Is there an olympic lacrosse team. Olympic Lacrosse: LA28’s Invitation and World Lacrosse’s Strategic Expansion

Is lacrosse making a case for Olympic inclusion in LA28. How is World Lacrosse expanding its global presence. What changes are being made to the sport for potential Olympic debut. Why is the six-a-side format gaining popularity in lacrosse.

World Lacrosse’s Olympic Ambitions: A Strategic Expansion

World Lacrosse, the sport’s governing body, has taken significant strides towards its Olympic aspirations. In a recent development, six new national federations have been admitted to the organization, bringing its total membership to an impressive 85 nations. This expansion is not just a numbers game; it’s a calculated move to strengthen lacrosse’s case for inclusion in the Olympic program.

The newly admitted federations are:

• Benin
• Burkina Faso
• Ivory Coast
• Malta
• Sierra Leone
• Togo

This addition is particularly noteworthy as it represents a significant growth in African representation within the sport. Since the beginning of 2022, World Lacrosse has welcomed 12 new members, showcasing the sport’s rapid global expansion.

The African Connection: A Strategic Focus

The inclusion of four African nations in this latest round of admissions is no coincidence. World Lacrosse has been actively working to grow the game on the African continent, recognizing the importance of diverse geographical representation in its Olympic bid. This strategic focus on Africa not only broadens the sport’s global footprint but also aligns with the Olympic movement’s goal of promoting inclusivity and diversity in sports.

LA28: A Potential Olympic Debut for Lacrosse

The Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games (LA28) have emerged as a potential stage for lacrosse’s Olympic debut. Reports suggest that LA28 has invited lacrosse to present its case for inclusion in the Olympic program. This invitation represents a significant opportunity for the sport to showcase its global appeal, competitive format, and potential contribution to the Olympic movement.

Why LA28 Matters for Lacrosse

The LA28 Games hold particular significance for lacrosse’s Olympic ambitions. As the host city, Los Angeles has the privilege of proposing additional sports for inclusion in its program. This provides a unique opportunity for emerging sports like lacrosse to make their case directly to the organizing committee.

Moreover, the United States is one of the strongholds of lacrosse, with a well-established infrastructure and a large player base. This could potentially work in favor of lacrosse’s inclusion, as it would likely guarantee strong local interest and support.

Sixes: Lacrosse’s Olympic-Friendly Format

In its bid for Olympic inclusion, World Lacrosse is not just focusing on expanding its global presence. The organization is also innovating the game itself, developing a format that is more suited to the Olympic environment. This new format, known as “sixes” or six-a-side lacrosse, was showcased at the World Games in Birmingham in 2022.

Key Features of Sixes Lacrosse:

• Smaller field (70 x 36 meters)
• Fewer players (6 per side)
• Shorter game duration (four 8-minute quarters)
• 30-second shot clock

These modifications are designed to make the sport more TV-friendly, fast-paced, and exciting for spectators. The smaller field and fewer players result in a more dynamic and high-scoring game, while the shorter duration and shot clock ensure constant action.

The Advantages of Sixes: Beyond the Olympic Bid

While the sixes format is being positioned as the potential Olympic version of lacrosse, its benefits extend beyond the quest for Olympic inclusion. This small-sided format is gaining popularity at various levels of the sport, particularly in youth tournaments and development programs.

Benefits of Sixes in Youth Lacrosse:

1. Efficient use of field space, allowing more games in one location
2. Enhanced player development with increased ball time
3. More opportunities for player involvement in the game
4. Simplified strategy, making it easier for new players to learn

The adoption of sixes at the youth level could have long-term benefits for the sport, potentially leading to increased participation and skill development. This, in turn, could contribute to the overall growth and competitiveness of lacrosse on the international stage.

Challenges and Considerations for Olympic Lacrosse

Despite the positive momentum, lacrosse’s path to Olympic inclusion is not without challenges. The sport must address several key considerations to strengthen its case for the LA28 Games and beyond.

Global Competitiveness

While World Lacrosse has successfully expanded its membership, the level of competitiveness across all member nations varies significantly. The Olympic Games typically require a high level of global competitiveness to ensure exciting and unpredictable tournaments. How can lacrosse ensure a balanced and competitive Olympic tournament, given the sport’s varying levels of development across different countries?

One potential solution is the implementation of continental qualification tournaments, similar to those used in other team sports. This would ensure that the Olympic lacrosse tournament features the best teams from each region, promoting global representation while maintaining a high level of competition.

Infrastructure and Costs

The introduction of a new sport to the Olympic program comes with significant logistical and financial considerations. How will the addition of lacrosse impact the overall costs and complexity of hosting the Olympic Games?

The sixes format, with its smaller field requirements and shorter game duration, offers some advantages in this regard. It could potentially be integrated into existing venues or temporary facilities, minimizing the need for additional infrastructure. However, the sport will need to demonstrate that its inclusion adds value to the Olympic program without placing undue burden on the host city.

The Road Ahead: Building on Momentum

As World Lacrosse continues its push for Olympic inclusion, the organization must build on its current momentum. The expansion of its global membership and the development of the sixes format are significant steps, but sustained effort will be required to secure a place in the Olympic program.

Key Focus Areas for World Lacrosse:

• Continued global development, particularly in underrepresented regions
• Further refinement and promotion of the sixes format
• Engagement with the International Olympic Committee and LA28 organizers
• Showcasing lacrosse’s unique value proposition as an Olympic sport

The organization must also continue to address any potential concerns or criticisms that may arise during the evaluation process. This could include issues related to gender equality, anti-doping measures, and the sport’s environmental impact.

The Potential Impact of Olympic Inclusion on Lacrosse

Should lacrosse succeed in its bid for Olympic inclusion, the impact on the sport could be transformative. Olympic status often leads to increased visibility, funding, and participation for sports, particularly in countries where they may not have a strong existing presence.

Potential Benefits of Olympic Inclusion:

1. Increased global visibility and media coverage
2. Greater access to funding and resources for national federations
3. Boost in participation rates, particularly among youth
4. Enhanced legitimacy and recognition as a major international sport
5. Potential inclusion in more multi-sport events worldwide

However, with these potential benefits come new responsibilities and challenges. Olympic inclusion would likely lead to increased scrutiny of the sport’s governance, anti-doping measures, and overall integrity. World Lacrosse and its member federations would need to ensure they are prepared to meet the high standards expected of Olympic sports.

Long-term Growth and Sustainability

How can lacrosse leverage potential Olympic inclusion for long-term growth and sustainability? The key lies in strategic planning that extends beyond the initial excitement of Olympic participation. This could involve:

• Developing comprehensive grassroots programs in new markets
• Investing in coach and official education to support the sport’s growth
• Creating pathways for elite athletes from diverse backgrounds
• Fostering partnerships with educational institutions to promote the sport

By focusing on these areas, lacrosse can ensure that Olympic inclusion serves as a catalyst for sustainable growth rather than a short-term boost.

The Role of Innovation in Lacrosse’s Olympic Journey

The development of the sixes format demonstrates World Lacrosse’s willingness to innovate and adapt. This spirit of innovation could play a crucial role in the sport’s Olympic journey and its future growth.

Areas for Potential Innovation:

• Equipment design to enhance safety and accessibility
• Digital technologies for improved officiating and fan engagement
• Sustainable practices in manufacturing and event management
• New competition formats to showcase different aspects of the sport

By continuing to innovate, lacrosse can position itself as a forward-thinking sport that adds value to the Olympic program and resonates with modern audiences.

As World Lacrosse continues its pursuit of Olympic inclusion, the coming months and years will be critical. The organization’s ability to showcase the sport’s global appeal, competitive excitement, and potential for growth will be key factors in the decision-making process. While challenges remain, the recent developments in membership expansion and format innovation suggest that lacrosse is making significant strides towards its Olympic dream.

World Lacrosse Olympic bid given boost with six new members joining

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Lacrosse Tinkers with Potential Olympic Format, with Smaller Fields and Fewer Players

Mar 18, 2023 | By: Mary Helen Sprecher

Lacrosse wants a piece of the 2028 Olympics, and it isn’t messing around.

This past week, its world governing body accepted six new national federations, meaning, yes, six countries officially will be able to field teams of their own., potentially at the Olympic level.

According to Inside The Games, Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Malta, Sierra Leone and Togo were admitted to World Lacrosse; since the start of 2022, the governing body has welcomed 12 members, bringing its total up to 85 nations.

The fact that the new group of members comes largely from Africa is a point of pride for World Lacrosse, which has been working to grow the game on that continent.

But that’s not all. World Lacrosse is tinkering with the game itself, and what it is likely to use, should it reach the Olympics, is a small-sided, more TV-friendly format called sixes.

Six-a-side lacrosse, says USA Lacrosse, was used in the World Games in Birmingham last summer. It is played on a smaller field (70 x 36 meters), with fewer players, a condensed game (four 8-minute quarters) and a 30-second shot clock.

The small-sided format is also popular on the youth tournament level since it takes up less field space, allowing more games to be held in one location. Additionally, it is a favored format among youth coaches since it lends itself to better player development, with more ball time and less running. (In that sense, it is similar to 3×3 basketball, in which athletes must play both offense and defense. )

It is likely that not everyone will be a fan of the format; lacrosse, after all, is a sport steeped in tradition and the pace of play in sixes is something to which longtime athletes will need to become acclimatized. It is unlikely to be a sport that will show up on the varsity level on college campuses. Or high school campuses, come to think of it.

Where might it be popular, though? In adult rec leagues. Many student athletes, having played lacrosse throughout their high school (and possibly college) years, often find themselves missing it after graduation. The sixes format makes it easier to form teams who can play one another; finding enough friends to form a team in sixes is simple; finding enough friends to make up a team in the traditional format of 11 players is not so easy. (Club or intramural programs could also have success with sixes.)

But for World Lacrosse, with the big goal of the Olympics, sixes has another obvious advantage: a lower head count per team. The Los Angeles 2028 Games will have a cap of 10,500 athletes in total, so sports with fewer athletes have an advantage.

Lacrosse is one of nine sports on the IOC’s shortlist along with baseball/softball (counted as one lobby), cricket, breaking, flag football, karate, kick boxing, motor sport and squash.

 A decision is expected to be made at the October 15-17 session in Mumbai, according to Inside The Games.

Lacrosse has not been a medal event in the Games since 1908 (2028 would make 120 years, if you’re keeping track.)

What could hurt the sport’s chances at Olympic inclusion? Competition for one (there’s plenty of it.) And the IOC has stated repeatedly that it wants sports that draw a youthful demographic (witness its choice of breaking as one of the showcase sports in Paris.)

There’s also another problem. The Baltimore Banner notes:

“There is a thorny, multi-layered cultural issue in play. The Haudensonee, more commonly known as the Native Americans of the Iroquois Confederacy, are considered the originators of the game, and they have had the world’s third-best men’s team over the past decade and arguably the world’s best pro player in Lyle Thompson. The Iroquois have been part of world lacrosse championships for decades, but neither they nor any indigenous nation are recognized by the IOC. The sticking point has already led to substantial debate about the Iroquois’ potential future in the Olympics.”

And while that might not hurt lacrosse’s chances, the fact that it could be viewed as either cultural appropriation or as disregard for the sport’s heritage does it no favors, either.

Olympic losses – part 2

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Lacrosse	1904, 1908	Team sports game where you need to score goals against the opponent. The ball used is rubber. In the game, you can use your legs and a special projectile, which is something between a club and a racket. Olympic medals were played at 1904 (III Summer Olympiad, St. Louis, USA) and 1908 (IV Olympiad, London, Great Britain). In 1928, 1932 and 1948, lacrosse was introduced to the Olympics as a demonstration sport.
Tug of war	1900-1920	Eight participants of each team, whose total weight should not exceed the maximum for this weight category, are located at different ends of the rope, the circumference of which is from 10 cm to 12.5 cm, and the length is not less than 33.5 m. mark ”and at a distance of 4 meters from it are two side marks. Before the start of the competition, the teams stand so that the central mark is above the line drawn on the ground. At the signal of the referee, each team begins to pull the rope, trying either to make the mark closest to the opponents cross the line on the ground (that is, trying to pull the rope by 4 meters), or so that the opposing team earns a foul, which is counted if one of the team sits down or falls. A broken rope can cause serious injury, even tearing off an arm. Therefore, the strength of the rope cannot be overestimated – for example, a thick household rope, designed for 250 kg of load, allows a maximum of five to compete on each side. On March 28, 2007, the order of Rossport No. 157 was signed on the introduction of the sport of “tug of war” into the list of officially recognized sports	Not clear
Polo	1900, 1908, 1920, 1924, 1936	Polo (pers. چوگان‎) (eng. Polo) is a team sport with a ball in which participants play on horseback and move the ball around the field with a special stick. The goal of the game is to hit the opponent’s goal as many times as possible. It originated in the middle of the first millennium AD, as a team game. It was very popular for centuries in Persia (Iran) and China. Fragments of the game were periodically depicted on ancient miniatures, and detailed descriptions and rules of the game were given in ancient manuscripts. The first international competitions in the game of chovgan were held among the riders of the Middle East in the XII century, in the then cultural capital of the Islamic world, the city of Baghdad. The British played an important role in the spread and development of the game in Europe and throughout the world. Thus, the game chovgan, originally brought from India to England in the 12th century, became more and more popular, and the introduction of new rules contributed to the rapid spread of this game in Europe and America. It was on the initiative of the British that this game got its current name – horse polo and was included in the program of the II Olympic Games held in 1900 in Paris. 5 teams from 3 countries took part in the competition.	Not clear
Roque	1904	Roque or Rocky (eng. Roque) – a kind of croquet. It is played on a clay court measuring 18×9 m with low sides. The game appeared in the 1880s in the United States and was popular in the first quarter of the 20th century. Unlike croquet, the rock court is smaller, relatively easy to maintain, and can be played indoors.	Rocky competition at the 1904 Summer Olympics took place for the first and last time at the Olympic Games. Only four Americans competed for one set of medals.
Rackets	1908	Rackets (English rackets, from racket – racket) – a kind of tennis. Play (singles and doubles) with a ball and a racket on a court without a net with walls. Players send the ball into the wall so that when it bounces it hits the opponent’s side of the court. Originated in England in the XVIII at [	The rackets competition at the 1908 Summer Olympics took place from April 27 to May 1. There were 7 athletes from one country who competed for 2 sets of medals.
Softball	1996-2008	Sports team game with a ball, an analogue of baseball. A softball is about the size of a grapefruit, softer than a baseball, and slower in flight. Softball is played by both men and women. There are several varieties of the game: Fast Pitch – Fast Pitch, Slow Pitch – Slow Pitch, Modify Pitch – Medium Pitch. Olympic discipline since 1996 to 2008 there was a fast-pitch game among women’s teams. In many countries where baseball is common, softball is also popular, as it is preferred by non-professionals and women. Differences in softball from baseball are aimed at reducing injuries and are adapted to the lower physical capabilities of athletes. Softball was born in 1887. The game was originally called “mushball” (mushball) or “kittenball” (kittenball). In the 1920s received its current name The first softball tournament in the framework of the Olympic Games took place at the Summer Olympics 1996 years old By decision of the International Olympic Committee on February 9, 2006, softball was excluded from the program of the 2012 Olympic Games.	“Lack of global appeal.” The sport is thought to be making a comeback at Tokyo 2020 due to its popularity in Japan

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The XI World Games to be held in Birmingham, Alabama, USA from July 7 to July 17, 2022 will feature 34 sports and will feature 223 sets of medals. More than 3,500 athletes will take part in the World Games, including champions and prize-winners of the Olympic Games.

The World Games have been held since 1981 once every four years. Initially, their program consisted only of sports not included in the Olympic program, but later it partially expanded to include Olympic disciplines. Thus, the program of the current Games in Birmingham includes competitions in rhythmic gymnastics, archery, sport climbing and some other Olympic sports. Several sports will make their debut at the World Games in Birmingham 2022 – lacrosse, canoe marathon, drone racing, kickboxing, breakdance, parkour and even tug of war.

Since 2001, the World Games have been held under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee and their traditional time of holding is the year following the Summer Olympic Games. The 2022 World Games in Birmingham were originally scheduled for 2021, but after changes in the international sports calendar due to the coronavirus pandemic, they were postponed to 2022.

The World Games 2022 in Birmingham will be attended by real world sports stars. So, in the speed skating competitions, the champion of the 2022 Olympic Games in speed skating will compete for victory Bart Swings . Even before his great success in competitions on ice, the Belgian won two gold medals each of the 2013 World Games in Cali, Colombia and 2017 in Wroclaw, Poland, in roller running. In total, there are seven awards in his collection at these competitions, and in part, it was the achievements at the World Games that became for Swings a kind of springboard to the Olympic heights.

The absolute champion of Europe-2022 will take part in the rhythmic gymnastics tournament of the Games in Birmingham Daria Atamanova from Israel. In the archery competition, Olympic medalists Brady Ellison from the USA and Gabriela Schlosser from the Netherlands, who represented Mexico until 2017, will start.