The Cloud Splitter 60+ and 65+ teams were hoping to defend their 2024 titles at the 2025 Florida Lacrosse Classic in Weston, Florida. The event was held the weekend of January 17-19, 2025.  The two-time defending champion 65 + men returned to championship game but were defeated by a talented Eldest Statesmen team, 11-3. The Splitters had advanced to the final with four wins in which they outscored their opponents 37-13, but the Statesmen played a full sixty minutes to claim the championship in a convincing manner.

In the 60+ division, the Splitters lost twice to eventual champion Team Harley Davidson before defeating the Silverbacks 4-1 for a respectable third-place finish in a strong division of teams. 

The Cloud Splitter Lacrosse Club thanks the Florida Youth Lacrosse Foundation for another excellent and well-organized event and for its generous efforts to responsibly grow the game in the state of Florida.  

The Cloud Splitter Fall Store is now open until November 11 at the following link:

Cloud Splitter Lacrosse Fall 2024 | Graph-Tex

Numbered uniform jerseys, team shorts and a variety of other branded products are available at the store. The store's goal is to have all products shipped in time for the Christmas holidays. If you need a uniform or other gear for the Florida Lacrosse Classic in January 2025, this is your opportunity to gear up. 

Cloud Splitter will defend their 2024 60+ and 65+ championships at the 2025 Florida Lacrosse Classic which will be held January 17-19, 2025, in Weston, Florida.  Here is some important information for team members to use and follow-up:

1. The link to the tournament website which will include the tournament schedule and links to nearby housing is Florida Youth Lacrosse Foundation, Inc.

2. The tournament requires that each player register directly with the tournament at the link which follows:  PLAYER REGISTRATION | 2025 Florida Lax Classic Player Registration | Florida Youth Lacrosse Foundation, Inc. This is a different registration than the Cloud Splitter registration you already completed, and it is free of charge. The event organizers have also asked that each player indicate their housing choice for the event when they register to help generate contributions for the not-for-profit group that runs the event. Please take a few minutes to complete this registration. 

3. The team will wear the same purple and gold uniforms that were used in Lake Placid last summer. A winter webstore will open in November where players can purchase additional jerseys and other apparel.   

Team Cloud Splitter 65+, first organized in 1999, won the 65+ division at the 35th annual Lake Placid Summit Classic, July 31 – August 4, 2024. With this championship, its third straight in Lake Placid and fifth straight overall since 2022, Cloud Splitter reaches the excellent milestone of 25 tournament championships since its formation. Cloud Splitter entered five competitive men’s teams in the 2024 Summit including 65+, 60+, 45+, 25+ and Open Silver. Ed Akel, a member of both the 60+ and 65+ Splitter's was featured in this local news clip. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YACMnKJnns

For 65+, led by John Stalfort, it was a relative breeze through the first three games, including a one goal win against a much-improved USA Stars team, but the Eldest Statesmen gave the Splitters an extremely competitive game before succumbing 8-7 in the championship. Tom Leyden, Ken Fougnier, Rick Young and Lee Murphy led the way offensively throughout the tournament and in the final game. Rodney Rullman and Jeff Singer were stellar in goal throughout as was the entire defensive unit which rose to the occasion when challenged in the title game.  

The Cloud Splitter 60+ team won its first two contests before making it into the three-way championship round robin eventually won by Team Harley. 60+ finished third behind excellent goaltending from Joe Bottner and solid team defense. The 45+ Silver team had an excellent tournament going 3-1 and finishing 3rd overall, only losing to eventual finalist Trog. The 25+ team made it to the divisional semi-finals before losing to eventual champion Dirty Birds and finishing fourth overall. Eric Deakin was a wall in net throughout the event. Cloud Splitter Open Silver finished second in the division after rebounding from a first-round loss, eventually losing to FCA in the championship game.  

Long time Cloud Splitter goalie Joe Bottner played an important life-saving role at the 2024 Vail Lacrosse Shootout during a game in the 60+ division. Please see the attached article below. 

A number of Cloud Splitter 60+ and 65+ players will join up with Mr. Boh 60+ and 65+ players to enter a 60+ team in the 2024 Vail Lacrosse Shootout, June 29 - July 1. Vail's older divisions span 10 years so the 60+ division includes both 60+ and 65+ teams and players. Use the following link to get more event information: Vail Lacrosse Shootout. Note that Vail will also be offering 70+ competition in 2024. If you are interested in participating, please contact Ivan Shefrin (ivan.shefrin@gmail.com), Gregg Giampaolo (lax07@att.net) or George Leveille (george@lakeplacidlax.com). 

Both Cloud Splitter entries at the 2024 Florida Lacrosse Classic in Weston, Florida were crowned champions on Sunday, January 14. The 65+ entry repeated its 2023 championship finishing 4-0 with a thrilling 10-9 overtime win over a strong Eldest Statesmen team. A giant save by Jeff Singer lead to the game winning goal by Lee Murphy.  The 60+ team, a finalist in 2023, was dominant throughout the tournament going 5-0 while scoring 54 goals and only yielding 6 goals against the entire tournament. Cloud Splitter defeated a gritty Mr. Boh team 6-2 in Sunday's championship game.  Cloud Splitter now has won 24 championships since being organized in 1998. 

At the 34th annual Lake Placid Summit Classic, July 31 - August 4, 2024, Cloud Splitter will be fielding five men's teams in the following divisions: 65+, 60+, 45+, 25+ and Open Silver. There are limited roster spots available, and the teams will be formally organized in early 2024.  If you have an interest in participating on one of these teams, please contact George Leveille at gleveille@summitlacrosseventures.com. 

In what has become an annual tradition, Cloud Splitter will be entering 60+ and 65+ teams in the 2024 Florida Lacrosse Classic, January 12-14, 2024, in Weston. There are limited openings remaining on both teams so please send a note to gleveille@summitlacrosseventures.com if you are interested in attending. The 65+ team will be looking to repeat its championship and the 60+ team will be looking to improve on its second-place finish in 2023. The FLC is a not-for-profit event that helps to support youth lacrosse in Florida. Please see the enclosed document from FLC with up-to-date tournament information including age eligibility information. 

The Cloud Splitter 65+ team repeated as champion of the 8 team 65+ division at the 2023 Lake Placid Summit Classic defeating the Eldest Statesmen 4-1 in the championship game. The team was led by a strong team defensive effort anchored by divisional MVP Rodney Rullman in goal. This win marks the 22nd overall championship earned by Cloud Splitter and the 17th title won in Lake Placid. The 60+ team started strong and finished third in the 9-team 60+ division which was won by Garber's Gorillas.  The 45+ team finished 7th in the 14-team 45+ Silver division. The Open Silver team finished second in the 8-team Open Silver Division with a 3-1 record and a championship game loss to Cold Brook 8-4. 

The Cloud Splitter Lacrosse Club was first organized for the 1999 Lake Placid Summit Classic and was named after the iconic Mt. Marcy, the tallest mountain in New York State. Mt. Marcy became known as Cloud Splitter by early explorers using the indigenous name Tahawus, meaning "he splits the sky". The Club has its roots in several clubs that had participated in Lake Placid prior to 1999 including Bark Eater Lacrosse Club, New England LC and Mohawk LC. In addition, many of the original Cloud Splitter members were teammates on Old Glory, champions of the first ever 45+ competition at the 1998 World Games in Baltimore. 

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