GIN & JUICE
&
DRAGONS
TAKE 2005 LONDON TROPHIES!
August 2005

The second E-Lacrosse London Tournament took place on 29-31 July 2005. This year's tournament was double the size of the inaugural 2004 tournament featuring 8 men's teams and 6 women's teams.




Men's tournament Teams:

UKLacrosse
Purley
Gin & Juice
Wales
Hampstead
Western Hornets
Itchy Shoes
Hillcroft - Team London

Women's tournament Teams:

Hero's - Baltimore
Dragons
UKLacrosse Sharks
Clapham
Putney
West London

The standard was high with internationals on show from England, Scotland, Wales and Germany. It also attracted a large number of players from the US playing for both UKLacrosse and Hero's.





MEN'S TOURNAMENT

At the end of the first day it was anyone's tournament. UKLacrosse, Purley, Hampstead, Gin & Juice and Hillcroft - Team London all had a good chance of winning. However things had changed by the end of day two with Purley and Gin & Juice now favourites to contest the final. They beat Wales and Itchy Shoes respectively on Sunday morning to guarantee their place in the final.




The points structure for the tournament (10 for a win, 5 for a draw and 1 for each goal) encouraged teams to score plenty of goals. This kept things entertaining and led to plenty of quick ball movement and some fantastic goals. The men's final however was a much tighter affair. Purley, winners of the Berlin Open in 1999, had already beaten Gin & Juice, the Amsterdam 2004 Champs, earlier in the tournament. However, Gin & Juice had scored more goals so qualified for the final in first place. It promised to be an entertaining game. Purley dominated possession but didn't create as many clear cut chances as they had throughout the tournament.




Gin and Juice were creating good chances off less time with the ball. Half time arrived and the score was 1-1. Gin & Juice then took the lead through a well taken fast break goal but Purley responded with Matt Luyster (who plays for Army and was voted Patriot League Defenceman of the year) running the length of the field to score from just inside the G&J restrainer. G&J were man down for large periods of the second half but Purley were unable to capitalise on the opportunities they created. With 30 seconds to go G&J had the ball on the half way line. Hendrick du Bois Reymond split dodged down the right hand side but rather than shoot fed Jason Perrin on back pipe who scored from a tight angle with only 6 seconds on the clock. It was a dramatic end to three days of excellent lacrosse and the spectators certainly got value for money (3 quid for 3 days).




Final Men's Placings:

Gin & Juice
Purley
Hampstead
UKLacrosse
Hillcroft - Team London
Wales
Itchy Shoes
Western Hornets

WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT

In the women's tournament UKLacrosse Sharks upset women's favourite Hero's 5-1 in the first game of the tournament. The heavy defeat shocked the Americans and warned the other teams of the UKLacrosse Sharks' potential. By the half way point it looked like the final would be contested by Dragons (a select team ladies who played for Wales in the recent World Cup) and either UKLacrosse Sharks or Hero's from Baltimore. This wouldn't be decided until Hero's played Dragons in the final game on day two. The first half saw Hero's storm to a 4-0 lead while the game finished in a 4-4 draw. The tie took Hero's to the championship game as they'd scored more than UKLacrosse Sharks throughout the tournament.




The valiant and exciting second half comeback by the Welsh stars built enough momentum to carry them right through the final that seem far less a rematch than the continuation of the Dragon's amazing comeback and eventual blowout.. The final was a one sided game with the Dragons always on top. They played some excellent lacrosse and their goalie also had a great game as they triumphed. After seven straight Dragon's goals, eleven if you count the previous game, Hero's mustered a pride tally with little time left. Dragons 7, Hero's 1. The Welch women are on a roll, after a great showing at the World Cup, a European Championship and a dominant performance in London!

Final Women's Placings:

Dragons
Hero's
UKLacrosse Sharks
Putney
West London
Clapham

THE AWARDS

On the Women's side Rosalind Lloyd, a Dragon and Welsh Player at the recent World Cup thrilled us all with remarkable speed and a fabulously quick stick. She embodied teamwork and led her team to a resounding championship earning her the London 2005 MVP Toli stick. The Men's MVP award for the 2005 London tournament may seem fixed to those who did not attend as it went to the tournament organizer and co-founder Paul Terry. Terry led his 100 year-old Purley club to the final game and held the mighty Gin & Juice to only three goals in the Championship game. The Championship winning goal was scored in spectacular fashion by E-Lacrosse friend and G&J founder Jason Perrin, who within a half-hour of the victory, selected, along with a Purley captain, the "Purple Wall" for the award. Terry is a Team England goalkeeper, a star player in the UK and a key person in the Southern England organization, as well as the primary reason for the London Tournament's success. With such success, he would be easy to resent if he weren't such a nice guy. In fact, he wrote most of this report and ommitted the MVP section. But we couldn't let that go. Great job Paul! THE VENUE

Battersea Park is one of London's liveliest parks and one of the oldest public parks in the world. The area encompassed by the park has over a thousand years of history. Which includes Julius Caesar, Colonel Blood, The Duke of Wellington and Lord Winchilsea. In 1846 an act was passed making Battersea a Royal Park. The park is bordered on one side by the Thames and there are excellent views across the river towards Chelsea. The park is also home to the 100 ft high Peace Pagoda, which was built beside the Thames by Buddhist monks and nuns in 1985 commemorating Hiroshima Day. The pagoda is one of more than 70 built throughout the world. Henry Moore's carving of 'Three Standing Figures' can be seen near the lacrosse fields.




In June 2004 the park was reopened following a £14 million renovation. This included work on the lake, promenade, pier and re-landscaping many of the gardens. The park can be enjoyed by hiring boats, bikes and pedalos and there is also a children's zoo!

SECURITY

Once again the American press has it all wrong. Brits are NOT afraid to ride the trains and they are NOT staying home from work. We heard little mention of the terrorist attacks a week earlier and it had no effect whatsoever on the tournament, the parties, the transportation or anything. British Steel is what the UK calls it and the U.S. press wouldn't know courage and determination if they were surrounded by it, and they are.

TOURNAMENT PARTIES

There was a good balance of socialising and playing at the tournament!! The Friday party was at Henry J Beans on the King's Road in Chelsea and the Saturday night party was at the Settle Inn in Battersea (only 5 minutes walk from the fields!) There were discounts on food and drinks at both venues for players and spectators and it didn't take long for things to get lively!




The Hero's quickly got a taste for Pimm's and UKLacrosse Sharks arrived on Friday night in Hawaiian dress! Great job girls! By the end of the evening half the bar had flowers round their necks and all the teams were enjoying the opportunity to share a drink.

On the Saturday night, a party more outrageous than any this editor has seen in 25 years of lacrosse, the Itchy Shoes particularly enjoyed themselves - especially when they beat the Western Hornets in a boat race. That's all we can say, you'll have to ask around to find out more.

One of the best decisions we've made as organisers is to have both a men's and women's tournament. This has helped improve the awareness of the skills required to excel at the different games, but has also meant that each evening there's a party waiting to happen.




SOUTH LACROSSE

Lacrosse in the south is exploding. New teams are forming all the time with 16 new teams joining SEMLA for the 2005/06 season. The majority of these new teams are from Universities and the Western Hornets team in the London tournament featured some of the best University players in the South. They are keen to learn the game and their skills and game sense are improving. The experience of playing in the tournament at a higher standard can only help them improve.




Both London tournaments have generated media interest. The inaugural tournament featured on Sky Sports TV and this year's tournament was covered by Time Out and BBC radio. It was also featured in two national newspapers (The Times and the Telegraph). This press coverage led to a School Sports Liaison Officer coming along who is now keen to introduce Lacrosse to his 12 Primary schools, then feed it into the Secondary schools he works with.




THANK YOU!

A big thanks to the sponsors of this year's tournament:

UKLacrosse
TSI
Purley Lacrosse Club
Reading Lacrosse Club
Sweet Chariot
& Zenith Sports

Thanks also to all the referees and umpires. The men in black travelled from far and wide to be involved. We had referees from Australia, Canada, Germany and the UK involved and the women's officials did a fantastic job at short notice.

ORGANISERS

The tournament was organised by the South of England Men's Lacrosse Association. SEMLA is part of the English Lacrosse Association and is responsible for running the three men's leagues and for junior development within the area. SEMLA was assisted by the SCWLA (Southern Counties Women's Lacrosse Association) to help organise the 2005 women's tournament. More information on both associations is available from: www.southlacrosse.org.uk

The dust has now settled, the bruises have healed and the planning for next year is already underway. London 05 was bigger, better, faster and more closely contended than 04. This is the start of something special and we'd love to welcome your team here next year.

All the results:

London Tournament (Battersea Park) - Men, final: Gin & Juice 3 Purley 2; 3rd place play-off: UK Lacrosse 2 Hampstead 4; 5th place-off: Wales 5 Hillcroft 6; 7th place play-off: Sheffield 7 Western Hornets 2.

Group matches: Gin & Juice 12 Sheffield 1; UK Lacrosse 3 Hampstead 0, Purley 9 Wales 2, Western Hornets 0 Hillcroft 11, Wales 4 Hillcroft 4, UK Lacrosse 2 Purley 4, UK Lacrosse 5 Hillcroft 0, Wales 12 Western Hornets 1, Purley 7 Hampstead 5, UK Lacrosse 1 Gin & Juice 7, Hillcroft 8 Sheffield 2, Hampstead 9 Sheffield 1, Gin & Juice 17 Western Hornets 1, Purley 5 Gin & Juice 3, Hampstead 6 Wales 2, Hillcroft 3 Gin & Juice 5, Gin & Juice 4 Hampstead 3, Wales 3 Gin & Juice 6, Hillcroft 4 Hampstead 5, Purley 4 Hillcroft 6, Hampstead 17 Western Hornets 0, UK Lacrosse 6 Sheffield 1, UK Lacrosse 7 Wales 5, UK Lacrosse 13 Western Horners 0, Purley 9 Sheffield 2, Purley 12 Western Hornets 0, Wales 9 Sheffield 3, Sheffield 9 Western Hornets 0.

Women, final: Wales Dragons 7 Baltimore Heroes 1; 3rd place play-off: UK Lacrosse 5 Putney 4; 5th place play-off: West London 10 Clapham 3.

Group matches: Clapham 3 Putney 12, Putney 5 West London 4, Wales Dragons 9 West London 2, UK Lacrosse 7 West London 2, Clapham 0 Wales Dragons 13, Baltimore Heroes 8 West London 1, UK Lacrosse 4 Putney 2, Clapham 3 West London 5, Wales Dragons 5 Putney 1, Baltimore Heroes 11 Putney 3, UK Lacrosse 11 Putney 3, UK Lacrosse 2 Wales Dragons 9, Baltimore Heroes 4 Wales Dragons 4, UK Lacrosse 8 Clapham 1, Baltimore Heroes 9 Clapham 0, UK Lacrosse 5 Baltimore Heroes 1.



ACTION VIDEOS

Hero's 1

Hero's 2

Putney 1

Putney 2

Hero's 3

Hero's 4

Dragons 1

Hero's 5

UK Lacrosse Women 1

Dragons 2

Dragons 3

Hero's 6

Purley 1

Dragons 4

UK Lacrosse 1

Wales 1

Purley 1

Wales 2

Purley 2

Wales 3

Purley 3

Purley 4

Hero's 7

Dragons 5

Dragons 6

Dragons 7

West London 1

West London 2

Hero's 8

Dragons 8

Dragons 9

UK Lacrosse Women 2

Putney 3

Putney 4

West London 3

Gin & Juice 1

Itchy Shoes 1

Western Hornets 1

Gin & Juice 2

Hillcroft 1

Hampstead 1

Gin & Juice 3

Itchy Shoes 2

Hillcroft 2

Gin & Juice 4

Dragons 10

Dragons 11

Purley 5

Purley 6

West London 4

Wales 4

Dragons 12

Purley 7

Dragons 13

Dragons 14

UK Lacrosse 2

UK Lacrosse 3

Clapham 1

Western Hornets 2

Clapham 2

Putney 5

UK Lacrosse Women 3

West London 5

West London 6

Putney 6

Putney 7

West London 7

UK Lacrosse Women 4

Hillcroft 3

Hampstead 2

UK Lacrosse 4

Itchy Shoes 3

Itchy Shoes 4

Itchy Shoes 5

UK Lacrosse 5

Western Hornets 3

Purley 8

Itchy Shoes

Purley 9

UK Lacrosse 6

UK Lacrosse 7

Hero's 9

UK Lacrosse Women 5

Gin & Juice 5

Gin & Juice 6

UK Lacrosse Women 6

UK Lacrosse Women 7

UK Lacrosse Women 8

Western Hornets 4

Hampstead 3

Hero's 10

Hero's 11

Purley 10

Gin & Juice

Gin & Juice

Purley 11

Gin & Juice 7

Hampstead 4

Hampstead 5

Purley 12

Putney 8

Western Hornets 5

Dragons 15

West London 8

Dragons 16

Clapham 3

Clapham 4

UK Lacrosse Women 9

UK Lacrosse Women 10

West London 9

Putney 9

A Dragons save in the final vs. Hero's

Another huge Dragons' save

The Dragons score

Hero's scores late

Purley stops a Gin & Juice drive in the final

Purley takes the late lead

Purley D

Purley's Paul Terry was the MVP

Gin & Juice ties the game

Gin & Juice wins it with 6 seconds left!