COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — World Lacrosse today welcomed Dominican Republic Lacrosse as its 67th member-National Governing Body.

The official designation of Dominican Republic Lacrosse as the National Governing Body for lacrosse in the Dominican Republic was confirmed by a vote of the World Lacrosse membership following a recommendation from the World Lacrosse Board of Directors and Development Committee.

The President of Dominican Republic Lacrosse is Shania Roehrich, and the Chief Executive Officer is Dilcia Roehrich.

“Dominican Republic Lacrosse is more than an organization — it’s an opportunity,” said Shania Roehrich. “I want our organization to be able to give the same excitement I had when I started playing at age 8 to all the boys and girls in the Dominican Republic. I can’t wait to one day see Dominican Republic represented and competing at the highest levels of the sport. It’s a long road ahead, but we are up for the challenge.”

With the addition of Dominican Republic Lacrosse, World Lacrosse now has 18 member- National Governing Bodies across North, Central and South America, where the Pan- American Lacrosse Association is officially recognized by World Lacrosse as the Continental Federation.

World Lacrosse is the international federation for men’s and women’s lacrosse, as recognized by the International Olympic Committee and Global Association of International Sports Federations.

“We are extremely excited to welcome the Dominican Republic as the 67th member of World Lacrosse”, said Rick Mercurio, World Lacrosse Development Committee Chairperson. “Our Committee remains proud of the collective body of work we have maintained in developing the growth of lacrosse globally. We look forward to the continued progress and growth of lacrosse in the Dominican Republic.”

The sport of lacrosse continues to be one of the fastest-growing sports in the world, and membership in World Lacrosse has increased by more than 240 percent since 2002. In the last year, World Lacrosse has welcomed new member-National Governing Bodies from Ghana (August 2019), Lithuania (December 2019), Barbados (December 2019), Panama (April 2020) and the Dominican Republic (August 2020).