Port Coquitlam’s Curtis Dickson is practically synonymous with success in lacrosse.
The 30 year-old forward who’s known on the floor as “Superman” has hoisted the Mann Cup national senior lacrosse championship trophy, led his college team at the University of Delaware to its only appearance in the NCAA Final Four in 2010 and the following year he was named the National Lacrosse League’s rookie of the year.
But some of his best accolades are the gold and silver medals he won playing for Canada’s national team at the 2014 and 2018 Federation of International Lacrosse world field lacrosse championships, and the gold he earned at the 2015 world indoor lacrosse championship that was held in New York State.
Next September 19-28, Dickson’s hoping to reprise those accomplishments when the 2019 world indoor championships are held at the Langley Events Centre. The event was announced at a press conference on Tuesday.
The tournament will attract teams from 20 countries, seven more than the last world championship four years ago.
Dickson, who was introduced as the tournament’s ambassador but who hopes he’ll be playing for Canada when the ball is placed on the floor, said the game’s international growth is significant.
“It’s definitely getting better, programs are starting to get bigger,” he said. “It’s great to see how much this game is growing worldwide.”
The indoor worlds are just the latest bigtime lacrosse development in the Lower Mainland. The 2022 world field lacrosse championships are being held in Coquitlam, and the recent move of the NLL’s Vancouver team into Roger’s Arena where they’ll now be known as the Warriors, Dickson said the growing excitement for the sport in the area is palpable.
“Holding tournaments at the world stage will bring a lot of eyes,” said Dickson, who plays for the Maple Ridge Burrards of the Western Lacrosse Association in the summertime and the NLL’s Calgary Roughnecks through the winter.
In fact, he’s already seeing an uptick in the numbers of kids registering for the lacrosse camps he coaches locally.
“It’s fun to play and it’s fun to watch,” Dickson said.
And that excitement will amp even higher if he gets to pull on a Maple Leaf jersey to play in nearby Langley next September.
“It would be super cool to have it just down the street from everybody and have that support,” Dickson said. “It’s definitely a motivating factor.”
• For more information about the tournament, including ticket sales, go to www.wilc2019.ca
