UC Lacrosse Dreams to Host New Zealand Universities Lacrosse Tournament this Year.
Last year, Auckland hosted the universities lacrosse tournament where UC teams secured first and second place.
UC Lacrosse Secretary, Social League Co-ordinator and lacrosse player, India O’Neill said, “... we came first and second which was really cool given that it’s Christchurch and not many people play lacrosse in the South Island compared to Auckland and Waikato...”
Two self-funded teams represented UC in Auckland last year.
Their achievements were huge considering UC is the only South Island university with a lacrosse club. They typically only play against themselves at trainings, so opportunities to compete against other universities are incredibly exciting.
This year, UC Lacrosse is fighting to host the university tournament.
Whilst O’Neill and Lacrosse player and UC Lacrosse Social Media Officer, Haya Symons are immensely proud of UC’s efforts at the tournament last year and have big plans to defend their first and second place titles, they would love for the sport to grow more in the South Island.
Both Symons and O’Neill agreed it would be “really cool” to see Lincoln and Otago join the competition and form their own teams.
Symons said, “it would be awesome to get them going... if they get going then we’ll be able to have inter-uni competitions just down here.”
O’Neill agreed and said it would be better than “flying all the way to the North Island” for an inter-uni competition that isn’t nationals or only playing against North Island teams.
Because lacrosse is a small sport in the South Island, they are thrilled at the idea that hosting may lead to more competition opportunities.
UC Lacrosse is free to join and has an estimated 30-40 active members.
O’Neill and Symons said the club is very welcoming to new players, whether you’re a novice or you’ve played before. The club aspires to thrive and solidify the sport at UC and down South. They also hope with new players joining, nationals can grow into a bigger competition and they can secure that “follow through” of athletes.
When O’Neill was discussing what she liked most about lacrosse, she said, “if you want to play a new thing coming into Uni, it’s such a great sport to join because no one else has done it either.”
Beyond playing lacrosse, they are a “very social club”, hosting regular BYOs, trips to the pub after trainings or group hikes, which allow athletes to bond further off the court. To them, all players are valued because they only have a few. When you’re on their team, you’re part of the team and you’re “going to touch the ball.”
Unlike some sports, lacrosse at university level is student-led. This means representatives from each university decide amongst themselves when and where the lacrosse tournament is held.
At the time of publication, dates and the location for University Lacrosse Nationals 2026 have not been confirmed. However, they anticipate it will be held Matariki weekend in June. If UC gets the privilege to host, the tournament will be held in the Rec Centre on campus.
IMAGE: Jessie Freeland, Dupe.