Sport Lacrosse Founded 1892 (1892) | Jurisdiction England Chief Exec Mark Coups | |
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Affiliation Federation of International Lacrosse Headquarters Manchester, United Kingdom | ||
The English Lacrosse Association is the national governing body for lacrosse in England. The game is managed through the Men's and Women's Playing Committees, and the leagues administered by region using Committees such as the South of England Men's Lacrosse Association (SEMLA) and North of England Lacrosse Association (NEMLA), South West Ladies Lacrosse League and Southern Counties Women's Lacrosse Association (SCWLA). The English Lacrosse Association CEO is Mark Coups.
Contents
History
The governing body was formed In 1892, as the English Lacrosse Union (ELU). In 1996, under the guidance of Sport England, the ELU and All England Women's Lacrosse Association joined together to form one national governing body, the English Lacrosse Association (ELA) . The constitution of the ELA came into effect in 1997.
Membership
Players, parents, coaches, officials and volunteers can all be members of the English Lacrosse Association either through their respective clubs, schools and universities but also directly with the association as an independent member. All registered members receive comprehensive lacrosse insurance, free subscription to "Lacrosse Talk Magazine" and access to exclusive products and services.
Structure
Lacrosse in England at grassroots is fed by different recruitment streams most recently University Lacrosse has seen the biggest growth nationally however traditionally Junior Club and School programs have been the way that younger players have been introduced to the game. On a senior level lacrosse is a club sport for both the men's and women's versions of the games.
Men's Lacrosse
Men's lacrosse leagues in England are organised and governed by regional associations. NEMLA (North of England Men's Lacrosse Association) and SEMLA (South of England Men's Lacrosse Association) there are currently six leagues active in the north and six leagues active in the south. Junior Field Lacrosse is driven by club teams who introduce young players with a non-contact version of the sport called "Pop Lacrosse" which can be played both by girls and boys. Many clubs both in the north and south hire LDO's (Lacrosse Development Officers) who coach children in their respective local schools and ultimately recruit them to their club's junior program.
University Lacrosse
University lacrosse is one of the fastest growing sports in universities in the United Kingdom. All universities in the UK play in the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) leagues; there has been a 53% increase in university teams and 90% increase in participation in lacrosse at university level. Currently there are 64 men's and 75 women's lacrosse teams playing in the BUCS leagues.
INTO Lacrosse
In response to the rapid growth of lacrosse at university level English Lacrosse created INTO Lacrosse to introduce lacrosse to new university participants. This program successfully gained Sport England Active Universities bid funding in 2010, It has a modern image with social media such as Facebook and YouTube being utilised as the main means of communication with students in promoting activities.
As of November 2011, English Lacrosse’s five INTO Officers have attended 32 university fresher’s fairs and provided taster sessions to over 2000 new participants in the first 8 weeks of delivery. The INTO Officers are now providing weekly coaching support to each university and are now planning the next set of interactive challenges for the next term.
International
England participates in the Federation of International Lacrosse competitions. All aspects of the England Men and Women's National and Under-19 National team programs are overseen by the Men's and Women's playing committees, in conjunction with the respective England National Teams committees.
England Men's National Team
The England Men's team have played in every World Lacrosse Championships since 1967. The last World Championships to be held in England were the 2010 World Lacrosse Championship Manchester, England where they placed 5th. The men's team have competed in the European Lacrosse Championships since 1995 and have won the competition eight times.
England Women's National Team
The England women's national lacrosse team have played in every Women's Lacrosse World Cup since 1982, and have finished runner-up in both the 1989 & 1993 World Cups. The most recent World Cup was held in Oshawa, Canada in 2013, where they placed 4th. The 2017 Women's Lacrosse World Cup will be held in Guildford, Surrey.
U19 National Teams
Both men's and women's national teams have respective U19 teams, they both complete in the Under-19 World Lacrosse Championships. The next Men's U19 World Championships will be held in Coquitlam, Canada. Most recently the women's team competed in the 2011 FIL Women's U-19 World Lacrosse Championship where they placed 4th.
Box Lacrosse Team
Since 2007 England has competed in two World Indoor Lacrosse Championship tournaments the first in 2007 in Halifax, Canada and more recently in 2011 Prague, Czech Republic where they placed 5th. There is no formal Indoor Box Lacrosse league present in England so the team is currently made up from Field Lacrosse players and ex-pats who play the game in Canada.