A Post-Lockdown Return to Lacrosse for the University of Nottingham

Jasmine Waite

Here at the University of Nottingham, many of our resident BUCS players (in addition to a promising intake of new students!) returned to campus for pre-season training with their prospective teams this September. Once again, competition for a position within one of our high-performance BUCS squads reached an all-time high, resulting in four incredibly skilled BUCS sides ready for the 2020/2021 season. Interest in playing for our non-league fifth team also exceeded the number of places available, leading to a surplus of players and a highly subscribed Beginners and Engage (development team) programme.

By October, the club resumed its high-profile presence on campus, via both our virtual Welcome Fair and also the in-person Sports Fair, which functioned as a weekend-long event at the David Ross Sports Village, from 3rd to 4th October. Despite a sunny pre-season, the recruitment process has remained a relatively rainy affair, although interest has nevertheless continued to gain momentum! The start of the semester also involved the return of our Introductory Taster Sessions, which all operated at maximum capacity, in line with government restrictions!

Where in-person training is unable to take place on the pitch- due to either updates concerning COVID-19 guidelines or local lockdowns- we have also developed the provisions to orchestrate digitalized weekly sessions via Microsoft Teams for our Engage Team. This inclusive, innovative, and interactive hour involves an introduction to the rules and regulations of the game, the chance to meet and chat with other players, and take part in various virtual training exercises, fun and games! You can find out more about our development programme at https://www.facebook.com/uonengagelacrosse/

We’re a few (‘Zoom’) committee meetings into the term now and remain as positive as ever about the year ahead! Our AGM results at the end of last season brought the appointment of new Presidents for both our Ladies and Mens team, so everybody is very much looking forward to seeing where they will take the club, as we enter a new decade! We’re also hoping to introduce more freshers and non-BUCS players to our Mixed Lacrosse team this year, in addition to our IMS league Ladies Netball Team. The usual socials and a tour may not happen, but we still aim to provide the best social experience for all of our players!