Olympic Step: USA Sixes Teams will Compete in Pan-American Qualifiers in Canada

SPARKS, Md. – The U.S. Sixes Men’s and Women’s National Teams’ first step to the Olympics will come at the Pan-American Sixes Lacrosse Championship, set for September 29 – October 4, 2026 at the Oshawa Civic Fields in Oshawa, Ontario. The Pan-American event will serve as the initial step in the qualification process for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, pending final approval by the International Olympic Committee.

The 2026 Pan-American Sixes Lacrosse Championships will bring together the top men’s and women’s sixes national team programs from across the Pan-American region, making it a marquee event in the global sixes pathway. Teams competing in Oshawa will be playing for advancement to the 2027 World Lacrosse Sixes Championships, which will feature the top 16 men’s and women’s teams worldwide and serve as the primary qualifier for LA28.

The U.S. men’s program is led by head coach Andy Shay, also the head men’s lacrosse coach at Yale University. In sixes competition, Shay led the U.S. men to a silver medal at The World Games 2022 in Birmingham, Ala. In recent years, Shay led the U.S. to a 3-0 record at the USA Lacrosse Experience in Indianapolis in 2024, a 2-1 mark at the The Atlas Cup in Sparks, Md., last September and a 5-1 record with a runner-up finish at Super Sixes in Oshawa last October.

The U.S. women’s program is led by head coach Lindsay Munday, also the head women’s lacrosse coach at the University of Southern California. Last summer, Munday led the U.S. women to the gold medal at The World Games 2025 in Chengdu, China. In three events against international competition since taking over the U.S. sixes program in 2024, Munday has led the U.S. to a perfect 11-0 record.

Additional event details, including competition format and team confirmations, will be released closer to the Championships.

The 2nd annual Atlas Cup at USA Lacrosse headquarters was originally scheduled to be held the weekend of Oct. 2-4. Those dates will be rescheduled after the Pan-American championship.

About USA Lacrosse

USA Lacrosse, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, is a Recognized Sports Organization of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee. As the governing body of men’s and women’s lacrosse in the United States, USA Lacrosse fuels the growth, enriches the experience, and fields the best National Teams, supporting more than 425,000 members across the country.