At LaxNOVA Events, our philosophy is simple...lacrosse is meant to be FUN!!! Our tournaments are focused on competition and a championship format. The "Recruiting Tournaments" held throughout the country serve a great purpose in getting our student-athletes exposed to college coaches and we support them 100%. However, we believe that we also need to remember why we started playing this great game This is our focus...
Our most notable event is our long-running Fall Brawl 7v7 Tournament which is held each November and celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2021. In 2020 we added the Creators Games which will be played each October on Indigenous Peoples Day (former Columbus Day) followed by the Winter Thaw which will be held each February just before the spring season starts. These events are focused on scholastic and recreation-based teams. In the summer of 2022, we will be adding the Virginia Club Lacrosse Championships to the slate. This event will be for all of the full-service clubs in Virginia and a chance to find out who is the BEST in Virginia! We hope you will consider us for your tournament needs. We have built this concept from the ground floor and we receive numerous positive comments from parents, players and coaches each year. Our tournaments are a FUN, EXCITING display of the game that we all know and love so well.
**Fall Brawl History**
The NOVA Fall Brawl was founded in 2002 as the Fairfax Fall Brawl. The event was designed as a fall playing opportunity for local high schools so local coaches could evaluate their teams for the upcoming spring season. The 7v7 format was adopted to have a more fast-paced exciting game that could rely on a smaller roster. Most public school coaches were not allowed to coach their teams, so many teams were coached by former players and parents. The 2002 tournament had a total of 24 teams. 14 Varsity, 6 JV and 4 Girls teams. The event was held at Lanier Middle School is Fairfax City. In 2003, the girls division was dropped making the tournament solely a boy's event. The 2003 Fairfax Fall Brawl featured 28 Varsity and 7 JV teams. A 69% increase in boy's teams from 2002. In 2004, after many requests, the youth divisions were added. This was an extremely exciting addition as the younger kids played hard and were not used to high level competition in the fall. There were six 5th/6th grade teams, ten 7th/8th grade teams, 18 JV teams and 36 Varsity teams. The tournament was expanded to 2 days with the Youth and JV playing on Saturday and the Varsity playing on Sunday. A total of 70 teams were involved over the weekend. In 2005, we changed to the US Lacrosse Youth divisions (U-11, U-13, U-15. The tournament hosted over 90 teams in 2005. In 2006, the venue was moved to Robinson Secondary School due to construction at Lanier and proved to be a much better location for the event where it continues today. In 2009, the Girls Division was reborn. In 2010, the Youth Divisions exploded and we moved to a 2nd site. Lanier Middle School, our original home hosted all Youth Divisions while the JV Division stayed at Robinson. The 2010 Fall Brawl hosted 140 teams!! In 2011, we brought the Boys event back to a single site at Robinson. The event lost something in 2010 by using 2 sites and the "feel" wasn't there. Although we could have expanded more, this event is about FUN and the camaraderie the exists in the lacrosse world. In 2012, the Girls tournament had a new home at Woodson High School while the boys continued at Robinson!! The annual tradition continues each year as the DC Area Lacrosse Community comes together for two weekends of FUN!! In 2020, the event was moved to Evergreen SportsPlex in Leesburg, Virginia. The multi-turf complex provides quality and safe playing conditions for all divisions, regardless of weather. For the past 19 years, we have celebrated the fun, spirit and camaraderie of the game. We plan to be here for many years to come!! Comments from past participants:
"Just wanted to take a second and compliment you on one of the top tournaments that my players and I have been a part of. Everything from scheduling to communication was handled exceptionally well. Just wanted to thank you for the opportunity to play and cant wait to be a part of it again next year." - TO
"The kids had a great time, and enjoyed the format" - TB
"The real thanks goes to you for making the day so successful. My players went 2-4 and you would of thought they won the whole tourney as happy as they were. It also was a wake up call that they can't wait to begin conditioning" - MC
"Thanks from my players, parents and coaches for another well-run tournament." - EB
"Great Day, awesome event!!! Wish I could provide some profound comment that would make the tournament better and make me look insightful but there is nothing to say :) All around, top to bottom, well planned and executed." - KH
"Well done! Thanks for asking us. We did not show well, but it was a huge step for the program here. All the kids wanna come back and do it again next year, they are gonna make it a priority" - MS
