UGANDA LACROSSE.
Lacrosse is one of the oldest team
sports in the World.
Uganda started playing feel good
pass time lacrosse around 2008 in Masaka where an American NGO Fields of Growth
has a primary school of Hope for disadvantage orphaned and lame children. This
is most popular among lacrosse playing communities who travelled with the
sticks and ball to share moments with the kids.
It’s then that Ugandan 1996 Georgia
Antlanta bronze medalist Davis Kamoga along with Maurice Sserunkuma picked up
an idea of competitive lacrosse that started at MUBS Nakawa.
In 2011 with the help of Adiddas
Uganda played its first friendly game with an American select team that
included Ohio Machine Chad Weidmeir and then Philidephia wings John Christmas
along with other super athletes.
On this date 13th-Aug-2011
a Kings Cup tournament was finalized and Panthers lacrosse club emerged
victorious with players like Onen David,Nyeko Felix and Otim Ronald all of
which represented Uganda in Denver Colorado at the FIL World Lacrosse
Championship.
Team Uganda played friendlies in USA
with countries like Mexico,Canada,England and played six competitive games with
Ireland,France,Bermuda,China,Korea and Argentina with two historical wins
against South Korea 10-9 and Argentina 11-5.
Uganda’s twitter handle
@lacrosseuganda was mentioned overwhelmingly over 10million times during the
10day tournament in Denver and it only ranked 3rd behind winners
Canada and USA according to statistics by @twittersport.
It’s in this regard that we want to
associate with big companies in Uganda such that we can grow and maintain our
momentum on the global scale. This will be a hilarious venture of marketing and
growing the stakeholders.
How to get into Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a fast paced, exciting
and dynamic activity. The sport is regarded as one of the fastest games on two
feet and attributes from a variety of games such as Basketball, Rugby, Ice
Hockey, Field Hockey and Football can be seen in a match.
Although Men's and Women's Lacrosse
differ slightly, with one being full contact and the other being limited
contact, the object of the game is the same - to score in the oppositions goal.
Players use a long-handled racket
(known as a crosse or lacrosse stick) to manoeuvre a rubber ball during play by
either catching, passing or carrying it in netting attached to the end.
Why
is it good for you?
Lacrosse is an intense and physical
game that requires speed, quickness, hand-eye coordination and a competitive
instinct.
It is an active team sport providing
a substantial aerobic and strength-building workout, as players run up and down
a long, rectangular field to get the lacrosse ball into the goal.
Lacrosse players need to have the
strength and dexterity to catch the lacrosse ball, throw it and take shots at
the opposing goalie. The intensity of the sport provides a wide range of
physical health benefits both internally and externally, and can also improve
mental health.
Lacrosse Origins.
Lacrosse origins are from North America where
French Missionaries first observed Native Americans playing a ball game with a
stick and a net which resembled a cross so they named it "La
Crossier" which over time has been shorted to Lacrosse.
The native name for the game was
'Baggataway' meaning 'little brother of war' this was because the game was
actually used to settle disputes between rival tribes and the games were often
brutal and played for days on end.
Women's lacrosse is played with 12
players and involves less physical contact
The
game was widely played by the tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy, which today
reaches from Ontario in Canada to Upstate New York in the United States.
Lacrosse today has become one of the
fastest growing sports worldwide. In Europe 28 countries now play lacrosse,
with world power house, USA and Canada boasting a professional league and a
collegiate system that often attracts 60,000+ spectators to the annual
championship final.
In the United Kingdom the sport can
trace its origin's to the late 1800's where a touring team of Canadians and
Native Americans brought the sport to demonstration tour around the UK
including a playing a demonstration game for Queen Victoria I. Clubs were
formed all over the UK from Glasgow to Manchester to London.
The women's game can trace its
origins to Scotland and St Leonard's school where the first game was played in
1890. The game is still popular within girl's schools however the game has become
more inclusive and club teams can be found throughout the county.
The Women's Lacrosse World Cup will
be hosted by England in 2017. The games will be held in Guildford. And U-19 in
Canada 2016.
Uganda already recieved the invite
to Canada from Federation of International lacrosse.
Compiled by:
……………………………..
Twesiime Liberty
Public Relations Officer.
Uganda Lacrosse Union
uglaxpro@gmail.com
