National Team Vision

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC LACROSSE MISSION STATEMENT

“Dominican Republic Lacrosse shall, first and foremost, work to develop the sport of lacrosse throughout the Dominican Republic for both men and women and at all levels from youth to adult. Arising out of this development, Dominican Republic Lacrosse shall also oversee, manage and support the Dominican national teams – for men and women and at under-age and senior levels.”

In line with Dominican Republic Lacrosse’s Mission Statement, our National Teams are closely linked to the growth and development of Lacrosse in Dominican Republic. This growth and development is not solely about generating greater awareness and increasing player numbers, but also about improving the lacrosse ability of those selected and, as a consequence, the wider lacrosse playing population of Dominican Republic. We believe in promoting unity among all those interested in supporting the mission of Dominican Republic Lacrosse, in all its facets.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the Dominican National Lacrosse teams are as follows:

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

PLAYER ELIGIBILITY RULES

Dominican Republic Lacrosse is fully compliant with the player eligibility rules as defined by World Lacrosse (WL). To be eligible to play for the Dominican national lacrosse team, players must:

Be a member of Dominican Republic Lacrosse – All players must be members of Dominican Republic Lacrosse, the national governing body for the sport of lacrosse in Dominican Republic, in order to participate in any and all national team related events, including tryouts, training camps, specific games featuring the Dominican national team and major tournaments. The online member registration form is available by clicking HERE. An individual is not considered a fully registered member unless they have also paid the requisite membership fee. Membership of Dominican Republic Lacrosse is renewable annually.
Register and participate in a Dominican Republic Lacrosse tryout, including a final tryout/training camp in Dominican Republic – details of all such events and the registration process are posted on the Dominican Republic Lacrosse website and through the various Dominican Republic Lacrosse social media outlets.
Participate in fundraising and other activities to support the development of lacrosse in Dominican Republic and the Dominican national teams.
Meet the Dominican Republic Lacrosse player eligibility requirements as listed below.

NATIONALITY:

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

Birth/Naturalization – Born in Dominican Republic or naturalized within the Dominican Republic; effectively, becomes a passport holder. Note that in any situation of naturalization without becoming a Passport Holder this would be part of the limitation on Non-Passport holders stated below.
Parents – One or both parents, adoptive parents or stepparents born in the Dominican Republic. 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 the Dominican Republic. 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 the Dominican Republic with the qualification that both the spouse and player-candidate must be resident of Dominican Republic. This criterion 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 criterion. Divorce from the spouse would disqualify the individual from qualifying by this criterion. 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 WL event shall have at least 85% (in all cases rounded downwards) of the playing squad qualifying through the possession of a passport of Dominican Republic. Qualification by other than possessing a Dominican passport – through birth/naturalization, 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 WL sanctioned events is 16 years of age (men) and 15 years of age (women) as of the day prior to the championship event.

ELIGIBILITY RELATING TO DUAL PASSPORT HOLDERS:

Any competitor who is a national of two or more countries at the same time and holding passports of these countries may represent either one of them as he /she may elect. However, after having represented one country in a recognized (by World Lacrosse) event, he /she may not represent another country unless he/she meets other eligibility conditions set out in the by-laws which include a three-year period between playing for one country and playing for another country.

Other conditions:

The WL player eligibility rules set-out further conditions regarding age considerations and flexibility for emerging nations, including special dispensations at U20 level. Further information is available via the World Lacrosse website.

POLICY ON DOMINICAN NATIONAL LACROSSE TEAM COMPOSITION

In addition to the player eligibility rules set out by WL, which all Dominican national teams are compliant with, Dominican Republic Lacrosse has also established a policy relating to the composition of each Dominican national team. The primary objective of this policy is to link each Dominican national team with the development of lacrosse in Dominican Republic, as per the mission of Dominican Republic Lacrosse. The following requirements apply regarding eligibility for, and composition of, any and all Dominican 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 Dominican national team, together with the National Teams Director (Chair) and the Dominican Republic Lacrosse CEO;
Dominican Republic 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 Dominican national team, in order to be considered for selection to that team. The final tryout/training camp will take place in Dominican Republic and participation in this is compulsory for all players in order to be considered for selection to that team. Where a domestic player (as defined below) is unable to attend a preliminary tryout, they may apply for permission to attend the final tryout and be considered for selection for the team. This permission must be sought in writing and addressed to the National Teams Director (Chair of the Player Selection Panel) with a clear rationale for being unable to attend a preliminary tryout. Permission to do this is by no means guaranteed and is intended to be granted only in exceptional circumstances. Such players must register and pay for the relevant domestic preliminary tryout event which they will miss;
The majority of players (minimum 51% of the roster) on each Dominican national team must come from within Dominican Republic (hereinafter to be referred to as ‘domestic’);
A domestic player is defined as a player who:
Resides in Dominican Republic on a full-time basis for a cumulative total of two out of the previous three years prior to the date of the final try-out/training camp (for the avoidance of doubt, players who work or study on a full-time basis outside of Dominican Republic will not be considered domestic players). Documentary evidence of this period of residency must be provided on request by any member of the Player Selection Panel; AND
Plays (or contributes when unable to play) in the Dominican Lacrosse League and other Dominican Republic Lacrosse events; AND
Will reside in Dominican Republic and play (or contribute when unable to play) in Dominican Republic until the date of the relevant tournament. Failure to comply with this requirement will result in a player losing their domestic status, which may result in them losing their place in the squad.
The Player Selection Panel for a particular Dominican national team reserves the right to adjudicate on their status as a domestic player to ensure compliance with the above definition. Any queries regarding domestic player status may be directed to the Player Selection Panel via the Chair (National Teams Director);
An increase in the proportion of domestic players on the Dominican national teams, beyond the existing 51%, will be considered where the level of participation in the relevant tryouts’ merits such an increase;

Any Dominican underage national team (e.g., U19 or U20) will conform to this policy as closely as possible, but some exception may be required given their only very recent establishment. The Player Selection Panel for these teams must endeavor to get as close as possible to the minimum 51% of the player roster consisting of domestic players.

In considering individual players for selection to any and all Dominican 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 Dominican Republic Lacrosse

This policy will be reviewed on an annual basis, at the Dominican Republic Lacrosse Annual General Meeting (AGM) which will typically take place in April each year.

National Team Vision