Senior lacrosse is returning to the Cowichan Valley this weekend.
After a year without a junior B lacrosse team, and several years without an intermediate squad, the Cowichan Valley Thunder will field one of each this season, kicking off this weekend.
After opening the season on the road against Westshore on Thursday evening, the intermediate B Thunder will make their home debut against Saanich at the Island Savings Centre at 7:45 p.m. on Friday. The junior B Thunder will take the floor at the ISC on 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.
It marks a resurrection of competitive senior lacrosse in the Valley.
"What helped us was that we had a good batch of bantams and midgets going through the system the last few years," said Lorne Winship, coach of the intermediate Thunder and governor for both teams. "We had a really good core of kids wanting to continue with lacrosse."
Both Winship and junior B head coach Neil Gailey worked with the intermediate A Victoria Shamrocks last year, gaining valuable experience that will help this season. Winship's son Graham and Gailey's son Curtis will be key players for the junior B Thunder, along with goalie Nate Clark and defender Luke Anderson, who both played last year with the junior A Nanaimo Timbermen.
Admission for the intermediate game is free. For the junior game the fare is $4, or free for Cowichan minor lacrosse players.