National Team Vision (Player Eligibility & Selection Policy)

National Team Vision (Player Eligibility & Selection Policy)

version: 2018_11

Ireland Lacrosse Mission Statement

“Ireland Lacrosse shall, first and foremost, work to develop the sport of lacrosse throughout the island of Ireland for both men and women and at all levels from youth to adult. Arising out of this development, Ireland Lacrosse shall also oversee, manage and support the Irish national teams – for men and women and at under-age and senior levels.”

In line with Ireland Lacrosse’s Mission Statement, our National Teams are closely linked to the growth and development of Lacrosse in Ireland. This growth and development is not solely about generating greater awareness and increasing player numbers, but also about improving the lacrosse ability of those selected and, as a consequence, the wider lacrosse playing population of Ireland.   We recognise the contributions made to our mission by members of the Irish diaspora and the assistance they provide on and off the field.  Our motto is ‘I dteannta a chéile’ – together as one – and we believe in promoting unity among all those interested in supporting the mission of Ireland Lacrosse, in all its facets.

Background

There was an Irish men’s national lacrosse team as far back as 1877.  The first Irish women’s national lacrosse team was established in 1930 and was active up until 1970.  In more recent times, the senior men’s national team re-emerged in 2001, while the senior women’s national team re-emerged in 2005.  Both have been in continuous existence since those dates.  In 2007 an Irish men’s indoor team was established.  In 2016 an Irish men’s under-19 national team was established as the first under-age national lacrosse team in Ireland’s history, and an Irish women’s under-19 national team makes its debut in 2019.  This brings the portfolio of Irish national lacrosse teams to five in total.

Objectives

The objectives of the Irish national lacrosse teams are as follows:

• To represent the Irish nation, in all its diversity;
• To represent Ireland in major European and international tournaments, demonstrating qualities such as application, work-rate, commitment, sportsmanship, fair play, and respect for fellow players, coaches, officials, administrators and spectators;
• To increase the quantity of domestic players participating in Irish national team events, including ID Camps, Selection Camps, Tryouts, National Development Teams (e.g. Éire, Emerald Islanders) and the Irish national teams themselves and their participation in major tournaments;
• To increase the quality of domestic players participating in the full range of Irish national team events by providing coaching, instruction, support, training, encouragement and opportunity for domestic players to become better players, as provided by coaches, support staff and teammates;
• To contribute to an increase in the number of lacrosse players in Ireland – men and women and of all ages – by generating greater awareness of and publicity for the sport among the Irish public;
• To contribute to an increase in the number of domestic lacrosse coaches in Ireland by creating opportunities for domestic coaches to be part of the staff of the various Irish national teams;
• To contribute to an increase in the number of domestic lacrosse officials by identifying opportunities for individuals to get involved in officiating in conjunction with participation by the Irish national teams in various tournaments and other events;
• To contribute to an increase in the number of administrators involved in supporting all facets of the mission of Ireland Lacrosse, including but not limited to the Irish national teams;
• To contribute to an increase in the membership of Ireland Lacrosse, to help provide support for the Irish national teams and for the development and growth of lacrosse in Ireland.

Player Eligibility Rules

Ireland Lacrosse is fully compliant with the player eligibility rules as defined by World Lacrosse (WL).  To be eligible to play for the Irish national lacrosse team, players must:

• Be a member of Ireland Lacrosse – All players must be members of Ireland Lacrosse, the national governing body for the sport of lacrosse in Ireland, in order to participate in any and all national team related events, including tryouts, training camps, specific games featuring the Irish national team and major tournaments. The online member registration form is available on the HERE.  An individual is not considered a fully registered member unless they have also paid the requisite membership fee.  Membership of Ireland Lacrosse is renewable annually.

• Register and participate in an Ireland Lacrosse tryout, including a final tryout/training camp in Ireland– details of all such events and the registration process are posted on the Ireland Lacrosse website and through the various Ireland Lacrosse social media outlets.

• Participate in fundraising and other activities to support the development of lacrosse in Ireland and the Irish national teams.

• Meet the World Lacrosse player eligibility requirements as listed below.

Nationality:

Prime criteria for eligibility is to be a passport holder of Ireland…… but the following will also be accepted:

• Birth/Naturalisation– Born on the island of Ireland or naturalised within Ireland; effectively, becomes a passport holder. Note that in any situation of naturalisation without becoming a Passport Holder this would be part of the limitation on Non-Passport holders stated below.

• Parents – One or both parents, adoptive parents or step-parents born on the island of Ireland.  Note that if not a Passport Holder then this would be part of the limitation on Non-Passport holders.

• Grandparents – One or more birth / adoptive grandparents born on the island of Ireland.  Note that if not a Passport Holder then this would be part of the limitation on Non-Passport holders.  Note that step-grandparents are not acceptable.

• Marriage – Spouse being born on the island of Ireland with the qualification that both the spouse and player-candidate must be resident in Ireland.  This criteria relates to accepted marriage in the context of a civil or religious ceremony. “Common law” situations and/or partnerships without such formal acceptance (and hence supporting documentation) will not be accepted. In the event of death of the spouse this would not prevent the individual from qualifying by this criteria. Divorce from the spouse would disqualify the individual from qualifying by this criteria. Note that if not a Passport Holder then this would be part of the limitation on Non-Passport holders.

• Residence –Minimum of a two-year residency period in the playing country within the last five years. This does not necessarily have to be a continuous period but a cumulative total period of two years over the previous five years. Note that if not a Passport Holder then this would be part of the limitation on Non-Passport holders.

Limitation on Non-Passport Holders:

Any squad for any WL event shall have at least 85% (in all cases rounded downwards) of the playing squad qualifying through the possession of a passport of Ireland. Qualification by other than possessing an Ireland passport – through birth/naturalisation, parents, grandparents, marriage or residency, as defined above – will be limited to 15% (in all cases rounded upwards).

As an example, in the case of the men’s field game this would be 85% of a playing squad of 23 players, which is 19.55 rounded down to 19.  Consequently the maximum number of non-passport holders on a men’s field team is 4.  In the case of the women’s field game this would be 85% of a playing squad of 18 players, which is 15.30 rounded down to 15.  Consequently the maximum number of non-passport holders on a women’s field team is 3.

Age Limitation:

The lower limit age that applies to all World Championships and WL sanctioned events is 16 years of age (men) and 15 years of age (women) as of the day prior to the championship event.

Eligibility Relating to Dual Passport Holders:

Any competitor who is a national of two or more countries at the same time and holding passports of these countries may represent either one of them as he /she may elect. However, after having represented one country in a recognised (by World Lacrosse) event, he /she may not represent another country unless he/she meets other eligibility conditions set out in the by-laws which include a three-year period between playing for one country and playing for another country.

Other conditions:

The WL player eligibility rules set-out further conditions regarding age considerations and flexibility for emerging nations, including special dispensations at U19 level.  Further information is available via the World Lacrosse website.

Policy on Irish National Lacrosse Team Composition

In addition to the player eligibility rules set-out by WL, which all Irish national teams are compliant with, Ireland Lacrosse has also established a policy relating to the composition of each Irish national team.  The primary objective of this policy is to link each Irish national team with the development of lacrosse in Ireland, as per the mission of Ireland Lacrosse.  The following requirements apply regarding eligibility for, and composition of, any and all Irish national teams:

• National Team player selection is presided over by a Player Selection Panel consisting of the Head Coach and Assistant Coaches of that particular Irish national team, together with the National Teams Director (Chair) and the Ireland Lacrosse CEO;
• Ireland Lacrosse will announce the selection process for each national team via its website and social media channels. This will normally consist of a series of tryouts and training camps;
• A player must attend a designated tryout relevant to the selection process for that particular Irish national team, in order to be considered for selection to that team. The final tryout/training camp will take place in Ireland and participation in this is compulsory for all players in order to be considered for selection to that team. Where a domestic player (as defined below) is unable to attend a preliminary tryout, they may apply for permission to attend the final tryout and be considered for selection for the team.  This permission must be sought in writing and addressed to the National Teams Director (Chair of the Player Selection Panel) with a clear rationale for being unable to attend a preliminary tryout.  Permission to do this is by no means guaranteed and is intended to be granted only in exceptional circumstances.  Such players must register and pay for the relevant domestic preliminary tryout event which they will miss;
• The majority of players (minimum 51% of the roster) on each Irish national team must come from within Ireland (hereinafter to be referred to as ‘domestic’);
• A domestic player is defined as a player who:
  • Resides in Ireland on a full-time basis for a cumulative total of two out of the previous three years prior to the date of the final try-out/training camp (for the avoidance of doubt, players who work or study on a full time basis outside of Ireland will not be considered domestic players). Documentary evidence of this period of residency must be provided on request by any member of the Player Selection Panel; AND
  • Plays (or contributes when unable to play) in the Irish Lacrosse League and other Ireland Lacrosse events; AND
  • Will reside in Ireland and play (or contribute when unable to play) in Ireland until the date of the relevant tournament. Failure to comply with this requirement will result in a player losing their domestic status, which may result in them losing their place in the squad.
• The Player Selection Panel for a particular Irish national team reserves the right to adjudicate on their status as a domestic player to ensure compliance with the above definition. Any queries regarding domestic player status may be directed to the Player Selection Panel via the Chair (National Teams Director);
• An increase in the proportion of domestic players on the Irish national teams, beyond the existing 51%, will be considered where the level of participation in the relevant tryouts merits such an increase;
• The Éire (men’s & women’s field) and Emerald Islanders (men’s indoor) teams have been established as the Irish national lacrosse team development programmes. Ireland Lacrosse works to ensure that these teams are developed and managed alongside, and as close as possible, to the respective Irish national teams when the Éire and Emerald Islanders teams are entered into ‘festival’ tournaments that take place alongside major international tournaments.  Players for the Éire and Emerald Islanders teams for the festival tournaments are selected from the pool of players who attend the relevant tryouts for a given Irish national team but are not chosen for selection to that team.  The Éire and Emerald Islanders teams also compete in other games and tournaments outside of the ‘festival’ tournaments.  How these teams are selected is determined on an event-by-event basis.

Any Irish underage national team (e.g. U19 or U20) will conform to this policy as closely as possible, but some exception may be required given their only very recent establishment. The Player Selection Panel for these teams must endeavour to get as close as possible to the minimum 51% of the player roster consisting of domestic players.

In considering individual players for selection to any and all Irish national lacrosse teams, the Player Selection Panel will consider the following (in no particular order of importance):

• Lacrosse skill
• Lacrosse ‘Game IQ’
• Fitness
• Effort and Work-Rate
• Coachability
• Character
• Commitment to the mission of Ireland Lacrosse

This policy will be reviewed on an annual basis, at the Ireland Lacrosse Annual General Meeting (AGM) which typically takes place in April each year.