The Welsh Lacrosse Association (WLA) is the

governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ...

for

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. It was recognized by the International Federation of Women's Lacrosse Associations in 1972, the first year of the IFWLA. It is one of 34 full members of the Federation of International Lacrosse, the current international governing body for men's and

women's lacrosse Women's lacrosse (or girls' lacrosse), sometimes shortened to lax, is a sport with twelve players on the field at a time (including the goalkeeper). Originally played by indigenous peoples of the Americas, the modern women's game was introduce ...

. The WLA is responsible for international competitions, including the International Festival of Lacrosse at Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent

county borough County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent te ...

in 1992, the first Welsh men's international game in 85 years and the first to be played in Wales. WLA manages the Welsh men's and women's national lacrosse teams that play in the

European Lacrosse Championships The European Lacrosse Championships began in 1995, the same year as the founding of the European Lacrosse Federation (ELF), to determine the best national lacrosse team of Europe. The men's tournament was held that first year, with the women ...

, the

World Lacrosse Championship The World Lacrosse Championship (WLC) is the international men's field lacrosse championship organized by World Lacrosse that occurs every four years. The WLC began before any international lacrosse organization had been formed. It started as ...

s, and the

Women's Lacrosse World Cup The World Lacrosse Women's World Championship (WLWWC), formerly known as the Women's Lacrosse World Cup (WLWC), the international championship of women's lacrosse, is held every four years. From its inception in 1982, it was sponsored by the gov ...

Men's national lacrosse team

In 1995, Wales finished third in the first European Lacrosse Championship in

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Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. Then the Dragons finished between fourth and seventh place in the next seven competitions, but fell to 10th place in 2012. In the last competition in

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, Wales rebounded to 4th place. Wales first competed in the World Lacrosse Championship in

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, finishing last in 11th place. In the next three tournaments, Wales finished in 12th, 13th, and 11th place again, while the tournament size increased to 29 teams. In

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, the Welsh men finished 17th of 38 nations. Wales has not fielded a

box lacrosse Box lacrosse, also known as boxla, box, or indoor lacrosse, is an indoor version of lacrosse played mostly in North America. The game originated in Canada in the 1930s, where it is more popular than field lacrosse. Lacrosse is Canada's officia ...

team in the

World Indoor Lacrosse Championship The World Box Lacrosse Championship (WBLC), formerly known as the World Indoor Lacrosse Championship (WILC), is an international box lacrosse tournament sponsored by World Lacrosse that is held every four years. Since the first tournament in 2003, ...

Women's national team

Wales finished sixth of six teams in the first three

s in 1982, 1986, and 1989. Since then, Wales has finished between fourth (1997) and seventh (

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) place as the tournament has grown to 25 teams. The Welsh women have earned a medal in all

held since the first in 1996, except they did not compete in 2003. Wales was the gold medal winner in 1999, 2004, and 2008.

References

External links

*
Men's national teamWomen's national team
Sports governing bodies in Wales Lacrosse governing bodies in Europe {{lacrosse-stub