We asked some of our staff what they were looking forward to for 2012 with 2011 behind us now. With so much going on in the UK and European lacrosse community this year they had a lot to choose from, however, the theme was the same throughout; it’s gonna be a great year!

Henning Schmidt (2012 Team ArchLevel Project Manager)

2012 promises to be a rather exciting year. First and foremost, the tour with Kyle Harrison and Joanna Lignelli will be a great experience. I look forward to showing our largely Northern American team that Europe looks a lot different than what the Simpsons or Family Guy make it out to be. The scholarships offered for this tour are an amazing development for our community. Giving two European athletes the chance to compete at a high level at zero cost for them – this is an absolute and very important first. I expect to see some excellent applicants from all over Europe and it will be very tough to pick the right candidates.

At a European level, we are looking at some great developments – Israel Lacrosse just filed for membership and Turkey has just gained full membership with the European Lacrosse Federation. The European Championship 2012 will see a very large number of teams competing and is most likely the biggest Lax event in 2012. The men’s competition will see some hard fought matches, in particular Germany – Netherlands in the Netherlands will be nothing short of a game I would pay to be able to see. Some of the newer teams like France, Belgium and others will be interesting to see. The growth of the game shows in the estimated total number of players at the tournament – two thousand. This is testimony to the efforts of all the volunteers around the continent working hard to promote the game. In a nutshell, 2012 will see many new highs and being part of that is a genuine privilege.

Ben Parkes (COO, ArchLevel Lacrosse)

I don’t know what I’m looking forward to the most this year as so much is happening! Well I always look forward to lax camps in the holidays as they are a guaranteed laugh. Even more so this year with Archlevel running their very first set of camps in Easter and Summer! Tourneys are always eagerly awaited especially as I missed Blues and Bath 8s last year. The Biggest thing however has got to be Team Archlevel travel team! Travelling Europe with Kyle Harrison and ending at the Berlin Open. Boom Town!

Dan Jones (Intern, The ArchLevel Factory)

“Having chosen from a multitude of worthy upcoming lacrosse events in 2012, what I am most looking forward to is seeing Lincoln City Lacrosse Club face off for the first competitive fixture in its history. Just four years ago, lacrosse had not set foot in the city of Lincoln. However, after much hard work from our small group of dedicated lacrosse enthusiasts the University now field a men’s and women’s team in the BUCS league, and in 2012 Lincoln City Lacrosse Club is entering NEMLA. I’m sure that lacrosse in Lincoln will build from these very humble foundations for years to come. Also after having attended the World Championships last year, I hope to be able to enjoy more international lacrosse at the European Championships. I turn 21 this year; this seems a perfect excuse to travel to Amsterdam to watch some lacrosse!”

Vince Grimes (Founder and CEO, The ArchLevel Factory

The upcoming year has the busiest schedule I’ve seen in quite some time within the lacrosse world…and I’m pumped for all of it! With events like the European Championships and the U19 World Championships in the Europe community, the launch of two new events from Inside Lacrosse with the Mile High Classic and the Powerball Tournament back stateside, and a multitude of other projects all around the world, 2012 is looking to be quite a ride. If I had to pick one, I would stray from any singular event I guess and say I’m most eager to see the new interest and growth that will be generated from the “non-lax” community by the exposure to the game from the agreement made between Major League Lacrosse and CBS (an American television network) ensuring a minimum of 14 games to be shown on their sports network.