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Lacrosse doesn’t earn enough votes to be sanctioned

Posted by Mason Kelley
Seattle Times
seattletimes.com

News of the changes to the high-school basketball tournament took attention away from the defeat of amendments that would have sanctioned high-school and middle-school lacrosse.

Despite optimism around the lacrosse community, the WIAA Representative Assembly voted down the measures in lopsided votes.

In fact, the boys amendment didn’t even come to a vote. I suspect the girls issue had more of a chance because of Title IX, but even that only garnered eight favorable votes, while 44 people voted against it and one abstained.

The arguments in favor of the sport make sense. It’s a chance for more students to participate in an after-school activity and numbers seem to show that athletes who participate in lacrosse wouldn’t, say, run track or play softball. It has also grown in popularity with a strong infrastructure around club teams.

However, one of the biggest hurdles is the economic impact of adding a sport. Lacrosse supports say there will be little financial drag on athletic programs, but there is the issue of finding money to pay coaches and the schools would have to fund some of the expense when it comes to equipment.

So, any cost absorbed by adding lacrosse could cause a strain on athletic department budgets. Now, down the road, when the economy turns, I would not be surprised to see lacrosse become a sanctioned sport. However, the support just doesn’t seem to be there at this point.

“As educators, parents and supporters of high school sports in Washington state, we are disappointed in the WIAA for not recognizing the demand for lacrosse among students and the chance to provide girls and boys with participation opportunities,” said Gail Loveland, president of the Washington state chapter of US Lacrosse, through a press release. “With students from over 100 WIAA member schools now playing lacrosse, the sanctioning of lacrosse in Washington state is inevitable and a natural progression for the sport – double digit growth in six of the last eight years is too strong to ignore. We are looking forward to working with WIAA in future efforts to sanction the sport.”

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