PNLA League Meeting Minutes: 31 Oct 1998

1. Tim House officially stepped down as President of the PNLA after many years of faithful service. Elections were held for the positions of President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer and the following PNLA members were elected:

President: Matt Cone - Redhook LC

Vice President: Dave VanNoy - Redhook LC

Secretary: Mark Brick - Tentawon LC

Treasurer: Mark Flood - Portland LC

2. A Division updates:

The Victoria Seaspray Field Lacrosse team was voted in as a member of the PNLA. This is a great opportunity for all parties concerned as Victoria brings another team into an ever-expanding league. The A Division now has six teams, Seattle, Redhook, Blue Collar, Portland, Rainier and Victoria. Victoria was asked to limit their rosters for the playoffs to those players who have participated in at least 50% of their games during the regular season. This will help to prevent having stacked teams during the playoffs. Victoria will be allowed to continue to recruit top-notch players for the PNLA tourney in Portland.

The Rainier LC was voted in as a formal member of the PNLA. The 1998 season was a probationary season for Rainier. They voiced their commitment to maintaining a team and are seeking players for the 1999 season. The Tacoma LC offered to lend an extra set of goals to Rainier as they continue to build a competitive A Division team.

3. B Division updates:

The College Inn LC requested that the league encourage the Rainier LC to remit $160 to them for a game last season that Rainier failed to show for and failed to notify the College Inn LC and the officials. The league voted that the Rainier LC is required to remit $100 to the College Inn LC.

4. The league voted to officially become a member of US Lacrosse. This is a move that we all hope will help with the expansion of lacrosse throughout the US. Team members are highly encouraged to sign up for US Lacrosse membership as it not only helps the promotion of the sport but it also provides $1 million insurance coverage and a subscription to Lacrosse Magazine. You can check out the official US Lacrosse site at http://www.lacrosse.org.

5. The PNLA championship tournament is scheduled for 6-7 Jun 1999. The location is is confirmed for the Queen Anne Bowl. We’re looking to have a league party near the playing fields.

6. Official schedules for the ’99 season will be posted on the walax.com site. Teams must email their schedules to Matt Cone at [email protected] as soon as possible.

7. Dave VanNoy has secured the Queen Anne Bowl for the ’99 season for the majority of the A division games and for some of the B division games. Dave reiterated that DOGS and Alcohol ARE NOT ALLOWED at the. Everyone knows how difficult it is to schedule a field in Seattle so we must make every effort to abide by the parks rules and to clean up after each game. Dave is also organizing a Queen Anne Bowl volunteer day with the Parks Department. This is huge for our league, we are playing on one of the best fields in the entire NW. We must respect this priveledge!

8. Matt Cone is working a deal with the Victoria Clipper to get tickets at half price for those teams that will be traveling to Victoria for games against the Seaspray LC.

9. The equipment drive for the ’98 season was a wonderful success as we provided gear for a new high school team. More high school teams will be playing lacrosse this year and we need to make every effort to provide them with gear to get them up and running. Donations/gear/goals should be given to Matt Cone.

10. There are several rules changes/clarifications for the ’99 season.

A. The league voted in favor of reducing the minimum head width from 6 � inches to 6 inches. International rules allow for 5 � inches so we are more in line with international competition.

B. Mouthpieces must be worn "if they are attached to your helmet". If a player doesn’t want to wear a mouthpiece then he shouldn’t attach it to his helmet.

C. You can not call a timeout when the ball is in the defensive end of your field (i.e., goalies who are trying to clear can not call a timeout ). This rule is commonplace in college ball and will be enforced more this season.

D. A player must play in a minimum of 50% of a teams league games in order to play in the league playoffs. The only exception to the rule is if a player is injured and cannot make league games.

11. Teams are encouraged to have open practices in order to allow new players an opportunity to checkout teams and for teams to evaluate the new players. There are many new players moving into the Seattle area and the league is sending team contact info for all of the teams in order to give each team a chance at recruiting. Each team will notify matt cone of open dates, so the can be posted to the walax.com calendar.

12. The PNLA is expected to participate in the following tournaments this year: Vail, Tahoe, Hawaii, Western States, PNLA, Eugene. Teams are encouraged to sign up for any of the tournaments if they are interested. Please note that the Vail tourney limits the number of teams allowed as this is the most prestigious tourney in the US.

13. The league voted in favor of raising the referees fees from $50.00 to $60.00. Most refs are paid $75.00 for college games.

14. The league agreed to endorse the All-Star voting format for the ’99 season. The All-star team will likely play in either the Tahoe Tournament of the new Las Vegas fall tourney.

15. Teams are encouraged to get game results and stats into the walax.com site as soon as possible after the games. Teams are always curious about how the other teams in the league did over the weekend so be sure to get your info in quickly. Each team must assign a web contact who completes the simple form on the site by Monday of each week. This allows for prompt league stats.

16. Teams finalized their schedules during the remainder of the meeting and we adjourned thereafter. The current league schedule is posted to the walax.com site.

Mark Brick