With the rising success on and off the field of the Weyburn Lacrosse Association, planning is now underway to bring a junior lacrosse team to the Opportunity City. Some of the behind-the-scenes work is already underway, and a meeting will be held on Tuesday to bring the rest of the community up to speed on where they are at in the process. 

One of the people helping to get the team off the ground is Mark Bratrud. He said one of the reasons behind the team is to allow lacrosse players to continue to play at home after the age of 16.

"Weyburn Lacrosse currently goes up to 16, and there is no opportunity, or very little opportunity, to play box lacrosse beyond the age of 17," Bratrud said. By starting a junior lacrosse franchise, there will now be an opportunity for kids between the ages of 17 and 21 to remain in Weyburn.

"It's a really good, unique opportunity to start something here, and have a really good feeder system for players for many years to come."

Lacrosse has seen quite a bit of growth in popularity in recent years. Thanks in part to the National Lacrosse League, which includes the Saskatchewan Rush, as well as the announcement this year lacrosse will be an Olympic sport, more and more eyes are on the game, which is considered Canada's national summer sport. Bratrud pointed out, though, it is about more than just the action on the floor.

"Bringing a junior lacrosse team to Weyburn, I mean, it's going to be largely about the lacrosse, but it's also a very entertaining sport," he explained. Noting the environment at a Rush game in Saskatoon, Bratrud pointed out that every game feels like an event at the larger levels.

Part of the process has been to secure a place to call home for the team, which would play in the Prairie Gold Lacrosse League. Bratrud believes they are on the cusp of having that resolved. 

"It looks like we have an opportunity with the Sports Arena to facilitate this lacrosse season, which runs from late April to the end of June and into July, depending on playoffs," he stated. With that in mind, they want to bring everyone up to speed with the meeting on Tuesday.

The meeting is being held in Multipurpose Room C at the Tom Zandee Sports Arena on Tuesday, December 19th. It starts at 7:30 p.m. Bratrud said they want to update potential players, parents, investors and sponsors on where they are going, and see how much interest there is.

"What we're hoping to come out of the meeting is maybe raise, or get some commitments to raise, a few dollars through a share offering for the team, and then discuss some potential sponsorship opportunities that are going to be available."

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