Huge news from the FIL last week as they announced that the World Box Lacrosse Championships are heading to Upstate New York in 2024. Even bigger news is that for the first time, both the men’s and women’s championships will run concurrently, and 2024 will be the first time that a Women’s Box Lacrosse World Champion will be crowned.
A link to the announcement can be found HERE!
The World Box Lacrosse Championships (WBLC) is an international tournament showcasing box lacrosse at the highest level. Box lacrosse is a variant of the traditional field lacrosse, primarily played in Canada and North America.
The WBLC is organized by the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL), the international governing body for lacrosse. The tournament takes place every four years and features national teams from around the world competing for the title of world champions.
The first World Box Lacrosse Championships were held in 2003 in Ontario, Canada. Since then, the tournament has gained significant popularity and has become a premier event in the lacrosse world. The participating countries include traditional lacrosse powerhouses such as Canada, the United States, and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Other countries from Europe, Asia, and Oceania also field teams, showcasing the sport’s global growth.
The format of the WBLC typically involves a round-robin stage followed by knockout rounds. The participating teams are divided into groups, and each team plays against the others in their group. The top teams from each group advance to the knockout stage, which includes quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final game to determine the champion.
The games are played on an indoor surface, typically in hockey arenas, with box lacrosse-specific modifications. Box lacrosse is known for its physicality, speed, and high-scoring nature, as the playing area is smaller, and the game is played with fewer players compared to field lacrosse. Box lacrosse’s fast-paced and action-packed naturemakes it an exciting spectacle for fans.
The World Box Lacrosse Championships provide an opportunity for teams to compete for the title and serve as a platform to promote and develop the sport worldwide. The tournament helps raise awareness and interest in lacrosse outside of its traditional strongholds and encourages the game’s growth in new regions.
