The Game to Play
As Canada's National summer sport and the fastest growing sport in the US, Lacrosse has been dubbed the game to play.
Recognised as the ‘fastest game on two feet’, lacrosse requires and rewards co-ordination, intelligence and agility making it an exceptionally exciting and fun sport to both play and watch.
As a team sport, player numbers range from ten to twelve per team with the object to score goals using a netted stick (the crosse) to pass, scoop, catch and shoot a hard rubber ball into the net. The net measuring 6ft by 6ft (1.8m x 1.8m) is guarded by a goalkeeper who wears protective equipment and has a modified stick.
Lacrosse or ‘Lax’, as it is affectionately known as, is not exactly new to the land of the long white cloud. The first ever game played in New Zealand was a men’s game on June 17,1899 on Stitchbury’s Paddock in Auckland, and this was made up mainly of ex-patriot players and a few keen locals. The game tied in a four-all draw. Unfortunately, the First World War put paid to any further development of the sport and without any firm structure or support in place the game disappeared.
Just over a century later, the sport was re-founded and in October 2000 lacrosse was again played in New Zealand. Since then the sport has flourished and now boasts just over 650 players nationwide, as well as a senior men’s and women’s national team and an U19 women’s national team. The main hub of New Zealand lacrosse is in Auckland and its environs, however, clubs are rapidly growing in Christchurch and Wellington.
The New Zealand Women’s Lacrosse Team, or the ‘Blax’, played their first international tournament in Melbourne at the Down Under Cup in 2003. They competed in their first World Cup in 2005 and from there they have never looked back. They are currently in preparation for the next World Cup which is to be held in Prague, Czech Republic in June 2009. In a selected squad of twenty-six, only a maximum of eighteen will be chosen to compete as part of the World Cup team.
To say that the Australian Women’s team are the current World Champions will hardly surprise many, and that is why the Blax are so fortunate to have one of the most experienced Australian coaches, Paul Mollison, as their Head Coach. Paul is Director of High Performance for Lacrosse Australia and has coached several Australian sides including the Women’s U19 team who came second at their last world Cup (2007). With over thirty years’ game experience, he has coached his teams to win nineteen club premierships and his national teams to win twelve National championships. The Blax have stolen yet another Aussie to help them in their bid, Russell Mathanda, who is a highly regarded strength and conditioning coach. It has been suggested that he takes great pleasure in setting gruelling fitness programmes for the ladies, but of course these are designed to enable them to be at peak fitness levels for their World Cup.
In the next twelve months the Blax will compete in at least three international tournaments as a build-up to the World Cup. The first from November 1-4 2008, will be the inaugural Kiwi Cup which is to be held at the Crown Relocations Stadium in Albany, Auckland. This will not only allow the team to compete with strong international teams on home soil, but is an excellent opportunity to have some top players showcasing the sport. With the proposed build-up, the Blax have a realistic chance of improving their current tenth place world ranking into the top eight, and push lacrosse as a high performance sport in New Zealand.
The dream of representing New Zealand comes at a cost with hours of travelling and training each month and each player expecting to pay up to $9,000 for the World Cup. The team is currently looking for sponsors to help offset these costs, and would like to thank Octa Associates for the contribution to their playing uniforms.
The lacrosse club season starts in November and runs until March with a break over Christmas and New Year. There is currently a schools league in Auckland, which is played over the winter school sport season (May to August), and programmes in the pipeline for youth development in other parts of the country. Clubs can provide newcomers with sticks, so all you need is running gear and a mouth guard. With the sport increasing in popularity every year, there are always new players at the beginning of each season, making it easy for those who have never played before to join in. There is a great social atmosphere in the sport with most clubs having guys and girl’s teams with combined social events.
For more info on lacrosse in your area, please go to www.nzlacrosse.com, or contact Sally Rutherford, s.rutherford@auckland.ac.nz or 027 350 2967.
Story by Grainne Scott