OCEAN CITY- The resort area will become ground zero of the youth lacrosse world this weekend with hundreds of teams from all over the mid-Atlantic region descending on Ocean City and Berlin for a pair of simultaneous tournaments.

Hosted by the Beach Lacrosse program and the Ocean City Recreation and Parks Department, the 2013 Beach Lacrosse Festival will take place at Northside Park all weekend starting today. Games will be played practically around the clock all weekend featuring many of the best girls’ youth lacrosse programs in the country and will culminate with championship games in each division on Sunday. Northside Park will become the center of the youth lacrosse universe all weekend with tournament games, music, food and drink and vendors.

Meanwhile, the Brine Beach Lacrosse tournament featuring some of the top boys’ youth programs in the country will be going on simultaneously on fields all over the Berlin area including the Northern Worcester Athletic Complex, Buckingham Elementary, Berlin Intermediate School, Most Blessed Sacrament School and the Seaside Christian Academy. The tournament is also a Dick’s Tournament of Champions qualifying event, meaning to top teams in the 11-12A and 13-14A divisions will be invited to participate in the national championship tournament hosted by Dick’s Sporting Goods later this year.