4 BURNING TOPICS 1. 2024: THE
OLYMPIC GOAL The FIL has targeted 2024 for lacrosse to join the Olympics. After several key steps, president Stan Cockerton said, “We have one thing left. But that last five yards is going to be tougher.”
The FIL could become an IOC-recognized sport as soon as January. But to become a participating Olympic event is another matter. The waiting list includes baseball/softball, karate, roller sports, sports climbing, squash, wakeboarding and wushu.
2. MOVING FORWARD
The IOC does not recognize the Iroquois Nationals, Wales, England or Scotland, the latter three comprising of Great Britain in Olympic competition. What will happen to those programs? Competitive balance also is a factor. The FIL will form an Olympic Vision Committee and hopes to raise $2-3 million for offices, staff, travel, marketing and lobbying efforts. “We’re going to have to sell ourselves,” Cockerton said. “There are a lot of people in the world that don’t know what lacrosse is.”
3. QUALIFICATION MODEL? The English Lacrosse Association has told the FIL it can accommodate up to 60 countries in Manchester in 2018, but Cockerton said ultimately the FIL would like more of its member nations to have the ability to host, and a smaller number of participating teams would promote that. It would also help the Olympic pursuit. The FIL could move to a qualification model that crowns regional qualifiers to a smaller world championship bracket, like the FIFA World Cup. But the FIL has just two allied members, the Asia Pacific Lacrosse Union and European Lacrosse Federation. What to do with the rest of the world?
4. RULE CHANGES?
The low-scoring gold medal game — and boos from the home crowd elicited from long Canadian possessions — raised the topic of a shot clock in the international game, arguments similar to that lobbying for a timer in the college game. Major League Lacrosse has used a shot clock since its inception in 2001. “I probably heard more rumblings about a
30-second, or 45-second time clock at this event more than I’ve ever heard,” Cockerton said.
38 LACROSSE MAGAZINE September 2014>>
Captain Patrick “Pato” Oriana carried Uganda to its first win, scoring with 36 seconds left to beat Korea 10-9.
A Publication of US Lacrosse
©SCOTT MCCALL
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