In January 2022 TLF approved a grant of £5000 to help fund equipment for the newly formed Phoenix Lacrosse Club in Newbury, following the decision by the local St Barts school to cease competitive lacrosse at the school .

Earlier this month, Phoenix LC were successful in winning their first tournament silverware at the South West Schools Tournament held at St Swithuns’ School - including a dramatic last minute golden goal in the Final.

In its first half season, the club now has 53 permanent members. It is continuing to grow, and has set itself a target to ending the season with 100 members.

For more details of the tournament win see the report from their local newspaper

Two weeks ago (13th September 2022) marked the four-year Anniversary since the launch of The Lacrosse Foundation (GB) in 2018.
In those 4 years, we have approved 60 grant applications totalling just over £218,000 of which:

17 to Schools   

21 to Clubs

12 to Universities

2   to FE Colleges [plus 31 Colleges via EL LACS initiative]

3   to Companies organising Games [&/or Coaching]  

5   to Regions or NGBs  [EL & LacrosseScotland]

If you think TLF may be able to help your lacrosse project, take a look at our website to understand:

Our Mission and Objectives   https://www.thelacrossefoundation.co.uk/about-us

Our Grants Criteria https://www.thelacrossefoundation.co.uk/criteria

In July 2021, TLF approved a grant to Lacrosse Scotland of up to £11,000, to help expand the game north of the border.  Following some personnel changes, Rosie Hazell took up the leadership of the programme at the end of the year - to begin the delivery at the beginning of 2022.

In addition to the TLF funding, Lacrosse Scotland received a grant from World Lacrosse, which they used to purchase 6 sets of 30 sticks plus balls, bibs & cones for use in taster/beginner-sessions.  TLF then covered the expenses for the coaches to travel and visit schools & clubs.     

Pupils from Glasgow High School

During the first three months (to April 2022), coaching/engagement visits were made to:

• Four schools where lacrosse is already played [Glenalmond (Perth); St Leonards (St Andrews); Loretto & St Georges (Edinburgh)] to give them support, & ensure they knew how to get help to develop their level of lacrosse;

• Six schools who were new to lacrosse

  • Five High Schools at Edinburgh [Trinity & Boroughmuir]; Glasgow [High School of & Hutcheson’s GS];  & Perth [Strathallan]; &

  • One Primary school [Cargilfield (Edinburgh)].

These visits engaged over 650 pupils across the 10 schools – with over 60% of these being new to lacrosse.

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Since May 2022, a further six schools (3 Primary & 3 Secondary) have been visited by student volunteers from Glasgow, Stirling & Dundee Universities with another 1000 pupils engaged in both school-time and after school clubs.

In May 2022 a Rosebowl Tournament was held in Edinburgh with five schools (2 ‘new’ schools/3 ‘existing’ schools) taking part, and then in June a ‘Summer Series of Sixes’ took place, with a mixture of existing players (schools and clubs), beginners, and even a few ex-players who were looking to get back into lacrosse.

The contributions made by the student volunteers, the involvement of members of the senior National squad, plus the co-ordination & management of the programme have all been key to achieving this initial success. 

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From September 2022, after-school clubs are due to continue in all the schools who were introduced to the game before the summer, and a new junior mixed club is being started in Edinburgh in October with training sessions at the weekends.

TLF have agreed to fund a dedicated coach who, starting in September 2022, will visit the schools throughout the 2022/23 academic year, will continue to support the student volunteers to ensure the momentum can be maintained, and will run CPD sessions for school teachers at the schools taking up the sport.

“I have really enjoyed getting involved in the Lacrosse Scotland development programme. Through volunteering in different schools I have really seen the impact that developing both coaches and players can have on the growth of the sport. I can’t wait to get further involved throughout the next academic year” (Zoe Dickson)

In June 2021, TLF approved a grant to the Harris Academy at Wimbledon in SW London for equipment (sticks, balls & goals) to enable the school to introduce lacrosse to its students (aged 11-18).

Based on their positive response, we held discussions with the Harris Federation (which now has over 50 schools in London & the South East), to explore opportunities to introduce the game more widely, and agreed with them a standardised application process & equipment pack [45 sticks, 48 balls, 4 goals] to enable other establishments in the group to apply to us.
 
In the first few months of 2022, we have approved grants for seven other Harris schools based in: Bermondsey; Clapham; Croydon; Crystal Palace; Garrard (Kent); Merton; and Sutton.

We have also funded a CPD (Continuing Professional Development) session for the staff from these seven schools, scheduled for October 2022, to help them continue to support the pupils to learn the basics of the game. We are hopeful that in due course, inter-school matches within the Harris group will be introduced to help raise the profile of the game