NDP ANNOUNCES ADDITION OF NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFYING TOURNAMENTS
(March 02, 2010)
NDP Lacrosse is proud to announce the addition of three tournaments that have been awarded the distinction as official qualifying tournaments of the 5th annual Dick’s Sporting Goods Tournament of Champions, the club lacrosse national championship. The new qualifiers are the Bucknell Bison Brawl (Lewisburg, Pa.), the Brine Sun & Surf Lacrosse Tournament (Virginia Beach, Va.), and the Georgia Southern Shootout (Gainesville).
The new additions come on the heels of the most successful national championship tournament to date. In January, 53 teams from 17 states and two Canadian provinces gathered in Pasco County, Florida for the 4th edition of the Dick’s Sporting Goods Tournament of Champions. With a newly-added U13 division on the slate for the 2011 tournament, the qualifiers are coming on board at a good time.
“We are extremely pleased about these new tournaments joining the program,” said Brian Tatum, Director of Operations for NDP Lacrosse. “Our program continues to grow in popularity. Since January, we have received numerous proposals from tournaments all over the nation that want to get involved and serve as qualifiers. The three tournaments that we selected are ideal because of what they offer in terms of location and a quality playing experience.”
Held in July on the campus of Bucknell University, the Bucknell Bison Brawl (July 6-9) has become one of Pennsylvania’s premier events for top teams looking to compete at the highest level. Bucknell University Men’s Lacrosse Assistant Coach Joe Connor attended the 2010 national championship and saw immediately that a natural fit existed between the two tournaments. “When I saw the level of play and competition down in Florida, I knew that the Bucknell Bison Brawl would fit the model of a qualifier and send quality teams to compete for the title. We are very pleased with being named a qualifier for such a great championship tournament.”
The Brine Sun & Surf Lacrosse Tournament (June 19-20) is the latest addition to the long list of events owned and operated by Baltimore based Aloha Tournaments.
“The leadership at Aloha does such a great job of producing quality tournaments, and their events are nationally recognized as some of the very best out there,” said Josh Gross, NDP’s Manager of Marketing & Public Relations. “We have been working with Aloha since the inception of NDP and we expect the Virginia Beach tournament to be another success.”
The Georgia Southern Shootout (July 24-25), operated by Atlanta-based Copperhead Lacrosse, takes over the mantle as the only qualifier in the state of Georgia and joins the Derek Pieper Memorial (Wesley Chapel, FL) as the only two qualifiers in the southeastern United States.
“Our teams have played at the championship in Florida and we have seen the dramatic improvement in our players’ skills,” said Copperhead Lacrosse Director Tom DeBole. “Our tournament being named a qualifier speaks to the rapidly improving quality of lacrosse in Georgia and throughout the entire south. We couldn’t be more excited to be part of the program.”
For more information on these tournaments and all of the official qualifying tournaments, log on to www.laxtoc.com.
|