Iroquois Appeal to FIL General Assembly set to Begain
Iroquois' Appeal to FIL General Assembly Set to Begin
On April 26, the Federation of International Lacrosse released the Blue Division schedule for the 2014 FIL World Championship. The headline was the tournament opening U.S.-Canada game, and the release didn't include the word “Iroquois.”
It was the first public acknowledgement of the complicated position the FIL and the Iroquois find themselves in subsequent to the Iroquois' absence at the 2010 World Championships in Manchester, England. That absence directly led to the Iroquois' omission from the 2014 Blue Division.
The Iroquois are appealing to the FIL membership for inclusion in the Blue Division; it's their second appeal and it's an unprecedented action. The necessary materials from the FIL and the Iroquois, as well as a request for a vote, could go out to FIL members as early as Friday.
So, how did the situation get to this point? A recap.
July 2010 — The Iroquois National Team is denied admission to the United Kingdom on their Haudenosaunee passports and, as a result, do not participate in the FIL World Championship. In their absence, the German National Team finishes sixth in the tournament. According to FIL bylaws, the Germans qualified for the 2014 Blue Division as a result of their performance and the Iroquois would be placed in a lower group.
January 12, 2013 — A representative of the Iroquois National Team and their lawyer meet with the FIL Board of Directors to appeal the decision; this is their first appeal.
February 2013 — FIL President Stan Cockerton notified the Iroquois the Board had decided to reaffirm its original decision.
April 19, 2013 — Cockerton received the Haudonausonee's second appeal. This time, they'll appeal to the FIL General Assembly, seeking admission for the Iroquois Nationals to the Blue Division in advance of the 2014 Men's World Championships in Denver.
April 24, May 1, May 8 — The FIL Board of Directors conducted a weekly conference call to figure out how best to distribute the necessary information so that the membership is well enough informed to vote. “This is unprecedented,” Cockerton says. “That's part of our issue; this is all new ground. We're trying to proceed in a timely basis, but more importantly in a proper way.”
The initial emotional reaction to the decision was clear — several comments on the initial post, Casey Vock's comments in the April 30 Winners and Losers post and a handful of Twitter users — notably Denver assistant and former U.S. National Team goalie Trevor Tierney — pointed out how the decision seemed unfair to the Iroquois and would adversely affect the quality and excitement of the tournament if the U.S. and Canada didn't play the Iroquois in the opening round because those games would likely be among the week's most competitive.
Cockerton says, however, that the FIL Board is empowered only to make decisions in line with the rules the membership has agreed upon, and that they can't change their decision simply to make the tournament better.
“We took lots of time trying to go through every possible scenario,” Cockerton said, indicating an Iroquois-Germany pre-tournament play-in game and Blue Division expansion were both discussed. “We think we've made our decisions based on what our bylaws are. From our point of view, that's the only decision we've made. We make decisions based on bylaws given to us, and we can't pick and choose to what we want to adhere.”
And FIL Men's Competition Committee Chair Ron Balls reinforced that this wasn't a decision made in malice toward the Iroquois due to the outcome around the 2010 tournament.
“It is most certainly not punishment but a matter of following the correct procedure,” he wrote in an email. “Rankings are based on positions at the previous event, Iroquois Nationals did not participate in the previous event.”
The Iroquois appeal, however, disputed that the decision was made in accordance with a proper interpretation of the bylaws and precedent, citing the Swedish Team's absence in 2006, and thus appealed to the GA.
Secondary in the ongoing dispute, however, is the future of the German team, whose Blue Division spot may be lost if the GA appeal is successful.
“DLaxV, the German National Governing Body, have not raised any specific issues over this matter and will receive the same communication as all other members within the next few days,” Balls wrote.
A member of the Iroquois Lacrosse Association could not be reached for comment. Stay tuned to InsideLacrosse.com for more information regarding this story.
Open letter to the FIL General Assembly
May 10, 2013
Open letter to the FIL General Assembly,
On behalf of the Iroquois Nationals, I am reaching out to call upon you, the FIL General Assembly, to allow us to participate in the Blue Division at the upcoming 2014 World Lacrosse Championships in Denver, USA.
The standing of the Iroquois Nationals as a Blue Division Team is on the line. In February of 2013 the Iroquois were notified of a ruling handed down by the FIL Board of Directors. That ruling declared the Iroquois Nationals team could no longer compete at the Blue Division level based on the teams “non-appearance” at the 2010 FIL World Championships in Manchester, UK. The FIL Board of Directors is only 6 seats. Out of those six seats, only five vote on issues at hand. Those five voting seats are 3 from the United States, 1 from the UK and 1 Australian.
However, there have been two FIL World Championships since Manchester, and both were Blue Division contests for the Iroquois Nationals. The team competed in 2011 in the Czech Republic Men’s Indoor Championships, in which they beat Team USA for the Silver, and in 2012 our U19 victory over the U.S. during pool play and our Bronze Medal win in Turku, Finland inspirits the importance of the Iroquois Nationals place in the Blue Division. We would like to retain our place among the teams USA, Canada, England, Australia, Japan and Germany.
It has come to the attention of the Iroquois Nationals that false information has been circling regarding the passport status of our team. The Iroquois Nationals team does NOT CARRY nor have they been issued passports by the United States of America. The Team that carries a US passport is Team USA, the team that carries a Canadian Passport is Team CANADA, and so on. Our team are citizens of HAUDENOSAUNEE or as historically known, the SIX NATIONS who comprise the Iroquois Confederacy. We have native territories within both Canada and the United States and hold Haudenosaunee passports issues by our government.
According to International Rules, a national team must be 100% comprised of citizens from their teams respective nation, and 85% must hold valid passports issued by their government. The only way for the Iroquois Nationals to be eligible for competition in an FIL World Championship is to travel there on the Haudenosaunee passport. If we would have been issued visas to travel into the UK, as we had received for two previous Championships, the team would have easily made the trip to England. Politics between the US and the UK stood in the way of the Iroquois Nationals competing in the FIL World Championships in Manchester, UK in 2010.
It is our position that the FIL Bylaws, Regulations, Policies and Constitution are all silent on this matter and no comparable past precedence exists. To make such a ruling on uncertain principles contradicts the spirit of international competition and the celebration of the Creator's Game.
As a membership-driven organization, the General Assembly has the ability to overturn the FIL Board's controversial decision, and we are imploring you to perform that ability.
Onenh,
Gewas Schindler
General Manager,
Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse
US Lacrosse Position Relative to Iroquois Nationals Controversy
Dear Fellow FIL Member Nations & Delegates:
Please accept this communication as the formal position of US Lacrosse relative to the current Iroquois Nationals controversy.
US Lacrosse is very disappointed that the Iroquois Nationals will not be competing in the Blue Division of the 2014 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) Men’s World Championship because their lacrosse team is one of the world’s best and represents the very essence of our sport.
Additionally, given the significant human and financial resource investment US Lacrosse is making to stage an event of this magnitude, we believe the absence of the Iroquois Nationals from the Blue Division is not in the best interest of the event’s success. And, we remain very concerned about the impact that growing negative public relations concerning this issue will have on the event, the FIL and our sport.
US Lacrosse has expressed this position to the FIL Board of Directors, and we remain hopeful that the FIL and its member nations are able to determine a reasonable solution that will address these concerns.
Steve Stenersen
CEO
US Lacrosse
113 W. University Parkway
Baltimore, MD 21210
(410) 235-6882 x101
US Lacrosse is the national governing body of lacrosse. Through responsive and effective leadership, we provide programs and services to inspire participation while protecting the integrity of the sport.
An Emmy-Winning Producer's Doc About Lacrosse's Native Origins
Dennis Deninger, an Emmy-winning production executive, was one of the first coordinating producers of ESPN’s SportsCenter. He has produced live sports television from six continents and across the United States; he has currently set his sights to produce a documentary entitled America’s First Sport, on the history of lacrosse.
In an interview with ICTMN, Deninger, who is also a professor of practice in sports management at Syracuse University, talked about what he has learned in the process of making the documentary, and where he sees lacrosse going in the future.
Mohawk Player @ Herkimer, NY (Kamm David)
Generals beat Broome 14-11 || March 29, 2013
Herkimer, NY – The Generals overcame a 5-3 halftime deficit with a seven-goal third quarter, then held off a fourth-quarter Hornet attack to post a 14-11 win over Broome CC on Thursday afternoon. The victory evens HCCC's season record at 2-2.
Playing conditions were good. The early-afternoon cold and wind eased up a bit for the 4:00 p.m. faceoff. The HCCC grounds crew had done an excellent job of preparing the field, which was clear all the way to the soccer sidelines. There was a 30-inch high snow bank between the field fence on the press box side and the soccer stripe, but the snow bank was well out of the way of the lacrosse players.
The visiting Hornets quickly took control of play in the opening 15 minutes. They swarmed the Herkimer net and took a 2-0 lead midway through the quarter.
The score was still 2-0 when Herkimer midfielder William Clark went down with a knee injury and was unable to return to the game. Clark's departure was a sober reminder to HCCC fans of the devastating affect that injuries had on the 2012 team.
Senior Davey Mitchell and freshman Kamm David got Herkimer on the scoreboard late in the quarter with a spectacular goal. Perhaps it was a lacrosse version of basketball's alley-oop. Mitchell attacked from the right side, then tossed a very high pass to David on the left. David leaped high, caught the pass, and scored from up high.
Herkimer, however, could not build on the David-Mitchell performance. Broome stung HCCC for two more goals in the period, one with only 0.3 seconds remaining. The visitors led 4-1. Herkimer goalie Jon Cooper was playing well, but the Hornets were getting through the Generals' defense.
Two minutes later Herkimer got their second goal when Jace Sowden was behind the goal and passed out to Joe Lopopolo. Lopopolo was 15 yards out and fired a rocket into the Broome goal. But Broome soon answered with another tally. Herkimer's Sowden scored late in the half. Nick Suits shot from 20 yards out and Sowden deflected it into the goal. The half ended with Broome ahead 5-3.
Herkimer was a different team in the second half. Two minutes into the half, Sowden put in the first of what would be seven third-quarter goals for the Generals. A minute later Berak Martichuski tied the game 5-5 off a pass from Lopopolo.
Martichuski gave Herkimer the lead from close in with 9:58 left in the quarter. Then David passed to senior attacker Sowden and Sowden scored. Broome scored their only goal of the period, and it was a 7-6 game. Lopopolo carried the ball, made a sweet spin move, and scored from the right side with just over a minute left. Tony Karam scored for the Generals with a great effort. Karam took a pass from David, was knocked down, and sent the ball into Broome's net before hitting the ground. Then Suits tallied with 21 seconds remaining, and Herkimer led 10-6 going into the final quarter.
Herkimer appeared to own the momentum, but not so. Broome played a strong final quarter and scored just 14 seconds into the period. The Hornets scored again a minute later. 10-8. The Generals got needed goals from Suits and Mitchell. Lopopolo scored from 15 yards out. Herkimer led by five, at 13-8, but Broome was not done. The visitors closed the score to 13-11 with three quick goals, the last two of which came just 10 seconds apart. Only a great save by Cooper kept the Hornets from scoring again.
Jace Sowden scored the insurance goal with half a minute left. Martichuski gave him a great pass, and Sowden tallied from eight yards out. Herkimer won 14-11.
Head Coach Jamie Ireland allowed himself to smile after the game. "We focused our efforts in the second half," stated Ireland, who added "Coop kept us in the game. He was a wall in the first half."
The 2-2 Generals will play again at noon on Saturday when they make the quick trip to Utica to play Mohawk Valley.
U.S. Senate Honors Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse Team
Today, November 28, the United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs honored the Iroquois Nationals lacrosse club. As ICTMN's West Coast Editor Valerie Taliman reported in July, 
the Nationals Under-19 squad won the bronze medal at the Federation of International Lacrosse 2012 U19 World Championships in Finland--and they scored a historic win over the powerful U.S. team in the process.
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