How many years have you hosted the IYLA State Tournament? We have hosted the tournament for the last three years and we were scheduled to host it last year until our season was cancelled because of Covid.
What motivated you to bring it to Fishers? There is only one other league in the state that has a facility that can host such a large event. We were offered the opportunity to host the tournament four years ago by IYLA and have been asked to host it every year since. It is our biggest and only fundraiser for the league.
What does it say about Fishers as a lacrosse community to host the tournament so often? Having the tournament in Fishers shows how much lacrosse has grown in the Midwest and in Fishers. It also shows what a great girls and boys league we have at Mudsock Youth Athletics.
Why is it significant that both boys and girls will be hosting together this year? Having both the girls and boys host, gives our leagues the opportunity to showcase ourselves, our great facilities and our great city. It also helps to bring our two leagues together. I think we see many sports separate girls and boys, but we would love to have more opportunities to join with boy’s lacrosse. We currently do our Try-It Day together and love working with them!
Who will be competing in the tournament? All teams in Indiana are invited to the tournament. We have had teams from as far south as Evansville and as far north as South Bend. Local teams we have had in the past are Zionsville, Noblesville, Carmel, Westfield, Avon, Brownsburg, and many of the local Catholic churches (St Simon, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, etc.). We don’t know yet which teams will be coming this year.
What is the format for play and approximately when will the games take place? Each team is guaranteed two games that day. If they win, they move into the winner’s bracket and if they lose they move into the consolation bracket. At the end there is a championship game for both U14 and U12. The tournament starts early in the morning and goes all day with the championship games ending in the late afternoon.
What do you like about the location at Cyntheanne Park? Cyntheanne Park is a beautiful facility that has five fields with plenty of parking not far from the interstate. The park has a large concession stand and clean bathrooms with a fun playground for younger siblings. I also love the amount of trash cans that are out there! We always get compliments from other teams about how nice of a facility we have here in Fishers. I also love that you can stand in one place and can see all the fields at one time. It is quite impressive to see so many lacrosse games going on at one time. Really a proud moment for our league!!
Anything else? The tournament couldn’t happen without the help of all the board members that volunteer from very early in the morning and stay until fairly late in the afternoon and also parent volunteers.