On Saturday 1 August, lacrosse entered Phase 4 in its Return to Play Roadmap after proposals were approved by the Department for Culture, Media, & Sport (DCMS), meaning we can now play using modified rules for training and competitive play!
It is important to note that this is not a return to normal lacrosse activity, and there are a number of necessary modifications in place to mitigate the transmission risk of COVID-19; these modifications can be found HERE.
Official stuff aside, let’s take a look at what some teams have been getting up to over the past couple of weeks since the Phase 4 rules came into force!
SPENCER
Both the women’s and men’s teams at Spencer Lacrosse Club have started training again after over five months away!
ENGLAND SENIOR WOMEN
With just over 300 days to go until next year’s World Lacrosse Championship, the Phase 4 of Return to Play could not have come any sooner for our England senior women’s team. They enjoyed a huge training session at Surrey Sports Park as they formally began preparations to defend their bronze medal from 2017!
CAMDEN CAPYBARAS
Camden have had a couple of training sessions since we moved into Phase 4 of our Return to Play and they certainly know how to follow those Government and England Lacrosse guidelines: Face masks, temperature checks, and social distancing when not playing!
BRISTOL BOMBERS
Bristol Bombers had their first training session after lockdown over the weekend and it’s brilliant to see so many people enjoying a bit of lacrosse in the sun!
BATH
Suspiciously, we haven’t seen any pictures of Bath actually playing lacrosse since the new rules came into force. But we do have this lovely picture of some of the team enjoying a quiet pint in a local pub. After all, meeting up with our lacrosse mates is what we’ve all missed the most during lockdown (exquisite social distancing by the way!).
HARPENDEN
The players at Harpenden have been back playing lacrosse in one way, shape, or form for about four weeks now but, boy, were they excited to move into Phase 4 and actually start playing some games and training in slightly closer proximity to one another!
GUILDFORD GATORS
Well, the weather looks lovely in Guildford, doesn't it? Perfect for playing a bit of lacrosse! And the players at Guildford Gators couldn’t wait to get back on the pitch and playing with their friends again.
NUNEATON
Turns out it’s not just the south that gets nice weather! It looked pretty spectacular in the Midlands last night too as Nuneaton stepped back onto the hallowed turf once again for their first training session since we moved into Phase 4 of our Return to Play.
These are just some examples of what you’ve all been doing since the change of guidelines and we’re absolutely delighted that so many people have been able to get back out and play some lacrosse over the past couple of weeks, even if we’re not quite back to normal just yet!
The full supporting documents for Phase 4 can be found on the coronavirus section of the website.