Friday, December 14 ~ LANGFORD.
by Mary P Brooke ~ West Shore Voice News
When you can pack up to 2,500 fans into a sports venue in the west shore, something happens. There’s an energy that connects and energizes. It’s a fun night for fans, and a success-driver for the players.
In this case, it’s for lacrosse at the Q Centre arena, home of the Victoria Shamrocks and where they hope to score the Mann Cup in 2019. In front of a full crowd there is an energy and passion that the players can draw upon to produce a win. The fans are the juice…. they come for the display of speed, skill, and athleticism.
“There’s always something going on. Lacrosse today features a lot of speed. A lot of guys can burn it up on the floor. It’s action-packed, says Chris Welch, general manager, Victoria Shamrocks. “Eye-hand coordination to move that ball around and find sticks with passes, take a pass and score. There’s a lot of skill involved and it’s exciting to watch,” says Welch.
The Senior A Lacrosse season starts up again in 2019 mid-May, and runs to mid-September. Under Welch as general manager and the marketing direction of the new Shamrocks Director of Corporate Partnerships David Michaud, the south island area will be hearing a lot about the Shamrocks who proudly ‘bleed green’.
“It’s exciting to be here on the island,” says Michaud who successfully marketed the Penticton Vees Jr Hockey Club but has arrived now to make a difference in the lacrosse scene in Langford. “The team is very well supported. Fans want to come out and spend a summer night with us. We encourage young families to come out with kids. A fun night makes them want to come back.” Parents now bring their kids to the games, because their father or parents may have brought them to a Shamrocks game long before that.
The sport goes back to 1910 in Canada when the made-of-gold Mann Cup was minted. In this national amateur sport the Victoria Shamrocks – established in 1950 and now gearing up to celebrate their 70th year – have won the top prize eight times, first back in 1955 and 1957, again in 1979, then in something of a winning streak in 1997, 1999, 2003, 2005, and most recently in 2015. To celebrate their 70th year, big things should happen!
Season packages are now on sale at https://www.victoriashamrocks.com/season-memberships . There’s a range of ticket options for full season membership starting at $123 per person. And a season ticket referral program means earning gift cards when your friends buy their season tickets. The 10 private luxury boxes and upper green balcony sell out quickly.
The Shamrocks Alumni Ticket Package at $105 includes first right of refusal on playoff and Mann Cup tickets as well as a 15% discount on Shamrocks merchandise.
“The best seat in the house is the one you own,” says Michaud. “The experiences I’ve heard about from seasoned ticket members is that you build a little community in your section. There’s a history with those seats, it becomes a social thing in addition to watching the action on the floor.” Families of all ages show up. Refreshments are on hand by Westshore Parks & Recreation.
Michaud says the Shamrocks are well-supported on the corporate side. “The business community recognizes the Shamrocks’ place in the community. Being around for 70 years means they’ve been doing some things right. The Q Centre a really nice facility and there’s great fan support.”
Michaud is now also president of Keycorp Sports and Entertainment Ltd, responsible for growing the division of the Keycorp group of companies by working with new and existing sports teams, entertainment venues, concert promoters, and more to bring professional-level promotion, ticketing, and event day production to Victoria, and across British Columbia.
With the Shamrocks club since 2004 and general manager since 2008, Welch says: “Victoria has been a strong lacrosse community and for a long time. We’re one of the top Canadian cities in that regard. It’s a sport that has always appealed. Victoria is kind of a summer town – people like to get outdoors. Box lacrosse is a popular outdoor sport for kids. Lots of people have grown up with the game,” says Welch.
Welch is excited about the 70th anniversary. The ramp-up to the high profile season will include highlights like a third Shamrocks jersey, and a special 70th anniversary logo.
Now, during the off-season, there’s still a lot going on. There are players to find and trades to be made. A draft of graduating junior players will happen February 7, with opportunities for inter-provincial transfers after that. There are up to 25 players on an active roster. “We dress 20 for each game – two goal tenders and 18 runners,” Welch outlines.
In 2018 the Victoria Shamrocks team saw 16 of 25 players being from the local south island area. “And nine guys came from out of town to play for us (four from Calgary and five from Ontario),” says Welch.
“An increasing crop of young players keeps us going,” Welch explains. “The local contingent is something we emphasize, with more to come in the draft in February.”
Players from Junior A have a schedule that overlaps with Senior A, both in summer. In winter, players are away doing the sport in the USA. Or they’re in Professional National Lacrosse leagues (if they’re not in school). For coaches and team management it’s an opportunity for scouting over the winter.
Locally when students play lacrosse at school it tends to be field lacrosse. Claremont and Royal Bay high schools play an outdoor version of the game which has some significant differences to the indoor version.
The indoor Box Lacrosse sees youth working their way up through the ranks by playing minor lacrosse and working their way up through age categories. Victoria has four minor associations, with the Juan de Fuca league playing at the Q Centre in Colwood.
“One of the things we really celebrate is that lacrosse grew out of indigenous roots,” says Welch. Long ago, lacrosse was played to settle disputes between tribes and communities as an alternative to actually going to war. That evolved into the game it is today. “There’s a lot of indigenous spirituality that plays into it, such as playing the game with honour and treating the opponent and the game with respect,” says Welch. “That’s a big part of what the game is about.”
More: Victoria Shamrocks | David Michaud welcomed as president of the new Keycorp Sports and Entertainment Ltd | Victoria Shamrocks Season Memberships