The University of Victoria Field Lacrosse Club is taking baby steps these days, but club chairman Ian Paone has big plans to get it up and running. Paone, a graduate of the Claremont Secondary lacrosse academy, took over the UVic recreational club last year. He’s determined to take the club to the next level.
“It’s a new sport at UVic and pretty much all the schools in Western Canada,” Paone said.
When he started, Paone acknowledged, nothing was really organized, and the “play” was about 10 women and a couple of guys ragging the ball around. He managed to gather a few more players, and the team had two games against the University of British Columbia in 2012.
“This year, we’re hoping for more.”
Open to all UVic students, faculty and staff, the field lacrosse club has enough male members this season to play on Friday nights in the Victoria Men’s Field Lacrosse Association. Next year, he’s hoping the UVic women’s team — set to get underway in the second semester — will have an entry in the Vancouver Island Women’s League.
Paone also has plans to travel to tournaments in Edmonton and UBC this year, eventually developing Canada West-style league and playoff tournaments.
“We really want to offer a post-secondary lacrosse experience,” said Paone, who’s in his third year at UVic, majoring in psychology and minoring in philosophy.
Despite an abundance of lacrosse players coming up through the high school ranks on the West Coast, they tend to be drawn down south by the lure of American scholarships instead of staying in Canada.
“It’s my goal to create that opportunity here in Canada,” Paone said. “Why are we letting the Americans steal all our players? It’s our game, and we need to play it the Canadian way.”
Any player who wants to stay in this country and play varsity field lacrosse has to go to Ontario or Quebec. Although it’s a relatively new sport, several Eastern universities offer men’s and women’s competition at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport varsity level.
The competitive club level is also an all-Eastern experience, and one that has become very well established. The Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association, featuring three teams from Quebec and 10 from Ontario, is celebrating its 29th anniversary this year.
“We don’t have the numbers here; 10 times more people play it back east,” said Paone, who’s working with university clubs at UBC, Calgary, Alberta, Lethbridge and Saskatchewan to develop the sport.
“It is growing out here, but it’s in the infant stage right now,” he said.
Once the semester begins in September, the UVic Field Lacrosse Club will meet every Monday and Wednesday, from 2:30 to 4 p.m., on the UVic turf. Cost each semester is $25, which includes school insurance and a T-shirt.
For information, contact Paone at: fieldlax@uvic.ca.
