Some people of the Amsterdam Lions lacrosse team thought about bringing back the Amsterdam Lacrosse tournament to where it came from. A big event with people from around the globe, good lacrosse, and of course loads and loads of fun – usually taking the form of drinking, partying and other amusements on offer in the fine city of Amsterdam. Employing this time-tested framework for the Amsterdam Lowlands Tournament of 2008 yielded another fantastic action packed weekend full of lacrosse.
  

The tournament consisted of 14 European teams, coming from Germany, England, Ireland, and of course the Netherlands, which were complimented with other players from all over the world who combined with other single players to form the Prolax All-star team. Not forgotten are the women and men of the Dutch National teams and our special guests, Spencer Lacrosse from London who have not missed any Lowlands Lax tourneys so far.

 
To take the Lowlands tournament to the next level, we have been lucky to get several sponsors on board. Red Bull and their cute Red Bull ladies in their Mini distributed an endless number of cans to the players, Gatorade provided additional tastes and energy for everybody, Warsteiner played a pivotal role as our German beer sponsor and was perfect for post game relaxation, the City Council of Amstelveen proved to be generous, and last but not last David Turner with the Prolax shop supplied us with an endless number of balls for the tourney and some extras goodies from his portfolio for the Amsterdam Lions. The contributions of the sponsors proved a valuable help in the evolution of the Lowlands Tournament and we thank them all for their efforts…

The tournament kicked off on Friday night with everyone meeting up for the opening drinks hosted by the Amsterdam Lions ho invited everyone to the Red “Lions” district in the heart of Amsterdam in order to build the confidence in all male participants prior to the gladiatorial games of the weekend.  The evening was not hampered with worries over the next days hangover...

Saturday morning at 10am, with the thermometer already touching 25 degrees, the Lacrosse element of the Lowlands finally began. Covering three fields, the constant action allowed all spectators to see continuous lacrosse at a high level, with some teams a little less or a little more successful than the other, possibly correlating to the previous nights activities.  The results of the day, however, did not matter too much by the time that the bar on the fields finally opened and gallons of beer was consumed by those who already finished for the day. Others followed that idea a bit later when the Amsterdam Lions invited everyone to the players party just a couple metres of Leidseplein (a focal point of Amsterdam night-life). Free entrance and loads of drinks of any kind there after, combined with mixed tunes and a crazy lacrosse crowed, ensured a crazy evening was shared by all.

the action did not yield for a second. The tolls of the previous night didn’t matter too much when the referees asked to kick-off of the semi-finals. Amsterdam men's team played London's Spencer in a spectacular firstSunday morning's faces showed the quality of the previous evening, however semi-final but was unfortunately narrowly defeated. In the second semi Dublin and the Dutch National team were facing each other. Equally narrow, but Dublin finally got the upper hand and won the game. Meanwhile, the women were competing on another field for their own crown. Dublin, as the top team, continued with their high level of performance. In close games Amsterdam, the Dutch National team and Cologne were fighting for second and third place and a Lowlands 2008 trophy.

The finals: Dublin vs. London (Spencer) was the game of the weekend. On the main field, surrounded by a very large crowd, both teams played a massively competitive and ferocious game of lacrosse worthy of the finals. Speedy team play and skill lead to plenty of goals in a back and fourth game despite the continued heat, 30 degrees (86 Fahrenheit). In the end Dublin pulled away to win by two goals 3 take home the men's first place at the Lowlands tournament and the big trophy that comes with it.

28-30 degrees and pure sunshine over the whole weekend was the perfect weather for the Lowlands 2008, especially for the Netherlands, and makes us confident that we will once again have a great weekend with teams from far and wide to again surpass expectations for the Lowlands 2009.


Looking forward to it big time…

Thanks to everybody who helped make the 2008 Lowlands a great weekend here in Amsterdam!!!



Jens Schumacher

Lowlands Committee