Swapping the desk for San Diego: Tom to represent wales

Meet Tom Porter, a staff member at the University of Birmingham who this June will represent Wales on the international lacrosse stage.

Competing in the World Championships in San Diego, California, he will join 30 of the best teams in the world across 11 days of fixtures.

A current Project Manager at the School of Engineering at the University, read his story below….

My Journey to Lacrosse

I first picked up a lacrosse stick at Loughborough University in 2013 having never previously heard of the sport. I found that I had a natural fit for the defensive position, and I played for 2 seasons during my time at Loughborough. However, upon graduating due to the lack of lacrosse in the Midlands at the time I left the sport for a couple of years. In 2018 I was part of a group of people who gathered in Nuneaton to see if it was possible to form a local lacrosse club.

This group of people would go on to become some of my best friends and we formed Nuneaton Lacrosse Club which now thrives with 2 men’s teams and a women’s team. I fulfil the role as the Club Captain at Nuneaton Lacrosse Club, and I am incredibly proud of the work we do to promote the sport in the Midlands.

My Journey to Wales

During 2018 the previous World Championships were held in Netanya, Israel. At the time a friend managed to secure a spot on the Wales Lacrosse team for those championships.

This ignited my desire to try out for my Country. In late 2018 I attended open trials for Wales Lacrosse and was successful at my first attempt in breaking into the Wales squad as a defender. I was a member of the Wales team that attended the Home Internationals tournament in 2019 and won that title beating England & Scotland.

I was then again successful in being selected for what we all thought was going to be the 2020 European Championships. However, Covid-19 had other plans and these games were postponed. It was a significantly challenging time, Wales Lacrosse is recognised as an elite sport by Sport Wales so we were able to continue training as lockdowns eased, but there was huge commitments to home workouts and Zoom meetings with teammates.

Finally in 2022 these games were rescheduled, and I went to the European Lacrosse Qualification Tournament in Poland. Wales won all 5 of our games in Poland and were the first European nation to earn their qualification spot at the World Championships. At this tournament I also scored my first points for Wales recording a goal and 2 assists across our games. During 2023 I have again represented Wales at the Home Internationals tournament, recording a victory against Scotland and narrowly loosing out on the title against England.

Now the Welsh team are on their way to the World Championships in San Diego, California. Where we will compete against 30 of the best teams in the world. Across 11 days of competition, we will face a tough Group B draw which sees Wales take on Uganda, France, Denmark & number 6 in the world ranked Japan. The top 2 countries from this group will carry on with chances to take the overall title of World Champions.

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Next week, we have not one, not two, but eighteen University of Birmingham teams competing in semi-finals or finals for their respective championships and trophies.

This is an incredible achievement for the university sports community. With so much to look forward to, check out our preview below for the upcoming matches:

Championship Semi-Finals

The Hockey Women’s 1s kick us off at home at the Bournbrook Pitches. This undefeated team will be playing Durham University 1s in the ICG Women’s National Championship for a place in the final.

Next up, the Hockey Men’s 1s and 2s are back in action at home. The Birmingham 1s will face off against Exeter’s 2s while the Birmingham 2s will play Edinburgh’s 1s. Both are playing in the Men’s National Vase and, if both win, we could be in for an all-Birmingham final!

For S quash, the Men’s and Women’s 1s will be facing off against Loughborough Men’s 1s and Edinburgh Women’s 1s. Both teams are in for tough games, with their opponents looking strong, but Birmingham’s huge success so far this year may just give them the upper hand.

Netball fans are definitely in for a treat on Wednesday with our BUCS Super Series event Intercept also coinciding with the semi-final of the EY Netball National Championship. The University of Exeter will be travelling up to Birmingham for this stellar of a match, so make sure you don’t miss it! Catch our full preview of the event here.

Finally, our American Football team will be playing the only away match of this group, battling the University of Nottingham on their home ground. This is sure to be a brutal game for the Lions with Nottingham having come out top of their league. But never say never as our Lions are sure to have some tricks up their sleeve.

Trophy Semi-Finals

Rugby League 1s are ready to storm through to the finals of the National Trophy, preparing to defeat the University of Cambridge for their Wednesday match. After winning their league by a country mile, the 1s will be hoping to use this momentum to win some silverware. Make sure to catch them on the Bournbrook Pitches at 16:30 to cheer them on.

Squash are also battling it out for a place in the National Trophy finals with the Men’s 2s playing Durham Men’s 1s on Wednesday. Once again, they will be in for a difficult match with Durham’s impressive track record. But with three teams into major semi-finals, Birmingham have already proven their capability and are certainly in with a chance.

Our final team in the National Trophy are the Lacrosse Women’s 2s. They will be travelling down to Exeter to face their Women’s 2s for a place in the final. Already through, Nottingham Trent’s Women’s 1s await the winner of this match. If Birmingham win, then we’ll have a Midlands derby on our hands for the trophy decider.

Conference Cup Finals

Birmingham’s Hockey Club are at it again with their Men’s 3s through to the final of the Men’s Midlands Conference Cup. Wednesday will see them face the University of Nottingham Men’s 5s in a derby clash. Birmingham Hockey already have four teams in major semi-finals or finals this Wednesday, and so a win for the 3s will definitely set a winning tone for the rest of the club to follow.

If three teams in semi-finals on Wednesday wasn’t enough squash for you, then you’re in luck as the Women’s 2s and the Men’s 3s are back in action in the Midlands Conference Cup. Both will be playing against Nottingham, the men facing Nottingham’s 4s while the women play the Women’s 3s. This is a huge opportunity to win some silverware for Birmingham’s Squash Club so let’s hope for wins all round.

Netball are also in with a chance of extra trophies with the 5s playing Loughborough’s 6s away from home. Birmingham 1s have already secured their place in the National Championship Semi-Finals, now the 5s will be looking for their own victory with a Midlands Conference trophy to their name.

Playing further afield, Birmingham’s Golf Mixed 3s are preparing to meet Oxford Brookes Mixed 1s at Ruddington Grange Golf Club in Nottingham. Birmingham are currently top of their league with ten points and two matches in hand, so we can expect that they will put in an excellent performance in the Conference Cup. Oxford Brookes sit mid-table in their league and so Birmingham should hope for a comfortable win in this match up.

Badminton’s Women’s 3s are already looking in good shape having not lost a game this year. In their Midlands Conference final, they will play Nottingham Trent 1s for the trophy. After strong performance in their league, Badminton will surely hope for a win here.

For Water Polo, Birmingham’s Men’s 1s are undefeated in their league after some incredible games. Having already defeated Oxford Brookes Men’s 1s in their league, they will be feeling confident heading into their Conference Cup final match on Wednesday. We can definitely expect a good contest here to help contribute to Birmingham’s trophy count.

Finally, to finish off our cup run preview, our undefeated Tennis Women’s 1s head into their Conference Cup final against Loughborough Women’s 4s. Loughborough also remain unchallenged in their league and so we can expect a tight match for this one. The 1s will be looking to dominate early if they are to snatch a victory.

Next week is sure to be a thriller for Birmingham sport. With high stakes, action-packed sport right on our doorstep, make sure you head down to the Bournbrook Pitches or Sport and Fitness to support the Lions. Don’t miss it!