FAQ

FAQ

Last Updated – July 1, 2025 

WHAT IS THE CANADIAN LACROSSE LEAGUE?

Founded in 2016, the Canadian Lacrosse League (CLL) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the establishment of the first major junior lacrosse league in Canada. As a Founding Member Nation of International Indoor Junior Lacrosse (IIJL) the CLL represents Canada at the IIJL World Junior Lacrosse Championship (WJLC) and all other IIJL events.

What is Major Junior Lacrosse? 

As established by existing leagues in other sports, namely hockey, major junior is defined as a league devoted to the development of players between the ages of twenty one (21) and sixteen (16) years old and is "free to play", meaning that there are no registration fees to compete in regular season, playoff, or national championship play.  

HOW IS THE CANADIAN LACROSSE LEAGUE DIFFERENT FROM OTHER JUNOR LEAGUES?
  1. The CLL competes exclusively on the international stage, currently providing opportunity at the Junior, U18, U16, and Women's Junior levels
  2. The CLL is the first and only junior-age competition available in Canada that uses a rulebook drafted with a focus on professional and international development as part of a LTAD Model 
  3. The CLL follows a proven LTAD Model for players between the ages of twenty (20) and sixteen (16) years old, creating the best environment for players to compete, develop, and showcase their talent
  4. The CLL does not monetarily exchange player 'playing rights', in other words players are not traded for cash, ensuring that the league and every player maintains their amateur status 
  5. The CLL does not compensate or 'pay' players, ensuring that every player maintains their status as an amateur athlete 
  6. The CLL instead removes a barrier of entry, registration fees, while also providing scholarship and bursary opportunities during the regular season and playoffs 
HOW ARE PLAYERS SELECTED TO REPRESENT CANADA AT THE IIJL WORLD JUNIOR LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP? 

The CLL currently holds a series of Regional Combines across Canada annually to identify potential players for the upcoming World Junior Lacrosse Championship and other IIJL events, including but not limited to; the World U18 Lacrosse Championship (WU18LC), World U16 Lacrosse Championship (WU16LC), and Women's World Junior Lacrosse Championship (WWJLC) at other international events not hosted by the IIJL. The Regional Combines are used by CLL staff to evaluate players on their maturity (communication skills), athleticism, skill, and lacrosse IQ.

WHAT IF A PLAYER CAN NOT ATTEND A REGIONAL COMBINE DUE TO A SCHEDULing CONFLICT? 

The CLL staff understand that junior players have a variety of obligations. During the selection process communication is important and valued by CLL staff. If a player can not attend a Regional Combine and communicates that with CLL staff, the player will remain in consideration over the course of our Summer Evaluation Period leading up to the current year's World Junior Lacrosse Championship and other IIJL events.

What is the Summer Evaluation Period?

The Summer Evaluation Period is the time duration between the end of the Regional Combines and the completion of the Canadian junior (A, B, C) league regular season and or a team's elimination from their respective playoffs. The Summer Evaluation Period is a time for CLL staff to watch and privately evaluate potential players for inclusion on the Canada international program roster. CLL staff will not contact players until their team is mathematically eliminated from playoff contention or eliminated from playoff in a series - to avoid any distractions while players are focused on winning a Canadian Junior A or B National Championship with their respective junior team. Once a Player's commitments with their junior team have been fulfilled, CLL staff will contact a player immediately if they have slotted that player for inclusion on a Canada international program roster.

What Does The ANNUAL Lacrosse Canada MEMO Mean for Players who Want to Compete With Canada at the World Juniors?

The Canadian Lacrosse League is an independent organization and is not associated with Lacrosse Canada (LC) or its Members (provincial lacrosse associations):

  • On December 9, 2021, July 21, 2022, March 10, 2023, again on June 4, 2024, and most likely again in the future, Lacrosse Canada posted their annual memo to their members reminding them that the Canadian Lacrosse League and the IIJL World Junior Lacrosse Championship are "unsanctioned", the same memo that has been posted every year since 2018 
  • Added to their annual memo on December 9, 2021 was a recently proposed amendment to their operating policy:

5.1.2 Domestically and internationally, no registered participant, Jr and under, may play or participate in any non-approved competition, namely any competitions non-approved by World Lacrosse or any of its National Governing Bodies (NGB) including Lacrosse Canada (LC), and Provincial or Territorial Sport Organization (P/TSO) without first obtaining the permission of their LC Member Association. Any participation in non-sanctioned events will result in loss of eligibility for all National Championships and Team Canada events. 

  • As the proposed amendment reads, players are able to play in "non-approved competition/non-sanctioned events" provided players obtain permission from their respective Lacrosse Canada Member Association - meaning that players will need to obtain 'permission' from their respective provincial lacrosse association in which they are 'currently' playing and are members
  • Additionally, the CLL does not know of any timelines for Lacrosse Canada Members, provincial lacrosse association, to implement an approval processes 
  • Currently, only one (1), the Saskatchewan Lacrosse Association, out of the eleven (11) Lacrosse Canada Member Associations, provincial lacrosse associations, has a formal process in place (since 2020)—still, that process is not clearly defined 
  • Unfortunately, at the time of posting, the CLL is still not aware of any formal process in place for players who are members of the other ten (10) LC Members, provincial lacrosse associations, to: 
    1. Ask for permission 
    2. The qualifications for being granted permission 
    3. Appeal process if permission is not granted 
    4. Reinstatement process if a player is deemed to have lost eligibility by provincial lacrosse associations, and 
    5. Appeal process if reinstatement is not granted 
  • The additional information was also provided in the Lacrosse Canada memo:

It is the LC Member Associations (P/TSO) responsibility to implement a process to identify which competitions are non-approved for their participants. Each Member Association will notify Lacrosse Canada of participants who have lost eligibility for all National Championships and Team Canada events, on an ongoing basis. 

  • To help players understand the above further: 
    • It is the responsibility of the Lacrosse Canada Members, the provincial lacrosse associations, to implement these processes - not Lacrosse Canada 
    • Lacrosse Canada does not directly "suspend" players for participating in "unsanctioned" events 
    • The Saskatchewan Lacrosse Association is the only Lacrosse Canada Member, provincial lacrosse association, that has actual policy in place, voted on by their executive, and posted for their members and application  
    • To reiterate, the other ten (10) Lacrosse Canada Members, provincial lacrosse associations, do not have actual policies or by-laws in place to 'suspend' players who play with the CLL or in IIJL events—memos, liability waivers, and emails circulated by provincial lacrosse associations do not constitute as policy.