Palm Beach County will be home to the largest lacrosse showcase on the globe. The Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) selected The Palm Beaches as the destination for the IWLCA Presidents Cup and Fall Debut over the next three years. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will partner with the IWLCA and Corrigan Sports to host the Presidents Cup at the International Polo Club and Village Park in Wellington starting with the 2019 edition taking place on November 22-24.
Consisting of 460 women’s high school age lacrosse teams, the IWLCA Presidents Cup and Fall Debut presents the largest collection of lacrosse teams on the globe. Approximately 8,000 athletes, 900 team coaches, and over 15,000 total visitors will travel to The Palm Beaches. This event offers several divisions based on the athlete’s high school graduation year, which includes all age groups from 14 – 18. Approximately 1,000 lacrosse games will take place during the 3-day span with each team will be guaranteed to play a minimum of four (4) games.
The International Polo Club (IPC), Village Park, and Deeridge Farms in Wellington will provide a remarkable setting for this epic lacrosse event. The International Polo Club (IPC) is a remarkable venue that maintains 248 acres of beautifully manicured land. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will layout nearly 47 lacrosse fields over eight (8) polo pitches. Village Park is one of Palm Beach County’s premier municipal parks and will provide an additional ten (10) lighted fields for this tournament. In total, 57 lacrosse fields will be featured during the IWLCA Presidents Cup and Fall Debut. Deeridge Farms, which is one of the elite equestrian facilities in The Palm Beaches, will accommodate the parking needs.
In addition to the Presidents Cup, the IWLCA will also bring its Annual Meeting to The Palm Beaches for the next three years. The 2019 IWLCA Annual Meeting will take place from November 20-22 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center. The IWLCA Annual Meeting attracts college lacrosse coaches from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, II, & III and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The IWLCA has purposefully combined its Annual Coaches Meeting with the Presidents Cup to create a dynamic lacrosse showcase and recruiting environment while ultimately growing the number of college coaches and lacrosse teams that will come together.
The IWLCA Presidents Cup has a storied history in Florida. In 2008, this event relocated to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando. The event enjoyed a tremendous stay in Orlando over the last 11 years and has transformed into one of the largest amateur sports events taking place annually in the United States. Both the number of teams competing in the IWLCA Presidents Cup and the number of coaches attending the IWLCA Annual Meeting has grown every year.
Very few communities have the privilege and ability to host a tournament the size of the IWLCA Presidents Cup, which transforms destinations into a lacrosse centerpiece. In addition to the exciting lacrosse action, the IWLCA Presidents Cup provides enormous tourism benefits. This event is expected to generate nearly 15,000 hotel room nights and more than $10 million in economic impact for Palm Beach County. The event which will significantly impact hotel occupancy levels, bed tax revenues, and visitor spending during the month of November.
“Winning the bid for the IWLCA Annual Meeting and Presidents Cup is a historic occasion for Palm Beach County,” remarked John Smith, President of the Palm Beach County Sports Commission. “Hosting the largest sporting event of its kind for one of the fastest growing sports in the nation further elevates Palm Beach County as one of the premier sports destinations in Florida.”
“The Palm Beach County Sports Commission is humbled, honored, and excited that the IWLCA will bring its Annual Meeting and Presidents Cup to The Palm Beaches,” says George Linley, Executive Director of the Palm Beach County Sports Commission. “The abundance of new dollars and rise in hotel occupancy will be welcomed by the hospitality and business community. Hotels from Jupiter to Boca Raton will experience a surge of business during the fall. There are very few opportunities to host a single sports event that will create a positive economic explosion, countywide.”
The IWLCA is a membership-led nonprofit association representing the nation’s intercollegiate women’s lacrosse coaches within Division I, II & III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The mission of the IWLCA is to cultivate the growth of and to promote excellence in intercollegiate women’s lacrosse. The IWLCA and Corrigan Sports offer several recruiting tournaments annually, including the Presidents Cup.
