Tasko Cup Final: Radotin 19 – 0 London Knights

The first ever box lacrosse tournament to be held in England took place in the Solent Arena, Fareham, over the weekend 28/29 March 2014. Named the ‘Tasko Cup’ after Jamie Tasko, who got the England Box Lacrosse team going a few years ago, the tournament saw five teams battle it out on the floor (and boards).

The clear pre-tournament favourites were LCC Radotin from Prague, Czech Republic. They are the unofficial European club champions and host the largest annual box lacrosse event in Europe, the Aleš Hřebeský Memorial. Not only did they play (and show how good they are), they brought over equipment such as electronic shot clocks. For many domestic players, including myself, this was the first taste of box lacrosse, in a proper venue with electronic score boards, shot clocks and a sound system for music between games.

I was playing with the Heaton Hornets. The core of the team were from Hitchin LC, including a couple with previous box experience. Captain Andy Downing and John Beadle came down from Heaton Mersey (Manchester) and supplied the jerseys. Gavin Abrahamson, a Canadian living in Prague, added plenty of box experience. Klaus Carsten from Germany was the Heaton goalie, a very specialised position in box lacrosse and we were very glad to have him on board.

The host club were the London Knights. A mix of players from southern clubs, many of whom are part of the England Indoor squad, led by Joe Darkins from Spencer LC.

The final two teams were Dreadlax and EuroLax. Dreadlax are a mix of domestic players who got their first taste of box lacrosse last year in Lille, France. EuroLax were a team from France.

All the games are available to watch online . Embedded in this post is the final game where LCC Radotin schooled the London Knights 19-0. Watch that for a box lacrosse master class. Watch the others games for non-stop action, big hits, great goals and great fun!

Some great photos from the tournament are available here and here.

Final Standings