 | |
| Sport | Lacrosse |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | International |
| Membership | 31 |
| Abbreviation | ELF |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Affiliation | World Lacrosse |
| President | Steph Migchelsen [1] |
| Official website | |
| europeanlacrosse | |
European Lacrosse Federation (ELF) is the sport governing body of men and women's lacrosse in Europe. It was founded in 1995 by the Czech Republic, Scotland, England, Sweden, Germany, and Wales. [2] There are currently 34 member nations. [3]
The ELF sponsors the European Lacrosse Championships for national teams in both men’s and women's lacrosse. [4] The annual Aleš Hřebeský Memorial tournament in Prague is the largest European box lacrosse tournament. [5] The main club field lacrosse competition is the Ken Galluccio Cup, where the winner of each country’s league competes to decide the European club champion.
The ELF is an affiliate member of the lacrosse world governing body, World Lacrosse. 21 ELF members are full members of the WL, which is the majority of all full members.
In March 2022, due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian teams, athletes, and officials were suspended from participation in World Lacrosse events and qualifiers, and it was decided that no World Lacrosse or European Lacrosse Federation events would be held in Russia. [6]
| Country | Member Name |
|---|---|
 Austria | Austrian Lacrosse Association |
 Belgium | Belgian Lacrosse Federation |
 Bulgaria | Bulgarian Lacrosse Federation |
 Croatia | Croatian Lacrosse Association |
 Czech Republic | Czech Lacrosse Union |
 Denmark | Danish Lacrosse Federation |
 England | England Lacrosse |
 Estonia | Estonia Lacrosse |
 Finland | Finnish Lacrosse Association |
 France | French Lacrosse Association |
 Germany | German Lacrosse Association |
 Greece | Greece Lacrosse |
 Hungary | Hungary Lacrosse |
 Ireland | Ireland Lacrosse |
 Israel | Israel Lacrosse |
 Italy | Italian Lacrosse Federation |
 Latvia | Latvia Lacrosse Federation |
 Lithuania | Lithuania Lacrosse |
 Netherlands | Dutch Lacrosse Association |
 Norway | Norwegian Federation of American Sports |
 Poland | Polish Lacrosse Federation |
 Portugal | Portuguese Lacrosse Association |
 Russia | Russia Lacrosse |
 Scotland | Lacrosse Scotland |
 Serbia | Serbian Lacrosse Federation |
 Slovakia | Slovak Lacrosse Federation |
 Slovenia | Slovenia Lacrosse |
 Spain | Spanish Lacrosse Association |
 Sweden | Sweden Lacrosse |
 Switzerland | Swiss Lacrosse Federation |
 Turkey | Turkish Lacrosse Association |
 Ukraine | Ukrainian Lacrosse |
 Wales | Welsh Lacrosse Association |
Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively modified by European colonists, reducing the violence, to create its current collegiate and professional form.
The World Lacrosse Men's Championship, formerly World Lacrosse Championship, is the international men's field lacrosse championship organized by World Lacrosse that occurs every four years.
Field lacrosse is a full contact outdoor sport played with two opposing teams of ten players each. The sport originated among Native Americans, and the modern rules of field lacrosse were initially codified by Canadian William George Beers in 1867. Field lacrosse is one of three major versions of lacrosse played internationally. The rules of men's lacrosse differ significantly from women's field lacrosse. The two are often considered to be different sports with a common root. An outdoor six-a-side version, lacrosse sixes, was established in 2021 and features six players per team, reduced field size, and shorter duration to be conducive for daily tournament play. Another version, indoor box lacrosse, is also played under different rules.
The Fédération Internationale de Volleyball, commonly known by the acronym FIVB, is the international governing body for all forms of volleyball. Its headquarters are located in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its current president is Ary Graça of Brazil.
The European Handball Federation (EHF) is the umbrella organisation for European handball. Founded on 17 November 1991, it is made of 50 member federations and two associated federations, and is headquartered in Vienna, Austria.
The International Orienteering Federation (IOF) is the international governing body of the sport of orienteering. The IOF head office is located in Karlstad, Sweden. The IOF governs four orienteering disciplines: foot orienteering, mountain bike orienteering, ski orienteering, and trail orienteering.
The International Biathlon Union is the international governing body of biathlon. Its headquarters were in Salzburg, Austria, until May 2020, when the Federation moved to Anif, on the outskirts of the city. It was rocked by a corruption scandal that broke in 2018, concerning the Russians bribing its top two officials. In 2022, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, as invading nations, were suspended from all international biathlon competitions until further notice.
The Russia men's national volleyball team is governed by the Russian Volleyball Federation and took part in international volleyball competitions.
The most popular sport in Russia is soccer. According to Yandex search analysis results rating of the most popular sports among Russians: "Football topped the list of the most popular sports in Russia" with 5 to 10 million requests. Ice hockey came in second with handball, basketball, futsal, boxing, auto racing, volleyball, athletics, tennis, and chess rounding out the top ten rankings. Other popular sports include bandy, biathlon, figure skating, weightlifting, gymnastics, wrestling, martial arts, rugby union, and skiing.
The International Floorball Federation (IFF) is the worldwide governing body for the sport of floorball. It was founded on 12 April 1986 in Huskvarna, Sweden, by representatives from the national floorball associations of Finland, Sweden and Switzerland. It is recognized by the IOC and is an ordinary member of the ARISF.
Tennis Europe was formed in Rome, Italy on 31 May 1975 by a group of 17 European national tennis federations as a regional governing body for the sport of tennis and under the auspices of the International Tennis Federation. It is the world's largest regional association of the sport's governing body, the International Tennis Federation, with 50 member states in 2015.
World Lacrosse (WL), formerly the Federation of International Lacrosse, is the international governing body of lacrosse, responsible for the men's, women's, and indoor versions of the sport. It was established in 2008 by the merger of the previously separate men's and women's international lacrosse associations. Its headquarters are in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States.
The International Basketball Federation is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the equipment and facilities required, organizes international competitions, regulates the transfer of athletes across countries, and controls the appointment of international referees. A total of 212 national federations are members, organized since 1989 into five zones: Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.
The Welsh Lacrosse Association (WLA) is the governing body for lacrosse in Wales. It was recognized by the International Federation of Women's Lacrosse Associations in 1972, the first year of the IFWLA. It is one of 34 full members of the Federation of International Lacrosse, the current international governing body for men's and women's lacrosse. The WLA is responsible for international competitions, including the International Festival of Lacrosse at Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent county borough in 1992, the first Welsh men's international game in 85 years and the first to be played in Wales. WLA manages the Welsh men's and women's national lacrosse teams that play in the European Lacrosse Championships, the World Lacrosse Championships, and the Women's Lacrosse World Cup.
The Czech Lacrosse Union, is the governing body of lacrosse in the Czech Republic. It conducts national junior and senior championship tournaments for men and women in field lacrosse, box lacrosse and intercrosse. The Czech Lacrosse Union sends national teams at the World Indoor Lacrosse Championship, World Lacrosse Championship and Women's Lacrosse World Cup in senior and junior categories.
First Nations Lacrosse Association is the governing body of lacrosse for First Nations within Canada and Native American tribes within the United States.
The 2023 World Lacrosse Championship was the 14th edition of the international men's field lacrosse tournament for national teams organized by World Lacrosse. Initially scheduled for 2022, it was postponed to 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament was held in San Diego, California.
The Russian Volleyball Federation is the governing body of volleyball in Russia; although existing since 1991, it is the prosecutor of the pre-existing Soviet volleyball federation.
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