The WMSL is excited to announce that the Mississauga Badgers and Mimico Mountaineers will join the league for the 2023 season.
TORONTO, ON, FEBRUARY 23, 2023 – The Women’s Major Series Lacrosse (WMSL) league is excited to announce that the Mississauga Badgers and Mimico Mountaineers, subject to OLA approval, will join the league for the 2023 season.
For Mississauga the third time’s the charm, as they say! Mississauga previously applied for entry but at that time the league was not ready to accept any new teams. Coming out of a very successful 2022 season, the WMSL received not just 1 but 2 new team applications before the January 1, 2023 deadline. The league felt it was time to expand and approved both Mississauga’s and Mimico’s applications.
Mark Botnick will serve as President and Head Coach of the Mississauga Badgers, along with Sean Arbuthnot. The team will be based in Mississauga and will use the Clarkson Community Centre and Huron Park Recreation Centre as their home arenas. Mississauga has a strong history in U22 Girls Box Lacrosse and this is the next step on their box lacrosse journey.
Frank Lechowski will serve as President and Head Coach of the Mimico Mountaineers, along with Brad Hutchinson and Chris Willerson. The team will be based in Etobicoke and will use Mimico Arena, Adam Beck Park, and Clarkson Park as their home arenas. The Mimico Minor Lacrosse association has shown great support for the team as it aligns with their plan to help grow Girl’s and Women’s Box Lacrosse in Ontario.
“The league is excited welcome the two new teams and the expanded opportunity they provide for more women to play high-level women’s box lacrosse,” said John Dalgliesh, WMSL Commissioner.
Interested in playing for the new Mississauga or Mimico teams? Unlike OLA Minor Lacrosse, WMSL players are not bound by municipality rules. Therefore, any player not currently protected by or rostered to a WMSL team regardless of where they reside in the province is welcome to try-out for the new Mississauga or Mimico teams. And don’t forget about our other 8 teams in case they are more your style: the Akwesasne Outlaws, Arthur Aces, Grand River Attack, Hamilton Bengals, London Thrashers, Niagara Turtle Islanders, Toronto Stars and Whitby Rush. For registration head on over to this link: https://www.sportzsoft.com/regApp/Login?OrgId=6859
The 2023 WMSL regular season is set to kick off in June and culminate with Championships in mid-August. Schedules are currently being finalized. The league is planning to continue its unique model of holding League Days on weekends in a round-robin format as well as invitational tournaments.
The league believes strongly in helping to continue to grow women’s box lacrosse and future plans include the league exploring options for expanding into some of the untapped areas in Ontario. Teams interested in joining the league for the 2024 season can submit an application to WMSL Commissioner John Dalgliesh by January 1, 2024.
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