The four Capital Region minor lacrosse associations are trying to stick it to cancer.
On Saturday, April 11 at The Q Centre in Colwood, players from the four organizations will join forces to host a 12-hour game of lacrosse as a fundraiser for the BC Cancer Foundation.
Lax-4-Life will see players of all ages and backgrounds – young and old, male and female – “compete” in one game of lacrosse spanning 12 hours.
“We saw this work really well in Delta and then they put out a challenge to other associations in B.C.,” says Vancouver Island Minor Lacrosse Commission chair Brian Corbett. “We answered their challenge and are looking to build on their success and raise funds and awareness for an important cause.”
Corbett says the the event will hinge on the Peninsula, Saanich, Victoria-Esquimalt and Juan de Fuca associations working together to make it a success.
“The co-operation between minor box lacrosse organizations (here) is a testament to the bigger lacrosse family,” he says. “We look out for each other.”
The local associations have already proven they can work together to make things happen. Recently an all-female division was formed, with teams in various age groups stocked with players from all over the region. Each team will come under the wing of one association, but games and practices will rotate between facilities around the region.
According to volunteer organizer and local lacrosse fixture Andy Wilson, the galvanization of the local lacrosse community around the recent death of Chris Hall, who spent 19 years with the Victoria Shamrocks organization – nine as a player and 10 as coach – is what will make it a success. Hall died in December after a losing battle with throat cancer, just months after being inducted into the National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame.
“He was the embodiment of lacrosse in Victoria for a lot of people,” Wilson says. “When you lose someone like that, it really brings what was already a close community even closer. People say there’s only two degrees of separation between people in the Victoria region. Well, with Victoria lacrosse, there’s only one degree.”
Players can register for the game for a $20 fee, 100 per cent of which will go to the B.C. Cancer Foundation. They are also being asked to approach neighbours and friends to pledge their support with additional donations to help the cause.
“Sure, we’re raising money,” Wilson says, “but the fun part is that players of all ages will be out there on the floor, where their lacrosse idols play, enjoying the sport together as a community, doing something worthwhile.”
For more information on the game, contact Corbett by email at briancorbettvimlc@gmail.com or find the event on Facebook by searching “Lax-4-Life.” You can also get more information at the West Shore Parks and Recreation office at 1767 Island Hwy., beside the Q-Centre.
mdavies@goldstreamgazette.com
