Eligibility & Selection

Poland Lacrosse Foundation represents Poland lacrosse throughout North America. All proceeds and activities benefit lacrosse in Poland.

PLAYER ELIGIBILITY & SELECTION POLICY

OBJECTIVES

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

  • To represent the Polish nation, in all its diversity;
  • To increase the quantity of domestic players participating in Polish national team events, including Training Camps, Selection Camps, Tryouts, National Development Teams and the Polish national teams themselves and their participation in major tournaments;
  • To increase the quality of domestic players participating in the full range of Polish 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 Poland – men and women and of all ages – by generating greater awareness of and publicity for the sport among the Polish public;
  • To contribute to an increase in the number of domestic lacrosse coaches in Poland by creating opportunities for domestic coaches to be part of the staff of the various Polish 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 Polish national teams in various tournaments and other events;
  • To represent Poland 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 contribute to an increase in the number of administrators involved in supporting all facets of the mission of Poland Lacrosse, including but not limited to the Polish national teams;
  • To contribute to an increase in the membership of Poland Lacrosse, to help provide support for the Polish national teams and for the development and growth of lacrosse in Poland.

PLAYER ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Poland Lacrosse is fully compliant with the player eligibility rules as defined by the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL). To be eligible to play for the Polish national lacrosse team, players must:

  • Meet the FIL eligibility requirements (see below)
  • Meet the National Team’s Player Requirements; Participate in two National Team training camps in Poland, host a fundraiser and-or equipment drive and spend 2-4 weeks in Poland (non-residents) – details of all such events and the registration process are posted on the Poland Foundation website and through the various Poland Lacrosse social media outlets.

REQUIREMENTS FOR NON-PASSPORT HOLDERS:

  • Register for and participate in tournaments with the Poland Heritage Team; we will use this team as an evaluation and funnel system to send players over to Poland to coach, participate in league practices and attend international tournaments.
  • Spend 2-4 weeks in Poland as an intern (more information can be found in the “Get Involved” section of the Foundation website) prior to a major competition
  • Attend two training camps in Poland
  • Participate in fundraising and equipment drives

Meet the FIL player eligibility requirements as listed below:

NATIONALITY:

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

  • Birth/Naturalisation– Born in Poland or naturalised within Poland; 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 holdersstated below.
  • Parents – One or both parents, adoptive parents or step-parents born Poland. 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 in Poland. 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 in Poland with the qualification that both the spouse and player-candidate must be resident in Poland. 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 FIL event shall have at least 85% (in all cases rounded downwards) of the playing squad qualifying through the possession of a passport of Poland. Qualification by other than possessing a Polish 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 FIL sanctioned events is 16 years of age (men) and 15 years of age (women) as of the day prior to the championship event.

Other conditions:

The FIL 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 on the FIL website.

POLICY ON POLISH NATIONAL LACROSSE TEAM COMPOSITION

In addition to the player eligibility rules set-out by the FIL, which all Polish national teams are compliant with, Poland Lacrosse has also established a policy relating to the composition of each Polish national team. The primary objective of this policy is to link each Polish national team with the development of lacrosse in Poland, as per the mission of Poland Lacrosse. The following requirements apply regarding eligibility for, and composition of, any and all Polish 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 Polish national team, together with the National Teams Director (Chair);
  • Poland 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 national team, in order to be considered for selection to that team. The final tryout/training camp will take place in Poland and participation in this is compulsory for all players in order to be considered for selection to that team.

In considering individual players for selection to any and all Polish 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 Poland Lacrosse.

This policy will be reviewed on an annual basis