Concerns, Worries and Red Flags

CONCERNS, WORRIES AND RED FLAGS

Yes, some have reasons to be optimistic about the recent changes at Lacrosse Canada. Change always seems to be welcomed and appreciated. I also partly share this optimism and think that we can ‘’give the runner a chance’’ but not necessarily give him the benefit of the doubt.

We should give the new Board members and staff some sort of leeway and a little bit of time to ‘’do their thing’’; but we can’t give the benefit of the doubt because Lacrosse Canada has a tradition, values, rules, partners and members and mostly money.

A realistic and analytical approach raises concerns, worries and even red flags. Let’s look into this. Let’s look into the facts.

CONCERNS

There is a legitimate concern that arises when a national association puts out a strategic plan and fails to identify measurable goals. This will create uncertainty, lack of clarity and the emergence of totally different evaluations from the members judging the Association’s performance. No credible corporation functions without measurable goals unless it wants to simply ‘’carry on’’ and engage in fruitless discussions concerning its performance.
There is a legitimate concern when we all realize that there is absolutely no national plan (shared by the provinces) to develop the game and mostly to increase the number of registered players throughout the country. Yes, Lacrosse Canada wants to grow the game (how often have you heard ‘’grow the game, grow the game’’ but seen little measurable results…) There is concern when one realizes the amount of energy and attention given to the National Teams and to High Performance compared to the real development of the game. Lacrosse Canada now has 10 member associations; last year there were 11 and no one blinked an eyelash…Everyone is more concerned about the National Association becoming a National Training Center than about the lost provincial association.
There is a legitimate concern when one look at the situation of bilingualism at Lacrosse Canada. How many Board members and staff are functionally bilingual when an association which recognizes the equality of both our national languages? How is it that no one on the Board and at the staff level has noticed that Mrs Samantha MacKenzie, the director of partnership, is listed on the French webpage as a male. This is not just a marginal typo mistake it’s a clear sign that no one ever reads the French website because obviously they are not capable of doing it. I ask again, how many staff members are functionally bilingual?

WORRIES

We all need to worry when we clearly see the decrease in democratic values and processes within Lacrosse Canada. Fewer and fewer members are part of the decision- making process. The Association is controlled politically by the 10 provincial presidents, by the 9 Board members and the 9 staff members. That’s it. The paying members across the nation are kept in the dark. The Association’s website is a cheerleading site and in no way an educational tool to inform the members of the challenges to the game and the decisions that are needed to move the game along positively. We have all seen the decrease in democratic processes in other national associations and have seen the consequences; let’s only look at Hockey Canada to get an indication of what might happen to lacrosse.
There is room for worries when we look at the new Board of Directors. In the change from a ‘’working Board’’ to a ‘’governance Board’’ the Board members have seen their traditional tasks ‘’taken away’’ and transferred to the ‘’professional staff’’. The Board members are expected to govern the game and to concentrate on the directions and choices pertaining to the future of the game. Are they capable to meet those expectations? Are the proper people in the proper places? Are they showing ‘’global vision’’ or still task concerned? The paying members will have those answers when the agendas and minutes of Board meetings are publicly circulated on the website and not hidden in an obscure corner of the website where no one looks.
There are worries over a total take-over of the Association by the professional staff. The staff’s huge advantage is in their number (9 full time people, at this time) and in the control they have and will have over the circulation of information. The Board will be no match for an organized staff as was the case at Hockey Canada. Strategically the staff can turn the Board of Directors from a group of deciders to a group of ‘’esteemed consultants’’. The key here will be in the actions of the Executive Director and in his ability to abide by democratic processes and to engage in a trustful reporting process. One can and should also worry when we realize that no one from the Board is the Association’s elected treasurer able and willing to answer to the members about the Association’s finances. This is worrisome

RED FLAGS

The first red flag to raise (and to raise high enough for everyone to see) is in the poor quality of information at Lacrosse Canada. As mentioned before there is a huge difference between the scores of games and the state of the game, between the number of clicks and the content of the information circulated. It is easier to report on the number of goals scored by the National Team in an international event than to reflect upon the structural challenges to the games and the decisions that need to be made. Lacrosse Canada is a closed shop and the first way to change that situation is in the area of information. For example, consider that since January 2025 Lacrosse Canada has held 13 committee meetings (Officials, Women’s field, Coaching, Board of Directors, Sixes, Canada Games, Safety and Equipment, National championships and Minor Box) yet there has been no information on the agenda of those meetings nor on the minutes of the said meetings. Nothing at all. An Association aiming at transparency can do much better; an Association wishing to create a ‘’vibrant association’’ must do better. This is an area that the Board of Directors needs to look at quickly and efficiently before the paying members are led into a world of tameness and ignorance. A red flag has been lifted.
The second red flag is in the area of the Association’s finances. We have mentioned the absence of an elected treasurer on the Board of Directors. This is democratically huge. But the general outlook of the finances, as expressed in the 2025-26 budget (on the website, if you can find it) clearly illustrates that the Association’s priorities lie with the National Teams and High Performance. Everything else is non-significant in an Association where 75% of the registered players are under 17 years old. If the number of registered players (in 2024) had been nationally circulated everyone would have seen that there are 38,054 minor players, 6,987 junior aged players and 4,982 senior aged players across Canada. 76% of the membership fees paid to Lacrosse Canada (570,810$) come from the minor aged players who have very little concern for high performance and the National Teams. Fourteen-year-old little Johnny, from Winnipeg, pays 15$ in national registration fee; the same amount that the best SR A player in Canada pays!
But the main concern is with the budget itself.
National Team programs indicate revenues of 60,000$.
Federal grants are to be of 1,094,090$.
Membership contributions are to be of 979,605$ while sponsorships will generate revenues of 104,500$ on a budget of 2,426,894$. In 2023-24 Lacrosse Canada collected 1,000$ in sponsorships! This year’s challenge is huge!
Expenses are centered on Administration (340,580$), National Teams (1,078,085$) and Staff salaries and travel (648,000$) for a total of 2,066,665$ on a budget of 2,426,894$ (85.1% of the budget). Not much room for anything else is there!
The red flag is raised for the membership (and the paying members) to see and mostly to foresee major problems coming their way.
The third red flag is a huge one which has been flying since 1980. It’s the National Association’s failure to increase significantly the number of women playing lacrosse. The female membership playing lacrosse is of 6.6% of the total membership. This is a disgrace; it’s been said; I’s been repeated yet the situation has not changed. This is an issue for the Board of Directors where 40% of the membership is female.
Enough said, just raise the red flag again. And hope.