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Why did Eastlake have to Forfeit to Maple Valley
Submitted by GHSlax1 on Mon, 2007-04-30 22:12.
About a week before the game was even scheduled to play, WALAX showed Eastlake forfeiting to Maple valley. Why was that? I understand Eastlake graciously offered to allow the game to be rescheduled because Maple Valley had their Prom on the night the game was originally scheduled. Maple Valley couldn't provide a field other than the unsafe middle school field on the rescheduled date. Shouldn't that be Maple Valley forfeiting to Eastlake? How did the WHSBLA make this decision to give Maple Valley the forfeit victory? I think this was backwards. This decision has playoff implications. Let's get this corrected and protect the integrity of the game.
The field at Maple Valley is
The field at Maple Valley is fine. Its got grass and (mostly) dirt on it (and some rocks). It's more level than many other fields (namely Lakeside, Lynnwood, Magnuson) and the footing is fine. It may result in a few scraped knees, but many people up on the plateau forget that were playing lacrosse and not T-ball.
I know we need to protect the integrity of the game and take the safety of our kids into the greatest consideration. But complaining and causing your team to lose a game because of a muddy field isnt fair to the players.
I wonder how the Eastlake players feel about it? People have been playing on that field for years. And trust me, it used to be worse.
5/6/7/8th graders play on the field and they love it. Apparently a few board members forget what that's like.
Decision final -Eastlake will forfeit
Tough decision. Once Eastlake brought in the concept of liability, they had no choice to not play the game. The decision is made by the officials as to whether the field is safe or not, and the determination is made the day of the game. Eastlake chose not to play and resulted in the forfeit. The tough part is the scheduling was done a LONG time before the game was to take place. Hopefully in the future, this will prevent field issues from negating a game kids on both teams really wanted to play.
Eastlake needs to stop whining
Seriously. If you refuse to play a game because you feel the field is "unsafe" (what specifically was unsafe about it?), you shouldn't even be playing lacrosse. There are plenty of other ways to get hurt and the field should be the least of your worries...especially when playing Maple Valley...
It wasn't the players!
I don't think we need to be giving Eastlake the program a hard time about this. They did what they felt was right for thier program...circumstances aside, they probably should have played, and I am sure the players would have if they were allowed to. Ultimately, it looks like it might get settled in a play in game for the 7 and 8 spots anyways, so we'll see who really deserves to play Bainbridge!
none
I agree with swizzler because if all your worrying about is the field you shouldn't be playing lacrosse.If you can't take the pain don't play the game
I Wish...
teams with bad fields had to play only away games :] that would be the best. Oh yeah and BI + Vashon because they are on islands.
not that bad
MI played on the field last tuesday and it wasnt as bad as every one is working it up to be. sure it may not have been the softest ground and people may have been getting some cuts, but these kids are tough, i think they can handle getting hurt. a little blodd never hurt anyone
It's the kids that get hurt
The kids are the ones that get hurt at the end of the day. Firstly, Eastlake should not be penalized for allowing Maple Valley to reschedule a game due to their prom. It is my understanding that Eastlake was scheduled to play on the Stadium field at Tahoma on the night of MV's prom. If the original game was played Eastlake would not have forfeited and the MV players would not have been able to enjoy prom especially if Eastlake had beaten them.
Eastlake forfeited the game because of concerns raised during the middle school game. A number of players were injured, cuts and scrapes from the field, during the game. It was generally felt that more severe injuries might have occured so the board acted to take care of the players.
Heaven forbid a player gets seriously injured because of the field, Especially after all of these e-mails. I am sure that MV and the board will have some serious issues to work out.
There are a number of teams on the bubble for the playoffs. The result of this forfeit might be that teams which really deserve to be in the playoffs don't make it in. MV is possibly being hurt because their goal differential may be improved if the game was played. They also might be getting helped because it is possible they would lose the game. Skyline, Curtis and even Eastlake may be out of the playoffs because of this forfeit. Think about all of the kids this effects. Why can't the game be played on a neutral field? Why can't it be rescheduled on MV's stadium field? Ego, Fear, Pride?
Why can't the adults involved set good example for the kids. Honor the Game!!!
The Right Question!
I think you pose the right question: Why did Eastlake have to forfeit to Maple Valley? Their choice.
Other good questions are: Will MI forfeit Tuesday night? Does Maple Valley care about their kids safety? Why was the field safe enough for Eastlake's MS kids to play in March? Did they quit the field early? Why didn't Eastlake use the notice they got from the board -exemplied by the forfeit notation - to launch a petition then? Was it because they thought they had a lock on a playoff spot then? Why didn't Lynnwood bag their JV game there? Don't they care about their kid's safety? Why haven't the refs stepped in and said they wouldn't ref the "unsafe" games there? Will Prep go to Tahoma MS or make their kids stay home?
Should Garfeild get to petition to replay their opening game at Lynnwood because the field wasn't worthy of their players? Was it even safe? Maybe if they hire a lawyer and petition the membership...?
Anything's possible. (?)
Maple Valley and Safety
In fairness to the MV Program we removed this comment after several complaints. Walax
Field Safety
I'm not interested in turning this into an anti-Maple Valley thread. I want to focus on the bigger issue - a forfeit that seems unwarranted. And for those wondering, I am in no way affiliated with the Eastlake Lacrosse Club.
From my understanding of the situation, Eastlake offered other options to playing the game at the Middle School field (my son played a H/S game there three years ago and the field was bad then - judging from the pictures of it this year, it's only gotten worse). They were turned down.
I applaud the Eastlake team for refusing to play on a field that they considered unsafe. They did their due dilegence. After playing there with their middle school team, they had representatives from their board and a Washington State US Lacrosse Board Member inspect the field. Once they decided it was unsafe, they had no option but not to play on it. The fact that other teams will play on it is their business. Eastlake made the call that the field was unsafe, and they are sticking to it.
And let's not lose perspective here. Eastlake originally offered to change the date to accommodate Maple Valley. I would be a lot less sympathetic to Eastlake's cause had they been the one's to ask for a different day to play. But they didn't. In my viewpoint, Eastlake would have been in their rights to come back at Maple Valley and "demand" to play the game on the original date and disrupt the Maple Valley prom plans, but they didn't. They took the high road. Give them credit for that.
As to the statement above asking should Garfield have the right to petition because of the muddy mess at Lynnwood - yes, if they had BEFORE the game. But once they took the field they were committed to playing it.
And to the question should teams who have played there before get to change the outcome. Come on, that isn't even the argument and you know it. I'm trying to get some intellectual honesty in the debate, not cloud it with red herrings.
Fueling Discussion
My "questions" are of course meant to drive serious thought and comment. To that end though, I can't concede that Eastlake's original accomodation of the MV Prom has any bearing on the issue. Were there strings attached to Eastlake's concession? Did MV need to say "no take backs"?
Nor does Tom Wehe (an Eastlake HS Parent, I believe cloaked in the title of USL Board Member) looking at the field have any bearing. And his letter is by no means explicit in it's contention that there's an imminent safety issue.
The ONLY people that matter in a field safety issue are:
The Field Owner (The School District)
The League (WHSBLA)
The Refs (WALOA)
The HOME Team (MV)
Negotiations and accomodations are one thing but... if the visiting teams start getting to dictate time and location, we'll have chaos. Everybody plays at the same time, on the same field, with the same Refs. That's what makes the sports world go'round.
Tom Wehe
Sorry, Tom has no connection with Eastlake LAX.
He has a connection with EASTSIDE, as their 3/4 coach.
A common error as the names are similar.
Even so, anyone involved in LAX out here can be construed to be "cloaked". No one is without some connection. I think you are reaching here.
Since the MV field is now so
Since the MV field is now so unsafe, does that mean we get to go back and change the record books from the past several years? Cause it's always been a bad field, so I think we should make any team who has had to play there forfeit those games in their history.
Maple Valley field
I play for maple valley and we practice on that field with 5-6 graders if you guys can't put up with it and complain don't play lacrosse