British lacrosse generally provides European Championship winners, but can't quite manage to lift the World trophies. The men's game is currently fairly localised, with one epicentre in Manchester and a second in London. There are therefore two men's leagues in England, one for the North and one for the South (including South Wales). The women's game is more broadly based, with more players and a much stronger school tradition. Both men's and women's leagues are managed and represented by the English Lacrosse Association.
If you're interested in getting started in the sport in Britain, have a look at this BBC article including contact details and a basic lowdown.
In terms of European success, British teams took both titles in the 2004 European Championships. The English men's team took back the title they lost in 2001, with Scotland third and Wales sixth. Meanwhile in the women's competition, the Welsh women's team beat the Scots to take their trophy, with the English team in third place.
On the world stage, in the 2006 World Championships England men's team took 5th place, Scotland 11th and Wales 13th. Scotland also managed a creditable 4th place in the 2003 Indoor World Championships.
The England women's team were unbeaten European champions in 2003, and finished 3rd in the 2001 World Cup; Scotland came 2nd in Europe and 6th in the World; and Wales finished 5th in the World.
This picture shows the spread of men's lacrosse clubs throughout England and Wales. The main concentration of clubs is around Manchester, between Rochdale in the north and Wilmslow in the south; a second cluster is around London between Buckhurst Hill and Walcountian Blues.
The popularity of the sport seems to be increasing in recent years, with more teams and more divisions being introduced. Many schools are now able to offer lacrosse thanks to help and support from local clubs.
To see these clubs in an interactive, zoomable map, use this link to Google Maps.
The men's Northern league, run by the NELA, has 5 Divisions, reflecting the concentrated popularity of the sport around the Manchester area. Many clubs have two or more teams competing in different divisions, as well as numerous juniors programmes in various age groups.
The annual knockout competitions for each of the divisions are known as the "Flags", culminating with a finals weekend at the end of the season.
The Southern league, run by SEMLA, also now has 5 Divisions, reflecting the increased spread of the men's game further South. The SEMLA website has full results and tables, and an interactive map of the southern clubs.
The Varsity Matches are annual competitions between Oxford and Cambridge Universities for numerous different sports. In the case of lacrosse, the men's competitions have been running almost unbroken (apart from the two World Wars) since 1903. The Annual Varsity Boat Race, with its sponsorship, televised coverage and international recognition, is one example of a Varsity Match. The annual tiddlywinks match is another.
Over the past century, there have been three major swings in domination of the men's lacrosse Varsity matches. Between 1907 and 1933, Oxford pulled back from a 0-4 deficit to a commanding 17-7-1 lead. Then Cambridge took control for the following three decades to lead 28-21-2 in 1967. Since 1968, however, Oxford has once again been dominant, losing only 9 of the last 40 matches and winning 12 in a row up to 2004 (the longest winning run so far).
The current match tally for the men (after the 2008 match) is as follows: Oxford 50, Cambridge 38, Drawn 4.
The last two matches have both been won by Cambridge, in March 2008 with a score of 8 - 4 and in 2007 with 7 - 6. In 2006 Oxford's men's team triumphed 9 - 6 to take their 50th win, making up for Cambridge's 7 - 4 win the year before. For more details see the Cambridge site.
Before the start of each season, there's the Bath 8s and the Cheshire 6s, and at the end the Stockport Easter 8s, the Southern 6-a-sides, and the British National Championships. Plus there are other tournaments such as the London tournament, touring sides, warm-up games for the international sides, juniors' tournaments and a host of other events.
The headquarters of British lacrosse is englishlacrosse.co.uk and under the links "Get Involved" -> "Find a local club" there's a comprehensive (but horribly presented) list of clubs with contact information. Sky Sports has also made a video introducing the English game showing mens, women's and children's versions of the game.