Competition Director
Term: 2018-22 (four-year term)
Residing: Perth, Australia
The competition director is responsible for the development, management and oversight of competition at World Lacrosse world championships and other sanctioned events. This includes responsibility for strategic competition priorities and providing policy direction to members, including regarding athlete eligibility and event bylaws implementation.
Fiona Clark joined the World Lacrosse board in 2018 as competition director after serving as an officer of the International Federation of Women’s Lacrosse Associations for 16 years.
Clark’s lacrosse career started as a school girl in England, before she moved with her family to Western Australia, where she represented the state for 10 years and played club lacrosse until 2016.
Away from the playing field, she undertook administrative roles from club to international with continual service since 1985. During her term as Women’s Lacrosse Australia president, Clark established herself on the international stage as executive director of the 1989 IFWLA World Cup. The success of the event resulted in her election as the vice president of tours & tournaments for the IFWLA, where she served two four-year terms before stepping down to again take on the executive director role of another world event, the 1999 IFWLA U19 Championship in Perth, thus making her the first person to lead two world championship events.
After 11 years as Women’s Lacrosse Australia president, Clark stepped aside in 2001 prior to her election as president of IFWLA, where she again served two terms. During this time, Clark was one of the catalysts in organizing a women’s international workshop, the outcomes of which facilitated the delivery of a restructure that led to the men’s and women’s associations merging into a single governing structure (Federation of International Lacrosse, now World Lacrosse) that today represents a modern and diverse lacrosse community.
Upon the merging of the men’s and women’s Australian governing bodies, the Australian Lacrosse Association was formed in 2008, and Clark took on the presidency in 2009 prior to undertaking the role of executive director of the Asia Pacific Lacrosse Union.
Clark’s outstanding contributions over a long and distinguished career have been recognized with the awarding of the Australian Sports Medal (2000); the WA May Campbell Service to Sport Award (2001); honorary life membership to Lacrosse West (1991), Women’s Lacrosse Australia (1996) and the IFWLA (2009); the FIL Development Award (2008) and the FIL Global Leader award (2009).
Clark is a double certificate registered nurse in general and midwifery, and specializes in emergency nursing.
