The World Lacrosse Box Championships are a quadrennial event featuring the world’s best teams and players.
The event has been held five times, first in 2003, as a men’s box competition and will be contested this year in Utica, N.Y.
This year’s edition now includes a women’s championship, a Canadian National team debut, and representation by a New Brunswicker.
Megan Kingston, a native of Quispamsis, has made her mark in Box Lacrosse as a player, official, and coach. Now stepping into the role of assistant coach for the women’s national team, she expresses her enthusiasm for representing Canada and the East Coast.
“I think just the fact there’s a world tournament for women now, it shows women we are a part of this sport, this sport is for us, and we are meant to be, we are now at the highest level possible,” said Kingston.
“I think myself being there as an advocate for women on the East Coast, it just creates a pathway for our players, our coaches, our officials, and everyone involved with women’s lacrosse.”
Kingston’s involvement in Box Lacrosse includes playing for Team Atlantic in 2011 and Team New Brunswick in 2013, officiating at the 2015 and 2018 Female Box Lacrosse Nationals, and coaching various teams.
Notably, she founded the all-female program, The Fundy Furies, and served as the head coach for Female Team New Brunswick at the Canada Games.
Currently, she coaches the U17 Female Team NB and is president of the Saint John Rapids Lacrosse Club, overseeing both male and female teams competing in the ECJLL.
A total of 10 women’s teams are competing, with Canada competing in a pool with Australia, Germany, Finland and Ireland.
Now that Lacrosse is an Olympic Sport for the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games, Kingston also hopes to see a professional women’s lacrosse league.
“We just saw the PWHL come to life last year for professional women’s hockey, I know there’s a professional women’s field lacrosse over in the States, but I would like to see a professional women’s box lacrosse league,” added Kingston.
The tournament runs from September 20th to the 29th.
