COLORADO SPRINGS — World Lacrosse this week welcomed PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Sabah Cambrelen (USA) as the first Diversity and Inclusion Director to its board of directors during its regular meeting on Tuesday (November 16), and also confirmed the addition of three new member federations — India, Indonesia and Vietnam.

The board meeting took place via videoconference, with Cambrelen in attendance for the first time following her unanimous election during the World Lacrosse General Assembly on October 31.

World Lacrosse President Sue Redfern said: “The World Lacrosse board of directors is excited to add Sabah Cambrelen to our leadership structure. Her incredible skills and experience in diversity and inclusion will help our burgeoning organization continue to improve in this area with the aim of becoming an industry leader.”

Cambrelen said: “I am thrilled to join the board of directors of World Lacrosse, which has expressed a deep commitment to becoming a leader in diversity, equity and inclusion. There is a great opportunity as the sport continues to expand, especially with the launch of the more accessible World Lacrosse Sixes discipline. I very much look forward to further advancing the efforts around the world to help advance inclusion, diversity and accessibility for this amazing game.”

The board also unanimously approved the reappointment of Andrew Harris (AUS) as chair of the Ethics Committee for a further period of three years following his initial one-year term and approved the establishment of a Sixes Rules Working Group, which will focus specifically on Sixes rules in a similar way that the other World Lacrosse rule sets are managed. The board also reviewed an update on organizational activities from CEO Jim Scherr and an overview of the 2022 critical strategic priorities.

The addition of India, Indonesia and Vietnam as Provisional Members — which was confirmed by World Lacrosse’s membership via a postal vote that ended November 13 – brings the organization’s global membership to 73, an increase of 30 in the last decade. Their applications followed the spirit of the new membership process that was approved at the 2021 General Assembly and developed by World Lacrosse’s Membership Working Group, which included representation from each of the governing body’s three continental federations: the Asia Pacific Lacrosse Union, the European Lacrosse Federation and the Pan-American Lacrosse Association.

Bob DeMarco, World Lacrosse board development director, said: “We are incredibly pleased to officially welcome India, Indonesia and Vietnam to the international lacrosse community. This expansion in the Asia Pacific region, driven by the APLU, truly demonstrates the growing global desire for participation.”

The new membership process offers a consistent and streamlined experience for potential new members, and includes updated member categories and criteria:

• Continental Federation Member: Entity responsible for carrying out the purposes of World Lacrosse and supporting the national federations within a defined geographic region that includes multiple countries

• Full Member: National federation with proven ability to govern domestically and contribute to the continental or global development of the sport; Full Members have access to all World Lacrosse events, programs and services, and have voting rights on governance matters

• Provisional Member (formerly Associate Member): New and emerging national federation that is working to develop its domestic activities; Provisional Members have access to numerous programs and services to support their development

• Affiliate Member: Organization that has a demonstrated interest in aligning with World Lacrosse and supporting its initiatives; typically a non-sporting organization