Report ladies

On a sunny weekend in July, the general German university lacrosse championships took place in Kaiserslautern, in which we were able to participate enthusiastically as a team from Karlsruhe.

Our weekend got off to a bumpy start, however, as the cars didn't want to do what we wanted at first. After an hour's wait, however, we were finally able to start our journey to Kaiserslautern. The drive itself turned into a turbulent adventure as our route took us through the Palatinate Forest, where the roads had more bends than the forest had trees. Half of the passengers soon felt uncomfortable, and it was immediately decided that we would definitely take the highway for the return trip. At least our driver was able to enjoy the winding route. Once we arrived in Kaiserslautern, we set up our tent village and enjoyed a barbecue together in the evening. The sports facility was really impressive, so we decided to end the evening relaxing with a few games and in the beautiful surroundings as the Karlsruhe "Stormies" travel group.

The next day started early with a delicious breakfast and our very first Sixes game ever - against the Bochum/Duisburg-Essen/Freiburg team. The game ended with a 7:2 win for our opponents, which was not least due to the fact that we first had to get used to the new Sixes rules. The following game against Göttingen was also challenging and ended 12:1 for Göttingen - who already had some experience from the Sixes league. Nevertheless, it was a good result for us against the eventual overall winners - not least thanks to Göttingen's compliment that we were their toughest opponents in the preliminary round.

During the lunch break, we had the opportunity to watch the men's all-star game against a US team. It was exciting and interesting, especially for those of us who were watching the "Braveheart" format for the first time. In the afternoon, the intermediate round started and unfortunately, due to the chaotic and creative tournament mode, we got the same opponents as in the preliminary round. So we played Göttingen again, this time the game ended 8:0 for Göttingen. Our goal for the intermediate round was to improve on the previous game, which we managed to do - not least thanks to our dedicated coach Tobi. The day ended with pizza and drinks in the city centre of Kaiserslautern, where some of us also took part in the player's party organized by the hosts.

The next morning started even earlier with the second game against Bochum/Duisburg-Essen/Freiburg. We were able to achieve our goal again, as the game ended 6:2 for Freiburg and Co. In the last round, we finally faced new opponents: the hosts Kaiserslautern/Saarbrücken/Trier and the Dresden/Magdeburg team. The game against Kaiserslautern was chaotic again, as the game mode was reminiscent of field field hockey at times. After an exciting game, which unfortunately resulted in a few injuries, Kaiserslautern won 6:3.

The last game against Dresden was about the last two places in the overall ranking - and we were finally able to achieve our main goal: to win a game. The game ended 6:4 in our favor and we were overjoyed to finally experience our "Time to Shine", which earned us sixth place out of seven teams. After the final games, we took down our tent village and drove back to Karlsruhe - luckily on the highway.

During the two days we also had the opportunity to catch up with old friends, cheer on the men's team from Karlsruhe - we were definitely the best fans - and use the services of the on-site physiotherapists and chiropractors to save our bodies and muscles. Overall, we had a fantastic weekend with lots of fun, lots of learning and lots of lacrosse. We are already looking forward to the upcoming Sixes season where we can put our newfound skills to use. Special thanks to the university sports department for making the whole tournament possible and to our team captain Ameline for organizing it.

Men's report

We are in the year 2024 according to the Gregorian calendar. The whole of Germany is gripped by European Football Championship fever... All of Germany? No. An indomitable community of lacrosse enthusiasts has gathered in Kaiserslautern to celebrate their passion for the sport. From 12.07. to 14.07. we were part of this resistance.

Our story begins on a typical Friday afternoon in July - sunny, as it should be at this time of year - in beautiful Karlsruhe. After initial difficulties in finding our means of transportation, we were finally able to set off on our road trip in the late afternoon. Packed with sticks, tents, bags and a marquee set, three vans set off with the players from WG Karlsruhe. With mood-lifting music and a cool drink in hand, we headed up the winding Palatinate Forest via Landau.

RPTU's university sports grounds impressed from the very first moment. State-of-the-art facilities, a wide range of equipment and a generous amount of space made everyone look forward to the weekend. The friendly organization team provided us with all the necessary information and materials, and we were finally able to settle down on our assigned campsite. To get us in the mood, we were invited to a "Grill & Chill" on Friday evening, where the teams were able to provide themselves with barbecue food and cool drinks.

For the sake of order; our line-up of players: Tobi (coach), #54 Tim (captain), #24 Kush (goalkeeper), #70 Marius, #52 Jakob, #59 Marcel, #53 Frederik, #77 Volker and #61 Markus.

After an extensive breakfast buffet, our first game against the Göttingen/Heilbronn/Konstanz/Oldenburg consortium began at 10.30 a.m. on Saturday. For us as a team, it was our first appearance in this constellation, so coordination and allocation were still a little unsorted and we needed some fine-tuning. After a solid performance, we were unfortunately beaten 3:5. Tobi, our coach, was the calm and objective voice and motivated us to do more; we had worked up an appetite.

With the motivating words of our coach in our ears and our self-confidence boosted, we started our second match at 12.45 against the Darmstadt/Trier consortium. Thanks to successful ball circulation, consistent & collective defensive work and a strong shooter in the form of #59 (Marcel), we were able to win the game 8:1. The game gave us the confidence and enthusiasm we needed.

In the third game of the day, which took place at 3 p.m. against the team from Marburg, we quickly fell behind. A timeout was necessary to reorient ourselves and regain our focus. With strong team play and an outstanding performance from goalkeeper #24 (Kush), we fought our way back to a tie and forced overtime. Unfortunately, we lacked that little bit of luck in the end and lost 4:5.

After a longer break, which was bridged with a speech or two and an exciting all-star game between the USA and Germany, we played our intermediate round game against the Aachen/Stuttgart team at 6.45 pm. The aim was to qualify for the semi-finals (1st to 4th place) or the Upper Intermediates semi-finals (5th to 8th place).

We visibly struggled in this match and were only able to get a partial grip on our opponent's physicality. We didn't have enough concentration to put up enough resistance to our strong opponents. The game ended 9:3 for Aachen/Stuttgart, who went on to win the tournament. For us, the placement matches for 5th to 8th place were on the program the next day.

Saturday evening ended with a large order of pizza and a players' party in downtown K-Town. Despite an unforgiving last game, we were pleased with our performance and had developed a good team chemistry that we wanted to take into the next day.

On Sunday, the match day began at 9:45 a.m. with the Upper Intermediates semifinal against Marburg. We had planned to take revenge on our opponents for the close game the day before, but Marburg was unable to play due to several injuries, so the game was scored 1:0 for us. However, we didn't let that stop us, found substitutes and used the time for a friendly match. This showed one of the beautiful sides of our sport: cohesion and team spirit, even across club boundaries. Unfortunately, our #52 (Jakob), who had previously been a safe bet in the build-up play, suffered a leg injury in the subsequent game and was therefore unable to play in the final game.

The last game took place at 12:00 noon and was against the home team RPTU Kaiserslautern. The winner would take 5th place and the loser 6th place. We mobilized our last strength and wanted to give the tournament a worthy finish and beat the home team on their own ground.

The game was evenly balanced, with the Karlsruhe team having a slight advantage. Towards the end of the first half, a truly key moment occurred; player #53 claimed the ball in his own half, danced past three opponents with unerring and feather-light hooks and sprinted unperturbed towards the opposing goal. Arriving in front of the goalkeeper, he skilfully sent him rushing into the wrong corner and tucked the ball into the net - a blow to the opponents' morale that proved effective.

The game was brought to a confident conclusion and we won 11:6. As usual, #70 (Marius) was lively on the pitch, scoring beautiful goals and working well defensively. Unfortunately, our two rookies from university sports (#77 Volker and #61 Markus) were unable to reward themselves with a goal of their own, but they made an important contribution to our success over the course of the tournament with a great deal of commitment and self-confidence. 5th place out of a total of 12 teams was assured, and we were able to pack up our tents and prepare for the return journey to Karlsruhe.

In conclusion, it remains to be said: We had an eventful weekend in Kaiserslautern, with wonderful weather and a fantastic atmosphere. Our beloved sport of lacrosse brought people from all over the country together and promoted cohesion within the community. We are already looking forward to next year's ADH!

A big thank you to the entire organization of this tournament, especially the organizers in the form of the sports department of the RPTU Kaiserslautern, the HSP and KIT SC and our captain Tim Hensel.