Trent University hosted the Worlds from Aug. 4 to 11, 2007, drawing 11 international teams. An under-17 festival and the under-15 provincial championships ran during the same time period at Beavermead Park in downtown Peterborough. Combined, the tournaments brought 1,000 athletes and hundreds of fans to the city. Canada’s games sold out and enthusiastic fans turned out for every game, with the semifinal game between Canada and Australia attracting more than 2,400 to Trent’s new outdoor stadium.

“Both the World Executive Committee and the Peterborough World Committee were impressed with the tremendous support from the citizens of Peterborough, not only with attending the event but also by their outstanding interest in volunteering for the 10-day event,” says co-chair Fred Blowes.

“We are very proud of what we accomplished in terms setting attendance records and accomplishing the highest standard of any World Women’s lacrosse championship. We received endless amounts of praises from coaches, players and parents of the 11 competing countries.”

“My fondest memory of the event was watching the fans wearing their red and white Canadian colours pour into Trent University Stadium to witness Canada’s first game against Australia and cheering the Canadian players onto victory. To see a sea red and white colours and all the flags waving, made me very proud to be a part of the event but also proud to watch local players Ashley Curtis and Allison Daley represent our country.

When the executive met at the end of January 2008, they divided up the profits between all levels of the sport:

In Peterborough, $2,500 will go to the Peterborough Sports Hall of Fame to mount an exhibit dedicated to women’s field lacrosse. A further $2,000 will be donated to the Peterborough Lakefield Police Association for their members’ volunteer hours during the event; that money will go into that group’s fund to support the Special Olympics.
At the provincial level, $5,000 will go into the Ontario Women’s Lacrosse fund for coaching and umpire development and another $5,000 for player development and training of Team Ontario athletes. The Ontario Lacrosse Association’s hall of fame will get $2,500 to update its women’s lacrosse display. Ontario Women’s Lacrosse will get back the $3,500 it pledged ($100 from each of its rep teams) as seed money for the August events.
Nationally, the 2007 Worlds committee will give $2,500 as seed money for Canada’s next under-19 World team and $1,500 for the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame, again to enhance its display of women’s lacrosse, adding builders and not just players.

Canada will also hand over $5,000 to support the organizers of the 2011 host of the next under-19 Worlds in Germany.

On top of those donations, organizers of the Peterborough event will make a $2,500 donation to the Leilani Nolan-DeVuono Scholarship Fund at the University of Toronto. Ms Nolan-DeVuono died in a snowmobile accident in March 2007. A long-time lacrosse umpire, she was to make her international umpiring debut, representing Canada at the Worlds in August 2007. In her honour, umpires wore a pink logo on their uniforms during the tournament.

“All in all, it was a “magical experience,” Mr. Blowes said of the tournament. Mr. Blowes will present the City of Peterborough with a plaque of appreciation for its support at the March 3, 2008 city council meeting.

Posted on Thursday, February 28, 2008.