I got the chance to speak with Patrick Dougherty, the founder of Turkey Lacrosse, again recently, and I got some follow up info and photos. We learned a lot about the beginnings of lacrosse in Turkey in our Fireside Chat with Patrick, and now we’ve got a little info on the Turkey Team that went to the Sofia Cup in Bulgaria, as well as some sweet International lax photos to accompany the info!
Patrick had this to say about the Sofia Cup:
“We went to Sofia, Bulgaria a number of weeks ago and competed in the very first tournamnet in all of Turkish lax history. We played in our very first lax games on an international stage, and actually won it all! We played with some guys from the UK (about 6 of them) and then there also about 11 of us… and we came together and won the Sofia Cup 2011. A great start for our program!
“We have the 1st place cup in our possession, and it’s actually sitting on my desk behind me. The week prior to the tournament, I had 3 Canadian refs come to Turkey and stay with me. They were also reffing the tourney. But while they were in Turkey, they did a ELF/FIL sanctioned ref clinic, and now Turkey has 13 certified refs! Germany and England are the only countries with more than us.
“We also played our very first refereed game in Turkish history that weekend.
“We have 3-4 Universities starting men’s and women’s programs this month. The Istanbul Sultans and the Merecedes-Benz lax team will start again very soon. We also have a team in Izmit starting in a month or so.
“I am also talking to the Mayor of Istanbul to discuss hosting a tourney here next year. After all, Istanbul is the 2012 European sports capital!”
Sounds like things are going really well for Patrick and the whole Turkey lacrosse crew!
To see more photos from the Sofia Cup 2011, check out our facebook page!