Durham College to add lacrosse sixes club team, host Oct. 18 exhibition series in Oshawa

Durham College says it will add lacrosse sixes as a competitive club sport this fall and will host an exhibition series on Saturday, Oct. 18, at its Oshawa campus as part of a four-school pilot season.

The pilot season is meant to test adding lacrosse sixes as a permanent sport in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA), according to Durham College’s announcement.

Durham College will take part alongside Humber Polytechnic, Mohawk College and Fleming College. Each of the four schools is expected to host an exhibition series this fall.

The college said tryouts for its lacrosse sixes club team will be held in September at the Campus Fieldhouse. The team will be open to both men and women.

Lacrosse sixes is played with six players per side on a 70-by-36-metre playing surface, which Durham College notes is smaller than field lacrosse.

Scott Dennis, Durham College’s director of athletics and recreation, said prospective students frequently ask whether the school offers lacrosse. “The number one question we get at Open House is, ‘Do you have lacrosse?’ There’s a demand for it,” Dennis said.

Kyle Curtis, a Whitby native, will coach the team. Durham College said Curtis has coached with the Whitby Minor Lacrosse Association, Edge Lacrosse, Team Ontario and the Oshawa Blue Knights, and played NCAA Division II lacrosse at Belmont Abbey College.

In its announcement, Durham College also cited local minor lacrosse organizations and the National Lacrosse League’s Oshawa Firewolves when introducing the new club team.