World Lacrosse Shifts Two World Championships to 2022

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, USA - As the global pandemic brought about by the COVID-19 virus continues to disrupt the international sport calendar, World Lacrosse has, regrettably, made the decision to postpone its two World Championships originally scheduled for 2021 by one year and will instead stage the events in 2022.

In a unanimous decision by the World Lacrosse Board of Directors, taken December 8 during its regular monthly meeting:

1. The World Lacrosse Women’s World Championship is being postponed from 2021 to 2022. The event will still be held in Towson, Maryland, USA at Towson University. The dates for the rescheduled event are to be confirmed, but likely will be late June / early July 2022.

2. The World Lacrosse Men’s U20 World Championship is also being postponed from 2021 to 2022. It is expected the event will still be held in Limerick, Ireland at the University of Limerick. The dates for the rescheduled event are to be confirmed, but likely will be late July / early August 2022.

To make certain athletes who otherwise would have been eligible to compete in the event had it been held in 2021 still have the opportunity to do so, the upper age limit for eligibility will be raised, on a one-time basis, to U21.

With these changes, the sequence of international events for World Lacrosse and its members in 2022 likely will be:

Late June / Early July 2022 

World Lacrosse Women’s World Championship Towson, Maryland, USA

July 7-17 

The World Games 2022 Birmingham, Alabama, USA

Late July / Early August

2022 World Lacrosse Men’s U21 World Championship Limerick, Ireland

The changes to the international calendar were first shared with the World Lacrosse membership and participating teams on December 8.

In making the decision, the World Lacrosse Board of Directors examined the continued impact, uncertainty and disruption to preparations for these events brought about by the global pandemic, along with input provided by its member-National Governing Bodies and participating teams regarding athlete health and safety, team training, travel and other logistical considerations.

“These are extremely difficult decisions, particularly given the need to provide our members with as much advance notice as possible whilst managing the risk and uncertainty brought about by the pandemic,” said World Lacrosse PresidentSue Redfern. “Given the full range of considerations, this is the right decision for World Lacrosse and our members. An extra year to prepare means the participating teams will be able to train with certainty in knowing these events will take place in 2022, and athletes can now focus on preparing with confidence for their moment on the global stage.”