A record 38 nations have been confirmed to compete in the 2014 Federation of International Lacrosse World Championship, which will be held July 10-19 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo., the “”Official Competition City” for the 10-day event, which is expected to attract as many as 150,000 visitors.

The 38-team field is headlined by the defending champion, the United States, and will include nine first-time entrants. Among the other teams coming to Denver is he Ireland National Lacrosse Team and their development team Erie. The Men’s Development Squad Erie will be participating in the master’s World Lacrosse Festivals held in conjunction International Lacrosse World Championship.
Ireland Lacrosse National Teams Director John Cavanaugh said that he would “love to see folks show up wearing green and rooting for Team Ireland!” According to Cavanaugh, competition was fierce to be included on the roster playing in Denver, “Our selection committee had a very challenging task in selecting 30 players from the nearly 70 player-candidates who gave it their all the entire 3 day; we have even tougher decisions ahead.” The team has been going through a number of training camps and exhibition games (including the Israeli National Team) to pick the final 23-man roster heading to Denver.

The Men’s National Lacrosse team, rank 9th in the world, will play three set games before going into elimination rounds. Ireland’s set games will be Friday, July 11 2:30 p.m. versus Uganda, on Field 8; Saturday, July 12, 11 a.m. versus France; Sunday, July 13 5:30 p.m. versus Bermuda, Field 8.
Opening Ceremony is at the Stadium
5 p.m. Thursday, July 10 with the two powerhouse teams United States vs. Canada, to clash at 7p.m.

Lacrosse, which originates in North America, is thought to date back to around 1100AD, making it possibly the oldest sport in North America. Lacrosse was originally played by Indigenous Americans to train warriors, honour deities, fight battles and even to heal illnesses! Missionaries and early American pioneers adopted and codified the sport however before introducing it to communities across North America and the British Commonwealth. The first recorded Lacrosse game recorded in Ireland was in 1867, pre-dating the foundation of the GAA by almost 20 years.
Lacrosse is one of the fastest field sports in the world and combines elements of Hurling, Hockey, Basketball and Football. The objective is simple – to outscore your opponent. The key piece of equipment is the Lacrosse stick which is used to catch, carry, and pass a rubber ball to your teammates and shoot into your opponent’s goal. 2 goals, surrounded by a circular crease, face each other across a pitch measuring 100 x 60 yards. Each team consists of 10 players – 3 attackers, 3 midfielders and 4 defenders, including a goalkeeper who is the only player who can use his hands.
Lacrosse is an extremely physical sport. Cross and body checking are allowed in Men’s Lacrosse meaning some of the hits can be brutal. Though Women’s Lacrosse differs in that, physicality is more limited, stick checking is still allowed and the nature and speed of the game means that body checking is often unavoidable and allowed within certain parameters.

If you would like to sponsor or help Team Ireland while they are in Denver email Don at [email protected]. The teams Facebook is www.facebook.com/irelandlacrosse and supporters FB https://www.facebook.com/groups/IELAX2014Supporters/
Tor tickets and other information on the 2014 Federation of International Lacrosse World Championship
Contact www.worldlacrosse2014.com