
US Club Lax has announced a partnership with Elite Tournaments to host the inaugural US Club Lacrosse National Championship in Richmond, Virginia, featuring the top 16 teams in each age group determined by US Club Lax ratings.
The tournament will be from August 1-4 at the River City Sportsplex and mark the culmination of the yearlong Club Lacrosse seasonal calendar. Eligible teams must follow qualifying rules listed online. Partnerships or alliances between two or more clubs to create qualifying teams will not be permitted nor will double rostering be allowed.
“What separates this event from others is that the independent games played in tournaments and league play throughout the year will add up for a greater competitive purpose,” says Denis Noonan, chief executive officer of US Club Lax. “We are additionally excited about working with Elite Tournaments, whose reputation as one of the premier independent event organizers is the perfect partner to host an event of this scale. Through their multi-sport operational expertise and the success they have had with the IWLCA Tournament Series, we know we are in good hands.”
From September to August, there are over 10,000 club teams who participate in over 250 events each season.US Club Lax uses an algorithm to compute a rating for each individual team to improve the competitiveness of club lacrosse. These ratings will now be utilized as a metric to bring together the top ranked teams to compete based on their seasonal ranking.
“We are honored to announce our newest partnership with US Club Lax,” said Caitlin Schmelz, Elite Tournament’s director of lacrosse. “After our successful ongoing relationship with the IWLCA, it was a natural progression for our company to continue to partner with high level organizations such as US Club Lacrosse to continue to create the best lacrosse events in the country. With the creation of the US Club Lacrosse National Championship, we hope to bring new purpose and motivation to the club lacrosse scene.”