LONG WINTER DAYS AHEAD FOR LACROSSE CANADA AND FOR THE MEMBERS

Pierre Filion pierrefilion@bell.net

There is very little lacrosse going on in late November and early December. The annual meetings (national and provincial) are just about done and the grassroots volunteers are gone either to other sports or home to rest from a struggling season.

National championships are over and the National Teams have little on their schedule.

This however is not quite the time to relax, especially in the case of Lacrosse Canada who could use ‘’those long weary winter days’’ to reflect upon its values and its management of the democratic process.

The members, on their side, have just been presented with a 100% increase in membership fees for every registered player. They are in the process of swallowing all this while seeing their political influence decrease and their financial responsibilities increase provincially and nationally.

LACROSSE CANADA ONLY NEEDS THE MEMBERS WHEN IT IS IN NEED OF MONEY

How true!

Lacrosse Canada has managed to centralize its operations and to reduce the provinces’ political and technical influence over the game. It has worked its way to create one single narrative to be accepted by all: The national Teams ARE lacrosse in Canada. Period. Everything else is a distraction.

Lacrosse Canada has managed to deprive the members (and the paying members) of any and all relevant information dealing with the administration and political governance of the game. The website is reserved for the National Teams as if they were the only thing to care about within the game. Information pertaining to the minutes of Board meetings and of other working committees is dysfunctional and always too late to be acted upon. Sport Canada is slightly impatient when their request to this effect is not met.

Lacrosse Canada is fully content to have Ontario, BC and Alberta supply players to the National Teams; these provinces have done all the work before their selected athletes proudly become National Team members and forget where they came from and who has developed them to become champions. Lacrosse Canada offers lip service to the other provinces and cares not about their development. It also does not care about Ontario, BC and Alberta’s development as long as they supply players for the glorified National Teams.

Lacrosse Canada still does not have a national plan for the growth of the game by increasing the number of registered players in every province. Every other sport, at the national level, has a plan to increase the number of its members. Lacrosse Canada does not and persists in ignoring its responsibilities in the development of the game. The number of players increases every year but never because of a planned development. And, at that, the growth rate is non-significant.

Yet, Lacrosse Canada’s mission statement clearly says: ‘’to promote develop and preserve the sport of lacrosse and its heritage as Canada’s National summer sport.’’ Lacrosse Canada simply cannot leave development to the attention of the provinces and collect their membership monies. Three provinces can go at it by themselves but the other eight are always struggling just to get by, to show up at championships or meetings and to meet the demands of their own members.

Lacrosse Canada also does not have a plan to benefit from the 2028 Olympic Games. Imagine for a short moment if Lacrosse Canada and the provinces had the idea of preparing a document that could be used by school teachers across the land to help their students discover and appreciate the game they will see on TV, at the Olympics, in 2028. But no Lacrosse Canada will concentrate on the National Teams hoping for a gold medal, and that will be that.

THE PROVINCES ARE FRAGILE, ISOLATED AND LIVING IN A DREAM-WORLD

Three provinces (Ontario, BC and Alberta) are doing well; five (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Québec, Manitoba and Saskatchewan) are struggling and have a see saw experience year in and year out; and finally, three associations (First Nations, PEI and Newfoundland) have such a small population that they will always remain small!

And above their tasks and mandates the provinces have to develop the game with, often, no resources at all.

They also see that what they had as political leverage with Lacrosse Canada has gone down the drain and that they have become silent paying members involved in a great game administered by others.

Yet, the provinces have a forum that they could use to create unity amongst themselves and to orient the national resources towards themselves. That forum is ‘’the members’ council’’ a consultative group to Lacrosse Canada composed of the presidents of each provincial association. If someone showed leadership at this level the provinces could come together over issues, prepare their votes and organize a pressure group that Lacrosse Canada would have to listen to.

First, they must lawyer up. They saw what influence a lawyer had at the last annual meeting when Lacrosse Canada presented an unchallenged ‘’legal theory’’ which allowed it to impose a 100% increase in membership fees. If the provinces had had their own lawyer, they could have presented a defense. They had no one who could stand up to Lacrosse Canada’s lawyer and will now pay the price for their inaction. And a hefty one at that!

They could take one of Lacrosse Canada’s value and make it their own: ‘’We achieve more by working together in a climate of collaboration and trust’’. Yeah! If the provinces saw that their division, oppositions, bravados and in fighting are their downfall they might come together with their own narrative, goals and demands. And negotiate their way with Lacrosse Canada whom they fund with over a million dollars.

The members council, at this time, is the only tool that the provinces have if they are to act collectively and positively to promote their own needs and to have resources allocated to them. Otherwise they will read somewhere: ‘’Divide and conquer’’ and realize that this is what is happening to them.