Club of the Month:
Edinburgh Capital
Coming off a fantastic season which saw Edinburgh Capital win the league and qualify for the Champions League of lacrosse we catch up with Amie Routledge to find out more about the club.
Jamie Fleming: What did it mean to win the league?
Amie Routledge: Winning the Mixed League for the first time in the club’s history meant an amazing amount to each and every member of Capital, and proved to be the perfect culmination of many seasons’ worth of hard work and effort. In previous years, we had sometimes struggled to win even a single fixture so challenging for the league title was a major coup.
The standard of our lacrosse has improved remarkably since the arrival of Scotland Captain Ailsa Stott, whom heralded a new dawn for the club in 2012. Securing Abbie Mitchell as our full time coach last season also injected fresh motivation and made a decisive difference with our team play and development of our lacrosse brains. We won 8 out of 9 fixtures played, finished the league with an overall goal difference of 83 and had a total of 32 club members representing Capital on field, accounting for 84% of the club’s total membership. On the back of the league title, we have also been invited to compete in the Ken Galluccio Cup in Belgium, which we are very excited about. All in all, a fantastic collective achievement and one to hopefully repeat next season!
JF: What benefits have you seen from the After School Initiative?
AR: The After School Club has been a great success during its inaugural season. We started with just 8 kids in the Autumn Term and now have 13 with more new enrolments for the forthcoming academic year. Along with Easter and Summer Sports’ camps, the After School Club provides an excellent platform to encourage kids to get active, introduce them to a brand new sport and showcase lacrosse at grassroots’ level.
The After School Initiative also allows the club’s volunteers to pass on their knowledge and skills, give back to their local community and nurture a mutually beneficial relationship with the Broughton Sports’ Hub. In collaboration with Edinburgh City Gents, we
have contributed over 120 volunteer hours in the past
year and look forward to continuing the club and
expanding our reach next year. As recognition of our efforts, we are pleased and proud to reveal that we have been nominated by Broughton and subsequently shortlisted and placed runner’s up for the Club of the Year Award at the Edinburgh Sports’ Awards at the end of August.
JF: What are the club’s plans for the future?
AR: We are aiming to build on last season’s successes not only in terms of our league and tournament performances but also in strengthening our After School initiative and consolidating our links with the Community Sports’ Hub at Broughton High School. In the short term, we would love to retain our league title and regain the MacRobert trophy after losing out last year. We also hope to increase After School Club numbers and establish more After School Clubs at other Edinburgh based primary schools. Increasing senior club membership numbers and thus ensuring the club is sustainable going forward is also a top priority. In the long term, we aim to be able to field a second team in the Mixed League as well as introduce a Junior Section to create a pathway between the After School and Senior Clubs.
We wish Edinburgh Capital Lacrosse Club all the best for the upcoming season. If you would like more information of the club please find all their contact and social network information below:
Click here for Website
Click here for Facebook Page
Click here for Twitter
Club Email: [email protected]
Training Venue: Broughton High School
Times: Tuesdays 8-9pm and Thursdays 7-8:30pm