Since becoming the Official Mascot of the World Lacrosse Championships I have been to loads of events, meet lots of fans and even other mascots. One of the reasons I wanted to become the Official Mascot was to represent the World Championships and encourage people to watch the games and see players from all over the world! That and having lots of people saying hello and waving at me :)
Here’s a little run down of what I’ve been up to so far.
Yesterday I was at the opening ceremony of the Championships, the atmosphere was amazing despite the rain! There was a great turnout from the crowd who all enjoyed watching the players marching out and enjoying their special moment. It was the first time I had seen all the teams together and they all looked really smart in their matching uniforms with their flags waving. I even did a bit of crowd surfing as the Australian team picked me up in the excitement. Check out the photo below, maybe after this I could become a Rock Star, what do you think?
The England v Germany game then followed. I was disappointed that the Iroquois Nationals couldn’t make it to Manchester but once the first whistle of the championships was sounded we were suddenly blown away in excitement! The crowd were cheering and the players were really up for it, I even got a little emotional during the national anthems. It was great that Germany stepped up to the Blue division but England played really well and won 12-3 in the end.
In March I went along to the Sport Relief Mile in Manchester. This was one of my first trips out and it was brilliant. I helped warm up all of the runners, met loads of people and even did some jogging myself. Unfortunately, it was too hot for a bulldog to do the whole race but I enjoyed myself all the same. I enjoyed cheering on all the runners as they were doing such a good job raising money for charity.
The next event I went to was the North West POP lacrosse final, my first sports day out with lacrosse. Boy was I excited! Everyone there really happy to see me and I really enjoyed meeting them. I had my picture taken with all of the young lacrosse players and by the end I had actually had quite enough of the camera, which isn’t like me!
Over the Easter weekend I was very busy, which I didn’t mind at all. I love meeting people and giving high 5’s. I went along to Bellevue race track to the opening race of the season, I’ve never seen Speedway before but it was exhilarating. I met all the riders who I thought were very brave and joined in with the fans who were all really excited about the upcoming season. Bellevue are associated with lacrosse so I was more than happy to meet people who liked other sports as well my favourite sport lacrosse! The next day I went to the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester. Wow! It was such a fun day and really interesting, I was mobbed by fans. I love my lacrosse but it’s good to visit museums and learn about other things too. I went on a train ride, walked around the aviation centre and had a go at all of the tasks that were available to play with. Since there were so many Chester and lacrosse fans there I played a competition with the followers to win some lacrosse balls so they can practice themselves at home.
In April I went along the City of Manchester Stadium to soak up in the atmosphere of the Manchester Football Derby. I was very scared outside the stadium as there were lots of people, I’m not used to being around so many rowdy football fans. I made me appreciate all of my lacrosse fans. But I was happy when Manchester United won :)
I love getting other people involved in lacrosse so I went along to the European Badminton Championships at Sportcity. I demonstrated how to throw and catch the ball and even signed some autographs. All of these events are making me famous!
To play lacrosse you also have to be a good runner so when I competed at the Mascot Gold Cup at Wetherby Racecourse I was sure I would put in a good performance. Unfortunately I didn’t do very well, probably because of the long journey there, I travelled the furthest of all of the mascots. But I did get to meet lots of other mascots, including my cousin the bulldog Toby Tyke who is the mascot for Barnsley FC.
In May I went to the British Lacrosse Championships to see some competitive lacrosse action. I was really impressed by how good the teams were and it got me really excited for the World championships - only 2 more months to go!
You may have seen the Great City Games on the television, there were some really famous athletes competing including Jessica Ennis and Tyson Gay who came all the way from America. I ran in the Junior Run and was really I came second! I was racing against Manchester City’s Moonchester, a kangaroo, Chrissy the bear from the charity Christies and the Spyke the British Athletics mascot. I was really pleased to beat him because he’s a runner! It shows just how fit us lacrosse players are.
I went along to another run, the BUPA Manchester 10km. I didn’t run this time but wished all the runners good luck and cheered them on from the sidelines. When you are running so far everyone really appreciates the support, plus it was good practice for cheering at the World Championships.
I made an appearance at a CADS, Children’s Able and Disabled Sport event. I taught the kids how to play lacrosse, they were so eager which made it a lot more enjoyable for me too. I love spreading the word about lacrosse.
In June I travelled to Rio…I wish! But the atmosphere at the Manchester Day Parade was just how I would imagine a festival in Brazil to be like. I have never seen so many people, they were all dancing and singing and having a really good time. I hope the atmosphere at the World Championships will be similar.
I have been so many runs in Manchester over the past few months, the Manchester 10km at the City of Manchester Stadium was my last one though. I met the Key 103 Cash for Kids mascot, as well as loads of children who took part in the toddler trot. I also did some lacrosse demos with a stick and ball and did more cheering. I hope I’ll have a voice left over for the Championships! Later on I went to the Hard Rock café and had a photo shoot with the England team! How Rock and Roll? The team were as eager for the Championships to start as me.
The weekend before the World Lacrosse Championships were due to start I went to the Lacrosse Community Games held at the Armitage Centre. It was the perfect curtain-raiser for the Championships and I was pleased to see so many teams out in force enjoying lacrosse. Brooklands Hulmeians won the Community Festival and they fully deserved it. They didn’t concede a goal the whole competition and were victorious in 6 games, I was very impressed!
The Championships are well under way and I can’t wait to watch more games and meet more fans. If you can make it you should definitely come down to watch some matches, you’d be crazy to miss out. And if you do see me around, don’t be shy and say ‘Hi Chester’ because I’m always happy to meet some fans! :)
Don’t forget to add me on your facebook, search for Chester Lacrosse.
No comments:
Post a Comment