Last Updated – March 18, 2023
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 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 (20) and sixteen (16) years old. Additionally, competing in major junior is free-to-play for all players during league exhibition, regular season, playoff, and national championship competition.
HOW IS THE CANADIAN LACROSSE LEAGUE DIFFERENT FROM OTHER JUNOR LEAGUES?
- Each league under the CLL, the Ontario Lacrosse League (OLL) and Western Lacrosse League (WLL), play by and operate under the same set of rules and policies
- The CLL is the first and only junior-age league in Canada using a rulebook wrote with professional and international play as part of a LTAD Model
- 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 skills
- CLL teams do not monetarily exchange player 'playing rights', in other words players are not traded for cash, ensuring that every player maintains their status as an amateur athlete
- CLL teams do not compensate or 'pay' players, ensuring that every player maintains their status as an amateur athlete
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 Canada 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 and Canada staff understand that junior players have a variety of obligations. During the selection process communication is important and valued by Canada staff. If a player can not attend a Regional Combine and communicates that with Canada 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 Canada staff to watch and privately evaluate potential players for inclusion on the Canada roster. The CLL and Canada 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, The CLL and Canada Staff will contact a player immediately if they have slotted that player for inclusion on a Canada roster.
What Does The Lacrosse Canada ANNUAL MEMO Means for Players who Want to Compete With Canada at the World Juniors?
Here's what we know:
- On December 9, 2021, July 21, 2022, again on March 10, 2023, and most likely again in the future, Lacrosse Canada posted their annual memo to their members educating them about the Canadian Lacrosse League and the IIJL World Junior Lacrosse Championship, 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 Member Associations, provincial lacrosse association, to implement these processes
- Currently, only one (1), the Saskatchewan Lacrosse Association, out of the eleven (11) Lacrosse Canada Member Associations, provincial lacrosse associations, has a process in place (since 2020)
- Unfortunately, at the time of updating this FAQ, the CLL is still not aware of any process in place for players who are members of the other ten (10) Lacrosse Canada Member Associations, provincial lacrosse associations, to:
- Ask for permission
- The qualifications for being granted permission
- Appeal process if permission is not granted
- Reinstatement process if a player is deemed to have lost eligibility by provincial lacrosse associations, and
- 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 Member Associations, the provincial lacrosse associations, to implement these processes - not Lacrosse Canada
- The Saskatchewan Lacrosse Association is the only Lacrosse Canada Member Association, provincial lacrosse association, that has actual policy in place, voted on by their executive, and posted for their members and application - to which the CLL has applied and was approved on February 14, 2022 for 'sanctioning'
- To reiterate, the other ten (10) Lacrosse Canada Member Associations, 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 - only provincially circulated memos and misused liability waivers represented as such.
