A championship run is always a team effort. Often, it takes even more than just a team – it takes a community.
The Nanaimo Acme Painting Timbermen are hoping the entire city will get behind their efforts as they prepare to compete at the Presidents Cup in Montreal at the end of this month.
The senior B lacrosse team was eliminated from the West Coast Senior Lacrosse Association playoffs almost three weeks ago, and have since concentrated their efforts on fundraising for their trip to nationals.
Shawn Swanson, the club’s general manager, said the support so far has been “unbelievable.” A car wash and bottle drive exceeded expectations, and the team has also received contributions from anonymous donors. Even the Victoria Shamrocks senior A club made a major donation to the cause.
“I’m overwhelmed with the generosity of not even just Nanaimo, but Victoria, Duncan,” he said. “And not even lacrosse supporters, just people that understand.”
The major fundraiser is this Friday (Aug. 16), a beer-and-burger night and silent auction from 6-9 p.m. at the Old City Station Pub. Some of the items up for bid include resort stays and golf packages. Now that the T-men have secured some coveted auction items, they need to get people to come make the night a success.
“It’s enormous, a make-or-break kind of thing,” Swanson said.
On the floor, the T-men have been training hard, holding boot camps to supplement their practice time.
They’ve also added some pickups to take with them to Montreal. Curtis Sim, one of the league’s top scorers from the Tri-City Bandits, joins the left side of the offence. Two all-stars – transition player Jordan Wong of Tri-City and defender Dave Yee of the Ladner Pioneers – have also indicated that they would like to join the T-men.
LACROSSE TALK … League awards were announced this week. Kyle Couling was chosen as Defensive Player of the Year and a first-team all-star. Kyle Noble is a first-team all-star and Jon Diplock is a second-team all-star. Mike Maughan was selected as Coach of the Year and Swanson is Manager of the Year … The Presidents Cup starts Aug. 26. Look for more on the Acme Timbermen next week in the News Bulletin.
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