State of the Game - Part III

WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT LACROSSE CANADA’S NONSENSE?

In previous articles we had established that the situation at Lacrosse Canada was non sensical with the following examples:

Lacrosse Canada has no stated goals or objectives; none;
Lacrosse Canada has a dysfunctional budget in no way tied to its goals (as there are none);
Lacrosse Canada ignores the democratic reporting process during annual meetings;
Lacrosse Canada does not have (and has not had) any plan to increase the number of lacrosse players in Canada;
Lacrosse Canada has no plan to increase the number of females playing lacrosse in Canada;
Lacrosse Canada has no plan to benefit from the 2028 Olympic Games.

We then identified the groups who must be held accountable for this deplorable situation:

Lacrosse Canada’s Board of Directors
Lacrosse Canada’s membership at annual meetings.

Today we will endeavor to identify corrective measures and actions which could lead to a change and improve the situation. We are not looking for culprits or for repressive measures; we are trying to be positive.

Acknowledge responsibility
Both the Board of Directors and the voting members at annual meetings have to acknowledge that the nonsense was arrived at ‘’under their watch’’ and because of their votes.
Acknowledging responsibility is a political gesture which requires humility and honesty.
Looking for excuses is a copout and an irresponsible political attitude.
It would serve no purpose to blame COVID, to indicate that Sport Canada’s requirements have delayed the Association in its operations, to explain the situation with the numerous changes within the National Office or to shed blame on the provincial associations ’’who do not cooperate with Lacrosse Canada’’.
In every association the Board of Directors is ultimately legally and politically responsible for the operations of the Association. That is the case here.
Acknowledge the facts
Lacrosse Canada’s situation makes no sense. The Board of Directors and the voting membership must come to realize that there is no future for lacrosse if corrections are not brought up.
Covering the matter up with a gold or silver medal here and there, with a great national championship here or there, with a small increase in membership or with anything else is not the proper approach, neither in sport nor in business.
The time has come to face the facts.
We are all involved in nonsense and the Board of Directors must acknowledge that.
Get outside help
It might be a good idea for Lacrosse Canada to close the Office for one day and invite an outside group of critical specialists to ‘’have a look at the operations of the Association’’ and to enlighten the Board of Directors (and the staff) with analysis and suggestions. If this was done in a positive way and with the clear intent to be productive the ‘’outside group’’ could help Lacrosse Canada come to grasp with its deficiencies, contradictions, malpractices and lack of vision and clarity.
But this must be done with Lacrosse Canada’s intention to listen and learn and to, somehow, come down from its comfortable Ivory Tower.
The Board of Directors can and should do just that.
Review the Association’s vision of the future.
Every association or corporation has a vision for the future. Lacrosse Canada has produced its own. Here it is: ‘’Lacrosse, our life, our family our game; make it yours’’.
Are you turned on? Are you excited? Are you confident that you will draw people from such a vision?
Hey, listen, this is a sheepishly shy invitation to anyone and everyone anywhere to adopt our game. That’s all the vision is, an invitation…a simple invitation. Something like…’’We’re down on our knees, we’re begging you please to join us and play lacrosse’’.
This is a vision expressed from a position of weakness, toying with social concepts (life and family) and fundamentally saying the we have no future!
Look, if the vision was something like…’’Lacrosse, in every arena, on every field, in every gymnasium throughout Canada’’ you might get a sense that there is a drive, a universality, a message of growth, an indication that the game will be a club and school sport, that it will be played everywhere.
It’s quite understandable that an association which has no vision would also have no goals.
Lacrosse Canada has a passive and shy vision of the future which really says ’’hey we’re comfortable amongst ourselves’’…The Board of Directors must act here or remain silent forever.
Have a serious look at the democratic process within Lacrosse Canada
Lacrosse Canada is becoming a closed shop managed by very few people and living a comfortable unchallenged political life. The voting at annual meetings is the case in point.
Initially the Canadian Lacrosse Association had hoped that its annual meetings would gather around 100 people in a convention style meeting with members, experts, lecturers, sponsors, working groups, manufacturers, promotors; a large event calling the administrators and volunteers from across the country to gather together and annually discuss and draft the future of the game.
That initial vision has not developed and is now a dark shadow of what it could have been.
At this time 11 provincial presidents attend the annual meetings and personally carry all their provincial votes. The voting membership is made up of 11 people; just 11. The Board of Directors is ‘’reporting’’ (if we can use that word) to 11 people…Think about it. Is that a closed shop?
The documentation presented at annual meetings (reports, audited statements, upcoming budgets, policy changes, names of candidates for election to the Board, etc.) is only shared with the delegates attending the meeting. Nothing is circulated on Lacrosse Canada’s web site. Neither is it posted on the provincial associations’ websites. No effort is made to ensure that the paying membership across the nation has access to elementary information concerning the association they are paying membership to. Transparency is an issue that must be addressed by the Board of Directors if Lacrosse Canada wishes to remain an open, lively and democratic association.
In 2024-24 the membership from across Canada will deliver $620,425 to Lacrosse Canada in membership fees!!!
Understand that we are only preoccupied by short term issues
The voting membership at annual meetings is made up, as mentioned, of 11 provincial presidents elected by their provincial members at provincial annual meetings. Those presidents are accountable to their provincial membership so when they vote at Lacrosse Canada’s annual meetings they carry and support their members best interests. And those interests are short term oriented. Provincial members want their presidents to ensure that ‘’we’’ have good national championships, good coaches’ and officials’ clinics, functional transfer processes, available manuals and rule books, a functional national office and great national teams on which some provinces can place players.
Those are short term preoccupations supported by the provincial presidents at LC’s annual meetings.
He who controls the narrative controls the options and the upcoming decisions.
No one has a preoccupation for the future and Lacrosse Canada’s budgets reflect that year in and year out.
Expenses are short term expenses. Nowhere in the budget is there any form of investment or development.
And if ever someone would bring up the idea of having a national plan to increase the number of players there would be costs to be met and the provincial presidents who have already committed $620,000 in membership fees will not wish their members to pay more to Lacrosse Canada… And, so far, they have never brought up or supported a national plan to increase the number of players playing lacrosse.
The voting structure and the reality of the concentration of votes create a situation where long- term preoccupations will probably never see the light of day unless the Board of Directors, who should be inclined to support long term goals (even if it can’t even identify its own goals!!!), addresses the issue and has the membership appreciate the fact that we will never move forward with such a concentrated voting structure.

As mentioned, we are not interested in looking for culprits; we wish that the Board of Directors and the membership realize that the nonsense is of their own making and that there are still options to consider if Lacrosse Canada and the membership realize the rut they are in right now.