State of the Game - Part II

WHO CAN STOP LACROSSE CANADA’S NONSENSE?

The first thing to do is to establish if the situation at Lacrosse Canada is non sensical or not. We had touched base in the last article on the utterly indubitably incredible situation at Lacrosse Canada which verged on total nonsense.

A few questions might help clear the air.

Does it make sense that a national association governing Canada’s national summer sport (Lacrosse Canada) does not have any corporate goals or objectives? Let alone measurable goals!
Does it make sense that Lacrosse Canada does not report to its members on its goals and objectives at annual meetings?
Does it make sense that Lacrosse Canada has an annual budget in no way connected to its goals or objectives?
Does it make sense that Lacrosse Canada does not have a simple and functional plan to increase the number of registered players across Canada?
Does it make sense in today’s world that Lacrosse Canada does not have a coherent plan to increase the number of women playing lacrosse in Canada?
Does it make sense that Lacrosse Canada has no plan on how it will benefit and profit from the inclusion of the game within the 2028 Olympic games?

If you think all this makes perfect sense than stop reading this post and move on with juvenile enthusiasm and don’t waste your time thinking about the state of the game as you, obviously, have other concerns.

But if you think this whole thing makes no sense at all then we have to look at options to change the situation and move on.

I had a mentor, when I worked with the QC Federation, who told me that ‘’the problem is not the issue; the issue is what YOU do about it so the problem does not resurface again’’.

Sure, Lacrosse Canada has a problem; the issue is who can do something about it?

First let’s eliminate the groups who can’t help and can’t or won’t move an eyelash to help:

The federal minister for Sports who will view this ‘’problem’’ as an internal matter which does not affect the ministry…until Lacrosse Canada’s starts flying drones!
Sport Canada who has already domesticated Lacrosse Canada and will not wish to touch this with a ten-foot pole;
The Canadian Lacrosse Foundation, who will rightly not involve itself in the strictly internal and political aspects of this ‘’problem’’;
The Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame which does not have the human and financial resources to even have a look at something which is not within its mandates;
The active members ‘’running’’ lacrosse teams or associations who are passionate about what they do at their level and who care not about Lacrosse Canada and probably have no idea of its existence;
The media who will ignore this ‘’problem’’ because, lacrosse being a marginal sport, there are more visible issues to deal with…

In fact, there are only two groups who can do something about this nonsense. Lacrosse Canada’s membership and Lacrosse Canada’s Board of Directors. Let’s have a look at these two ‘’bodies’’.

THE MEMBERSHIP.

According to Lacrosse Canada’s own documents (see ‘’the grid’’) there were as of November 2023 - 46,959 registered members playing lacrosse in Canada. That is the playing and paying membership. That membership is represented at Lacrosse Canada’s annual or semi-annual meetings by provincial delegates who are THE VOTING MEMBERS and who, in the final analysis, are responsible for every decision made by Lacrosse Canada; because they vote.

One would expect that the voting members are quite numerous; they are not; quite to the contrary their number is very limited. A review of the different meeting of members of 2022 and 2023 reveals that the number of voting members is very very low:

2022 AGM; 105 votes available; 15 people voted (3 women) while 23 were observers;
May 13^th 2023 special meeting of members; 99 votes available; 11 people voted (1 woman) while 37 were observers;
June 19^th 2023 special meeting of members via ZOOM; 92 votes available; 9 people voted (1 woman); while 5 were observers;
September 23rd special meeting of members via ZOOM;99 votes available; 16 people voted (2 women) while 16 were observers.

Decisions, at Lacrosse Canada’s meetings are made by a maximum of 16 people emerging from 11 provincial associations representing 46,959 playing and paying members. There are always more observers than voters at Lacrosse Canada’s meetings!

Political decisions are concentrated in very few hands. Yet these are the people to whom Lacrosse Canada politically reports and submits proposals to be voted on. It is to be noted that the Board of Directors does not vote at annual or semi-annual meetings.

The voting members (most of whom are the presidents of provincial associations) vote on reports, budgets, financial statements, policy changes and selection of auditors; and they also elect Lacrosse Canada’s Board members. Everything happens on their watch. Everything is the result of their votes.

They come to meetings as provincial presidents with provincial agendas, requests and goals. They are fed; they don’t feed; they are led, they don’t lead. They do not have a common narrative and seldom come as a ‘’unified group’’ thus putting themselves in a vulnerable political position.

Essentially, by their votes, they support the Board of Directors and are ultimately responsible for the legitimacy of Lacrosse Canada’s decisions and endeavors.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Board of Directors is composed (at present time) of 11 volunteers elected by the membership at annual meetings. They are legally and politically responsible for the corporation (Lacrosse Canada) and, in absence of corporate goals, they endeavor to keep alive the association’s mission statement which is ‘’to promote, develop and preserve the sport of lacrosse and its heritage as Canada’s national sport’’. (It is significant to notice that Lacrosse Canada, in its mission statement, does not claim to govern the game of lacrosse in Canada).

The Board of Directors is ‘’a working Board’’; 8 of them are tasked with different areas of responsibility (presidency, administration, marketing and communication, national championships, domestic development, indigenous affairs, athlete’s concerns, high performance and international operations) for which they individually report at annual meetings; the 3 others are ‘’directors at large’’ with no specific tasks. The Board, itself, does not annually, as a corporation, report to the membership which is quite strange but understandable because of the absence of annual corporate objectives or goals.

The Board of Directors is a coherent group of volunteers who leads the association and has decision making powers in many areas of the association’s activities. It functions with a sense of’’ ministerial solidarity’’ amongst its members and positions the corporation’s interests as its first priority. It is supported by a five person staff and operates with an annual budget which it prepares and is voted on by the membership.

The Board of Directors (remember Hockey Canada’s recent ‘’troubles’’) is ultimately responsible for the state of the game in Canada and for the activities which are carried out ‘’under its leadership’’- or lack thereof.

Technically, if ever some think that there is nonsense at Lacrosse Canada, the Board of Directors must be pointed at and should look at the situation for which it is, ultimately, responsible. If there is no nonsense, well….then …just carry on.

Next article we will look into what can be done by the membership and by the Board of Directors to seriously address the matter.