Our fastest growing sport
What’s prompting hundreds of young women to pick up sticks and play lacrosse? We meet some of those involved as part of our series.
Briar van Woerden ran on to play her first lacrosse game armed with just a five-minute briefing on how to play the sport.
She had no training and had not even seen a game of lacrosse before appearing for her Hamilton Christian School team.
That was about four years ago and in July this year, she returned from England after representing New Zealand at the Lacrosse World Cup tournament.
Van Woerden was among hundreds of young women opting to play lacrosse in the Waikato.
It has been earmarked by Sport Waikato as the fastest growing sport for women in the region.
Coaches Dean Forman and Ursula Johnson have been credited with driving the sport in the Waikato.
In 2011 a girls school league started with five teams, which expanded to eight in 2012 and then 12 teams in 2013. A boys competition was also started in 2013.
This year, in the secondary schools winter league, there were 27 girls teams (375 players) and 10 boys teams (108 players) as well as five representative teams.
In the intermediate schools summer league, it was expected there would be up to 18 girls and six boys teams (300 players) in 2017/18 season.
And in the 2017/18 summer club league, there were seven womens clubs (16 teams), plus four mens clubs (four teams) scheduled to play, totalling 280 players.
Cost could be one reason why the sport’s more popular with women than men.
All women needed to play lacrosse was a stick, goggles, mouthguard and cleats, while the men had the added cost of a helmet, which were expensive, gloves and elbow pads.
Waikato Lacrosse wanted to
2013: Girls league to 12 teams and boys league starts.
2017: There were 27 girls teams, 10 boys teams.
2017: Intermediate schools summer league, 18 girls, six boys teams.
2017/18: Summer club league, 16 womens team, 4 mens teams. establish its own base in the region so it could meet all-year player and game demand, as well as host national and international tournaments.
Van Woerden was right behind the plan and remembers her introduction to the sport.
She had answered a request from the Hamilton Christian School lacrosse coach who was looking for new players to fill a team.