When it comes to lacrosse, these guys know all the tricks.
The Western Canadian Masters Box Lacrosse Championships will be held this weekend (June 28-30) at the Nanaimo Ice Centre.
There will be three Nanaimo Timbermen teams – an A team, a C team and a grand masters squad – plus a Nanaimo Native Sons grand masters entry. Twelve teams are participating in Westerns, from as far away as Kitimat.
The tournament will be a blast, said Farren Ferguson, president of the Nanaimo Timbermen Masters Lacrosse Club.
“When the whistle blows and the games are on, it’s as competitive as when we were younger and in our primes,” he said. "The only difference is at the end of the game we can go and have a beer together where before we wouldn't even look each other in the eye."
Ferguson said the stick skills are still there.
"Some of the best players that have ever played the sport will be here on the weekend," he said. "Sure we're all slower, but you ask the goalies, they don't think that anybody's lost a step at all. The shots are still as accurate, the shots are still as hard, the competitiveness is still there."
GAME ON … The tourney begins with opening ceremonies and a First Nations blessing Friday (June 28) at 6:30 p.m., followed by a 7 p.m. grand masters matchup between the Timbermen and Native Sons. The tournament finals will be Sunday at 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.