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I've been asked to provide some insight on my job here at US Lacrosse where I coordinate the World Cup and although it is very difficult not to shamelessly plug the 2005 IFWLA World Cup held from June 23 to July 2 at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. For more information see the website at www.uslacrosse.org/worldcup - I will do my best to stay on task.
A little background - I grew up in Baltimore and went to Georgetown University where I double majored in Field Hockey and Lacrosse with a minor in Psychology. I never really took the time to think about my future at Georgetown as I rushed from the dining hall, to class, to practice, back to the dining hall always squeezing in time for friends and a little bit of studying. I was never nervous for the future and just knew everything would work out after that final whistle when I received my diploma.
I have always been open to new adventures and challenges so I went home for the summer, made a failed attempt at waiting tables and found myself as the head coach of the St. Paul's Varsity Field Hockey team. I embrace the challenge of trying to reach each athlete finding out how they succeed and I hope to get back into coaching some day. We went all the way to the Championship and the next day I was on a plane to Australia. I had always been interested in traveling and never had the opportunity, so I packed my backpack and took off to the other side of the world. Eight months later I found myself in New Zealand with ten US dollars and a ticket home so I returned to Baltimore and looked for the next challenge. To support myself I would wake up at the crack of dawn every weekend and manage running races in the area thus the beginning of my love of event management.
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As it usually goes in events, I met someone was looking to hire somebody to help run an event. I was hired in July to coordinate the Event Office and run promotions for Pam Shriver's Charity Tennis Challenge. My experience there exposed me to the ins and outs of planning a first class event and I am grateful for all I learned. After wrapping up my second year at the Tennis Challenge I began to get antsy and heard wind of a unique opportunity at US Lacrosse. I believed that this job was made for me - the Event Coordinator of the 2005 IFWLA World Cup. I had never even seen a World Cup; the last time it was played in the US was in Philadelphia in 1986 and I was seven years old.
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I believed that all of my experience thus far in events and my knowledge and love of the game made me the ideal candidate and I felt that I was ready to manage an event on my own. My interview went well and only afterward did I become extremely nervous. I was not afraid that I wouldn't be selected; I was nervous that I would actually get the job and anxious about the massive adventure that lay ahead of me and the responsibilities that would follow. A month later - I was offered the job.
Well, that was almost a year ago, March 1st to be exact, and at the time of this article there are now 3 and a half months, 117 days or to be more precise 2,808 hours left until the Opening Ceremonies. Today, you will either find me on 97 traveling to and from Annapolis, at any collegiate game or girls' lacrosse tournament passing out flyers, or most likely where it all happens - the World Cup cubicle at US Lacrosse.
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It is very hard to put down on paper the responsibilities that I have as the "coordinator" of the World Cup, and before I began, I was confused with the title, but now I have realized what it entails - EVERYTHING. Soliciting event sponsorship, selling tickets, filling seats, lining the fields, knowing when the teams arrive, how they will get to the venue from the airport, where the teams will sleep, what they will eat and when they will practice, what will be served at the Final Awards Banquet, staffing the information booth, designing the website, sending out tickets, arranging shuttle bus transportation, renting tents, communicating with the participating countries, running the Cup of Nations High School Festival, negotiating ad space, managing vendors and so on...
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My favorite part about events is having a vision and embracing each and every calculated step along the way. I enjoy having all of the answers and working together in a group to accomplish a finite goal with a clear end and beginning. I could not do any of this on my own. I am very fortunate to have the support of not only the staff at US Lacrosse, but the volunteers on the Executive Planning Committee and those in the lacrosse community who desire for the World Cup to become the first class event it is meant to be.
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Presently, the 2005 IFWLA World Cup is really coming together and will prove to be a first class event. Ticket sales are on target as we begin the lacrosse season and we hope that more and more fans of the game will mark it on the calendar as the most exciting lacrosse event this year. The Cup of Nations High School Festival run in conjunction with the World Cup will bring over one-thousand girls to Annapolis from over 17 states and six countries. One by one, sponsors join us in our mission to provide an unforgettable experience for the participants and an entertaining and high-energy setting for the fans.
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As most event coordinators, I strive to be a perfectionist and the stumbling blocks that I face each day are all issues that I had anticipated, but the biggest challenge that I face surfaced just a couple of months ago when the event was really starting to take shape. This challenge will never be overcome and it is what keeps me going every day and pushes the event to reach its full potential. It is the phone call from a mother in Los Angeles asking for details on the Cup of Nations High School Festival or the ten year old girl interested in trying out for the National Team who signs her e-mails The Masked Defender.
It is the setting - ten teams from ten nations competing for the World Cup Title in one of the most saturated areas of women's lacrosse in the world. It is the timing - women's lacrosse is presently the fastest growing sport in the United States. The event will be making history with the most teams ever to compete and the potential for the first host nation to win the World Cup Title. It is the venue - the World Cup participants will have the unique opportunity to stay at the US Naval Academy and fans will get to watch the action unfold at the Glen Warner Soccer Facility along the Severn River as well as the first class, newly renovated Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
All of these expectations due to the growth and interest in the women's game continue to challenge US Lacrosse and our volunteers to make this the best World Cup to date. I have always loved a challenge and the fire that this particular challenge ignites will continue to burn even after the final whistle. With the help of volunteers and lacrosse fans who plan to witness the action this summer - the 2005 IFWLA World Cup will succeed in exposing women's lacrosse to the world ultimately justifying why we play.
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To submit something for publication, please contact our editor, Judy Fong at jfong00@yahoo.com.
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