Palm Beach County will be home to one of the largest and most prestigious youth lacrosse events that takes place in the United States. The Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) selected The Palm Beaches as the destination for the IWLCA Presidents Cup over the next three years.
The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will partner with the IWLCA and Corrigan Sports Enterprises to host the Presidents Cup at the International Polo Club and Village Park in Wellington starting with the 2019 edition on November 22-24, 2019.
Consisting of nearly 400 women’s high school age lacrosse teams, the Presidents Cup presents one of the largest collections of lacrosse teams on the globe. Approximately 7,000 athletes, 760 team coaches, and over 15,000 total visitors will travel to The Palm Beaches. Participating teams will contend for titles in the high school freshmen, division (age 14) sophomore division (ages 15-16), the high school junior division (ages 16-17), the high school senior division (ages 17-18), and the Open division (ages 14-18). Over 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, consisting of nine (9) polo pitches. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission will layout nearly 40 lacrosse fields over 6 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. Deer Ridge 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 on November 20-22 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center and Hilton West Palm Beach. The IWLCA Annual Meeting attracts a majority of the 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 and 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. In 2011, the IWLCA combined its Annual Meeting with the Presidents Cup. High school lacrosse players learned they had the opportunity to perform in front of college coaches and team participation rapidly increased. 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 mecca. In addition to the exciting lacrosse action, the IWLCA Presidents Cup provides enormous tourism benefits. This event will generate over 15,000 hotel room nights and more than $10.5 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 Eric Call, President of the Palm Beach County Sports Commission. “Hosting one of the admired sporting amateur sports events on the globe 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 sporting 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 several recruiting tournaments annually, including the Presidents Cup.
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