Bigger and better, every year. That’s been the underlying goal for five-straight years, but the real focus of the Northstar Capital City Classic event from Summit Lacrosse Ventures is to grow women’s lacrosse. Plain and simple. It starts in Central New York and expands to all corners of the globe. These young women with the goal of playing at the next level are exposed to an intensive lacrosse opportunity in Albany that’s teachings will carry on much beyond the weekend.
The experience is unique and measurably valuable to the teams that attend, proven through the roster of returning programs. Orange Crush, Gold Coast, Team 91, CNY, Albany Power, Albany Elite, ADK Lacrosse, Lady Roc, Storm, HGR, Igloo, Gait, Monster, Common Goal, Monarchs, Blue Devils, among a few others were all in attendance for 2017 and quickly locked in their spots for this summer. In fact, organizers weren’t able to accept many (if any) new clubs this year due to the volume of returning teams and the venue’s capacity limits. Each year the tournament becomes more competitive, and the Northstar Capital City Classic works hard to continue raising the bar of what the event is, and can be.
We caught up with Tournament Director Ashley Gersuk Murphy about the big weekend and really what sets the North Star Capital City Classic apart from other offerings for rising stars.
5 Quick Q’s with the Tournament Director!
MD: So, Ashley, what makes the Capital City Classic so special?
AGM: It’s a complete one-of-a-kind. The Northstar Capital City Classic was established in 2014 as a high quality and competitive playing opportunity for teams from New York and New England, who typically traveled further for their summer tournaments.
It is special to Team SLV in particular, as three of the five members of our core team grew up (or have lived for many years) in the Albany area – we are proud to bring the Capital City Classic to our hometown, and to give Section II teams/athletes the opportunity to compete on home turf. We hope local clubs feel a sense of pride in hosting the event. Add in the beautiful facilities of UAlbany and the accessibility of the location, and we saw the potential for a great tournament and did our best to deliver!
Heading into another summer, what aspect are you looking most forward to this year?
After hosting great events in Denver and Lake Tahoe over the past three weeks, it is nice to be home! We look forward to hosting a WPLL (Women’s Professional Lacrosse League) game during the tournament too, a major step for growing the women’s game.
Northstar’s most central value is developing the next generation of female leaders, and we are excited to showcase our game at the highest level, and to expose attending athletes to talented role models. We hope girls leave the tournament inspired to be better athletes and teammates, and the WPLL game will undoubtedly add to their experience.
How else have you designed the Northstar CCC to help grow women’s lacrosse?
The Northstar Capital City Classic offers an easily accessible and competitive playing opportunity for teams around the region. The mission of Northstar Lacrosse is to embody Talent, Value, and Leadership. Beyond growing the game, we believe in our responsibility to develop future female leaders, who are not only talented athletes, but positioned for success beyond lacrosse.
Adding pro lacrosse is huge! So what’s the best part about the venue?
It’s a D1 lacrosse facility! Need we say more? Attending teams have the opportunity to play on the same fields as the nationally ranked women’s and men’s lacrosse teams of UAlbany (and we know you know them) – Go Danes!
How would you describe the Northstar CCC in year one compared to now? How has it evolved and what are you most proud of?
In its 5th year, we are proud to host a competitive playing opportunity which organizations from around the region rely on, as evidenced by our rate of returning clubs. We also host +50 college coaches, and are happy to offer this exposure opportunity to attending athletes. I believe that the Northstar Capital City Classic has established its place on the summer lacrosse circuit, and I am glad it’s in Albany, NY!
For more information, please visit www.summitlacrosseventures.com/nccc
