The journey to the 2026 World Lacrosse Women’s Championship continues at the 2025 Asia-Pacific Women’s Lacrosse Championship, hosted by Lacrosse Australia from January 6-11 at the Sunshine Coast Stadium in Queensland.
Eight teams will compete for the continental championship: Australia; China; Hong Kong, China; Korea; Japan; New Zealand; Philippines and Chinese Taipei.
Three spots in the 16-team field for the 2026 WL Women’s Championship will be awarded to the top three finishers outside of Japan, which is automatically included as the host in 2026. Seven spots have already been awarded to teams during the 2025 European Women’s Lacrosse Championship in July.
Live results throughout the championship can be found on World Lacrosse and Lacrosse Australia’s digital channels, with up-to-date scores on Lacrosse Australia’s website.
Streaming will be available for free on WL TV for every game of the championship, pending field conditions.
“Australia is honored to host the 2025 Asia-Pacific Women’s Lacrosse Championship and qualifier event, marking an important milestone for lacrosse in our region,” said Abbie Burgess-Brice, Lacrosse Australia chair. “We are thrilled to welcome the Asia-Pacific’s best women’s lacrosse players to the Sunshine Coast for this landmark event.”
Pool play is set between two groups of four from Monday, January 6 to Wednesday, January 8 with a four-game slate each day beginning at 10 a.m. local time (UTC +10). The first pool features Australia, China, Hong Kong and the Philippines, while the second pool features Japan, Korea, New Zealand and Chinese Taipei.
The top two teams in each pool will advance to the semifinals, and if Japan advances to the playoffs, the three other semifinalists will also clinch their spots at the 2026 Women’s Championship.
The semifinals are set for Friday, January 10 and the medal round is on Saturday, January 11, with the gold medal game at 5:30 p.m. If Japan does not advance to the semifinals, the two semifinal winners on Friday and the winner of the bronze medal game on Saturday will secure their spots.
This event marks the second continental qualifier for the 2026 World Lacrosse Women’s Championship, in which the top 16 women’s field lacrosse teams in the world will compete based on the following allocations by Continental Federation:
African Association of Lacrosse: 1
Asia Pacific Lacrosse Union: 4
European Lacrosse Federation: 7
Pan-American Lacrosse Association: 4
The 2026 Women’s Championship will mark the first in WL’s new championship format, with 16 teams competing based on results from continental qualifiers. All 16 teams have to earn their place in the championship at a qualifying event.
The Division II women’s championship is expected to launch in 2026 with an additional 16 teams participating. Three of the additional 16 teams will be determined at this continental qualifier from the final placements of 5-7, pending a top-four finish from Japan.
Additionally, the 2025 Asia-Pacific Women’s Lacrosse Championship will determine one team in the field of the women’s sixes competition at The World Games 2025 in Chengdu, China, in August. China is already qualified as the host, as is Australia for its top-four finish at The World Games 2022, and the top finisher outside of those two teams will claim a spot in the eight-team competition.
