FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 7, 2020
Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA – An accomplished athlete who is making contributions to the growth of lacrosse in Australia and beyond, Madison Copeland is being nominated by World Lacrosse for the World Games Athlete of the Year 2019.
This past year, Copeland was the 2019 Shelley Maher Trophy Winner for the fairest and best female player in Australia, in addition to being named the 2019 Australia Lacrosse Association Girls Lacrosse National Championship MVP. Locally, she was the 2019 Kuljak medal winner for the “best player in the women’s state league grand final.”
In August, Copeland capped her 2019 World Lacrosse Women’s U19 World Championship by being the lone Australian selected to the All-World Team, joining five Americans, two Canadians as well as players from Japan and England. Copeland had a tremendous tournament, which started with a hat trick against the USA. Playing predominantly off the draw, Copeland was consistently a threat on the offensive end, scoring an incredible 15 goals from only 23 shots. In transition and in defense, Copeland’s ability to be versatile across the field was evident. Her athleticism on defense and in the midfield caused nine forced turnovers.
Copeland’s biggest performance during the World Championship came when Team Australia needed it the most, scoring four of Australia’s eight goals to overcome Japan in the quarterfinal, setting the scene for the team’s Bronze medal final. In a World Championship with rising stars, Copeland was among the brightest and she was a deserving member of the 2019 U19 All-World Team. The World Games 2021 Birmingham will take place July 15-25, with 3,600 athletes from 100- plus countries competing in 30+ unique, multidisciplinary sports. 
The World Games was established by the International World Games Association, an organization recognized by the International Olympic Committee. The World Games 2021 Birmingham marks the 40th anniversary, and 11th edition, of the international, multi-sport event. Women’s lacrosse made its debut in The World Games in 2017 in Wroclaw, Poland, while 2021 will mark the first time men’s lacrosse has been included in The World Games.
2019 World Lacrosse Women’s U19 World Championship (overall tournament statistics)
- 15 goals
- 8 Assists
- 18 Draw Controls
- 36 Draw Wins
- 8 Forced Turnovers
World Games Athlete of the Year: How to vote
Voting begins at 09:00 CET 03:00 EST on 8th January 2020.
How to vote: https://www.theworldgames.org/awards/Athlete-of-the-Year-2019-70 You can vote for your candidate once every 24 hours. First, give two votes to your favorite candidate by clicking on their “Vote” button. Then, to make your vote count, click on the “Vote” button of your second favorite candidate which will then receive one vote.
Voting Rules: The names of the candidates for the World Games Athlete of the Year 2019 will be published on 7th January 2020.
From Monday 20th January 2020 at 16:00 CET, only the 10 highest ranked candidates at that time will continue in the race. They will keep the votes earned by then.
Voting ends on Thursday, 30 January 2020 at 15 CET.The winner and runners-up will be announced on 30th January 2020.
You can give your votes to the candidates on The World Games website once per 24 hours. Votes must be given each time to two candidates: 2 votes to your first-choice candidate and 1 vote to your second-choice candidate. If you try to give votes to one candidate only, the votes will not be registered.
The numbers of votes cast for each candidate will be visible throughout the campaign.
All voters shall act in accordance with fair play in sport. The IWGA will scrutinize the voting process closely, and any anomalies that appear will be investigated. Any conduct that is against the sporting spirit may result in consequences.
Media Contact: Amanda Mastera
Email: amastera@worldlacrosse.sport
##www.worldlacrosse.sport##
About World Lacrosse
World Lacrosse is the international federation for men’s and women’s lacrosse, responsible for providing effective leadership and governance of the sport internationally while supporting the continued growth of lacrosse worldwide. In November 2018, World Lacrosse was officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee. The President of World Lacrosse is Sue Redfern of England.
