schools – Ullswater, Queen Elizabeth and William Howard (in Penrith & Brampton) all of whom are self-delivering the curriculum. In addition, a number of local primary schools have now adopted lacrosse to feed young players into the club, which also provides progression from primary into secondary education. 

In 2023, TLF approved further funding to support the expansion of lacrosse in the southern part of Cumbria, supported by the Border City club, and two passionate lacrosse enthusiasts – Jo Racle, and lacrosse coach Vics Law. Together, they have been working to promote the sport in schools, utilising a four-step model for primary schools in Cumbria to achieve this:

1. Deliver subsidised taster sessions in schools, which would build towards an end of year festival.

2. Promote sustainability by offering a teachers CPD event.

3. Offer a template at the CPD event to enable the schools to more easily submit a small grant application to TLF for the school’s own pop equipment to enable them to self-deliver lacrosse.

4. Provide coaching to any schools who elect to pay for sessions rather than self deliver.

From Autumn 2023, Jo and Vics introduced the sport into a number of south Cumbria schools with over 600 children being given a taste of pop lacrosse.  The focus was on Kendal, which culminated in April 2024 with a lacrosse festival organized for the primary and secondary schools in the area. Despite it being a wet and windy day, over 100 children enjoyed the festival, which attracted 18 teams from 12 schools.

Staff from 19 primary schools in Cumbria have now attended CPD (Continual Professional Development), eleven of which have submitted grant applications to TLF to have their own equipment - typical grants of £800 provide a set of 36 sticks, 36 balls, and 4 x 3ft x 3ft pop lacrosse goals. 

The ultimate aim for Dan Clements at Border City is to create and establish a satellite club based in Kendal, providing a more accessible club setting for those young people from the surrounding area – as well as a second club in the county.  The commitment of this group to support the development of lacrosse is recognised., and the challenge of maintaining this initial momentum in a location ‘remote’ from the traditional lacrosse heartland will be vital.