Lacrosse in Israel

Lacrosse in Israel is a minor sport, with 700 players as of June 2015.[1]

Lacrosse in Israel
Country Israel
Governing bodyIsrael Lacrosse Association
National team(s)
International competitions

Israel Lacrosse Association
Israel Lacrosse Association
SportLacrosse
Founded2010
AffiliationEuropean Lacrosse Federation World Lacrosse
HeadquartersAshkelon, Israel
CoachWilliam Beroza
Official website
www.lacrosse.co.il
Israel

The Israel Lacrosse Association (ILA) is the official governing body of lacrosse in Israel, and is a member of World Lacrosse and the European Lacrosse Federation.[2] It was founded to develop and promote lacrosse within Israel and strives to offer lacrosse to Israelis of all ages.[3] Israel Lacrosse was founded in 2010 by Scott Neiss who previously served as an executive for the National Lacrosse League, along with William Beroza and Howard Borkan.[4] It was officially recognized by World Lacrosse in April 2011.[5] Israel Lacrosse COO David Lasday directs grassroots youth lacrosse expansion utilizing the status and influence of National Team players to develop the sport throughout Israel [6]

Israel Premier Lacrosse League
Main article: Israel Premier Lacrosse League

The Israel Premier Lacrosse League (IPLL) is the premier lacrosse league in Israel, which debuted in 2015.[7] The league competes during summer months only, in an attempt to attract players from abroad to participate.[8]

Teams

The IPLL had four teams in the 2015 season before expanding to six in 2016, which were:[9]

Team 2015 2016 Notes
Ashdod LC—4th2016 expansion team[10]
Ashkelon LC3rd3rdThird official club - [11]
Barak Netanya LC1st5thSecond official club[12]
Be'er Sheva LC—1st2016 expansion team[13]
Haifa LC2nd2ndFirst official club[12]
Kiryat Gat LC—6th
Tel Aviv LC4th—Fourth official club,[14] suspended operations after 2015.[13]

Fields

There are six stadiums used by the IPLL which are:

Field City
Ashdod Sport ClubAshdod
New Municipal StadiumAshkelon
Mikha Reisser FieldBe’er Sheva
Kiryat Gat SyntheticKiryat Gat
Tubruq FieldNetanya
Wolfson FieldsTel Aviv

2015 season

The 2015 season was the inaugural season of the IPLL. Barak Netanya LC won the IPLL Championship with a win over Haifa LC, with Bryan Hopper winning the EL AL Player of the Game award.[15] A total of 16 games were played, with each team playing eight games.

Pos Team GP W L
1Barak Netanya LC862
2Haifa LC862
3Ashkelon LC835
4Tel Aviv LC817

Source:[16]

2016 season

The 2016 season of the IPLL was their second season. Tel Aviv LC decided to suspend operations for the 2016 season, however Ashdod LC, Kiryat Gat LC, and Be'er Sheva LC joined the league for the 2016 season. A total of 22 games were played, with each team playing either seven or eight games.

Rank Team GP W L Score Points
1Be'er Sheva LC76168:536
2Haifa LC75270:265
3Ashkelon LC85364:635
4Ashdod LC74352:484
5Barak Netanya LC71645:751
6Kiryat Gat LC81744:781

Source:[17]

2018 season
Rank Team GP W L Score Points
1Be'er Sheva LC76177:646
2Ashkelon LC74372:734
3Haifa LC74363:584
4Barak Netanya LC74367:544
5Herzliya LC74368:614
6Sderot73459:643
7Ashdod LC72555:685
8Kiryat Gat LC71646:651

Source:[18]

International competition

Israel fields men's, indoor, and women's national teams, which compete at both European and World levels.

European Lacrosse Championships
Main article: European_Lacrosse_Championships § Men's_competition

In 2016, Israel's men's team won the Silver Medal, placing second in a field of 24, England won the gold 7-6 in regulation play. This was Israel's first medal in international play.[19]

Year Result
Netherlands 20128th place
Hungary 20162nd place, silver medalist(s)nd place

World Lacrosse Championships
Main article: World Lacrosse Championship

In its first-ever appearance, for the Men's 2014 World Lacrosse Championship in Denver,[20][21] Israel finished in 7th place out of 38 nations. Four years later, with the 2018 World Lacrosse Championship held in Netanya, Israel, Israel again finished in 7th place, this time out of 46 nations.

Year Result
United States 20147th place
Israel 20187th place

Women's European Lacrosse Championships
Main article: European_Lacrosse_Championships § Women's_competition
Year Result
Czech Republic 20154th place
Israel 20192nd place, silver medalist(s)nd place

Women's Lacrosse World Cup
Main article: Women's Lacrosse World Cup
Year Result
Canada 20138th place
England 20176th place

Shabbat policy

The ILA has a consistent position of not playing or scheduling games during Shabbat.[22] Israel Lacrosse released a statement saying: “As a new sport to Israel it is imperative . . . we cannot ignore that reasonably large percentage of our nations’ people, our teams’ players and our associations’ members would be offended if we took the field on Shabbat." The organization has stated that the policy is a national identity issue, not a religious issue.

References
  1. Bridging Gaps Through Lacrosse
  2. "Country List". Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  3. "About Us : Israel Lacrosse". Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
  4. Israel Lacrosse Granted FIL Membership
  5. ROSEN TABBED ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH FOR ISRAEL LACROSSE NATIONAL TEAM
  6. "Israel Lacrosse Granted FIL Membership". Federation of International Lacrosse. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  7. Israel Premier Lacrosse League Set for 2015 Launch Archived 2016-08-22 at the Wayback Machine
  8. IPLL Announces 2015 Schedule
  9. "ISRAELI PLAYERS". Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  10. "Ashdod Announced as IPLL Expansion Club". Archived from the original on 2016-09-23. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  11. Ashkelon officially joins the Premier League
  12. Israel Premier League announces new club in Netanya
  13. "Be'er Sheva joins IPLL for 2016 season". Archived from the original on 2016-09-23. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  14. Israel Premier Lacrosse League to begin play in Summer 2015
  15. "Barak Netanya claims IPLL crown". Archived from the original on 2016-09-23. Retrieved 2016-08-16.
  16. 2015 Standings
  17. Schedule / Results
  18. Schedule / Results
  19. "England holds on to edge Israel in Euro Final – Israel Lacrosse". lacrosse.co.il. Archived from the original on 2016-08-12.
  20. "Israel qualifies for 2014 World Lacrosse Championship". Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
  21. Hudes, Sammy (7 October 2012). "Israeli lacrosse team qualifies for world championship". Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  22. McGran, Kevin (15 July 2013). "Women's lacrosse team from Israel ready to forfeit World Cup rather than play on Sabbath". The Star. Toronto. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
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