WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL BOYS LACROSSE ASSOCIATION

Minutes of October 3, 2009

General Membership Meeting

 

533:    The mandatory general membership meeting of the Washington High School Boys Lacrosse Association was held on Saturday, October 3, 2009 at 12:00 a.m. at Bertona Hall, Seattle Pacific University, Seattle, Washington.

 

            Board President: Vern Smith

            Board Executive Secretary: Daniela Colter

            Division I Rep: Brandon Fortier

            Division II Rep: Kevin Martin

            East Rep: Vern Smith

            Metro Rep: Ryan Kelly

            West Rep: Rob Hawley

            North Rep: Peter White

 At-Large:  Tony Olney

 

            Division I – Bainbridge Island, Bellevue, Curtis, Eastlake, Eastside Catholic, Issaquah, King’s Way, Lakeside, Lake Tapps, Mercer Island, Mukilteo, Northshore, Overlake, Puyallup, Seattle Prep, Skyline, Stadium, Tacoma, Tahoma, Vashon

 

            Division II –  Franklin, Garfield, Gig Harbor, Highline, Klahowya, Lake Washington, Liberty, Lynnwood, Mt Si, Nathan Hale, North County, North Kitsap, Overlake, Olympic, Redmond, Roosevelt, Sammamish, San Juan, Selah, Silver Lake, Skagit Valley, Snohomish, South Kitsap, Stanwood, Three Rivers, Wenatchee, Whatcom, Woodinville

 

534:    Roll was taken and Vern asked each program to review and confirm the information on the contact list and return to Daniela. 

  

535:    New members to the league and their representatives were welcomed and introduced – Gig Harbor – Ken Uddenberg; Lake Washington – James Anderson; Liberty – Sara Tamblyn; Mt. Si – Woodroe Kiser; Providence  Christian– Nate Morris; Silver Lake – Stan Kosick; Woodinville – Gavin Molitor.

 

536:    The present WHSBLA Board members were introduced:  Brandon Fortier – Division I rep; Rob Hawley – West side rep; Peter White– North side rep; Ryan Kelly – Metro rep; Kevin Martin – Div II rep; Tony Olney – At-large rep; Vern Smith – East side rep and current Board President; and Daniela Colter – Secretary Treasurer.  Each team has two reps – division and region – who represent team’s interests.  Teams are encouraged to call their reps or email them to express concerns and views.

 

537:    Matthew Hastings, a representative from Stealth, spoke at the meeting about the program. He explained that Stealth would help in any way to grow lacrosse in Washington. If a team buys season tickets the program will sit the team together. Doug Lockhear can be contacted if you would like to purchase tickets.

 

538:    Vern presented an award to Tony Olney for his dedication to WHSBLA. Tony was involved with WA Council and has been involved in WHSBLA since its inception. Tony will still be involved in lacrosse at the WA Chapter and girl’s lacrosse. Best of luck Tony.

 

539:    The first order of business for the membership was elections of Division I and II Reps and the At-Large Rep. Write-in ballots are allowed.  Each opposed candidate was given a brief opportunity to describe why they want to be a member of the Board.  Candidates for election were:

                        Division I:  Brandon Fortier, unopposed

                        Division II:  Kevin Martin, unopposed

                        At-large Rep: (1) Ian O’Hearn (2) Chris Sherman

                       In the process of the voting, a member nominated Chris Sherman for the Division II Rep as well as for the At-large Rep. After discussion, this nomination was allowed.

 

540:    Ballots were tabulated by Vern and Daniela and election results were announced by Vern:

                        Division I Rep:  Brandon Fortier

                        Division II Rep:  Kevin Martin

                        At-Large Rep:  Ian O’Hearn

                         

New Business: 

 

541:    Brandon explained to the members what is required from all programs in regards to documentations. Each team will require a binder containing the following information, a list of the program’s Board Members, WSP background check, Proof of Insurance, Lystedt Law compliance, USL membership, Coaches Certification, Player’s Code of Conduct, CPR and First Aid Certificates. The Board will no longer collect copies of these documents but will require signatures of Board Presidents and/or AD’s verifying that the documents are readily available for inspection. Brandon showed the members a sample binder. Coaches packets will be e-mailed to all the coaches before the February meeting.

 

542:    Vern asked the members if they would be interested in a CPR and First Aid training course immediately following the February meeting and a majority of the members said yes.

 

543:    Dues will remain the same as in 2009 - $10/player for regular members and $5/player for teams in their first year with the league. The board has implemented two new types of fees. A scheduling fee of $100 for the varsity team and $75 for subsequent teams; and $50 charge for each new game added once the program has been billed. The $50 fee does not apply to moving games already scheduled. The increase in fees is due to an expected increase in the PR’s salary, pay raise for the scheduler and the secretary/treasurer.

 

544:    Vern informed the membership that Sherwin Shayegan is back in the news and to be on guard. He is banned from being on most school properties. Please report him if he shows up on school property.

 

545:    Brandon explained the DI and DII reassignments. According to the results of the survey it was clear that the membership wanted the current DI/DII model however to be more balanced. Brandon mentioned that the choice of the wording for realignment and reassignment may be confusing and the Board will fix the wording in the handbook. He explained that the Board did not realign the league. This would need to be voted on by the membership. The board reassigned several teams so that DI and DII are more balanced. There are currently 20 teams in DI and 29 teams in DII. There was a long discussion concerning how the conferences within the divisions were decided. There was some concern about additional travel times for a few teams.

 

546:    Brandon reminded the membership that regular season contests are limited to 20 games plus one jamboree. Brandon gave an overview of how the playoffs will be determined and mentioned that if anyone has any other ideas to e-mail them to the board. There will be 12 playoff games in DI and 16 playoff games in DII.

 

547:    Brandon informed the membership that programs no longer are required to have a JV or F/S team to be in DI. The rational is that in balancing the number of programs in DI and DII, not all teams in DI can field a second team. This rule has been changed in the handout. The program’s second team can be established as a JV or F/S team depending on your roster or two JV teams. League rules indicate that F/S players must be 9th or 10th graders. As a guideline if you have 35 players then you can field two teams.

 

548:    Please send any updated information to Brandon for the website and team page.

 

549:    Vern discussed the new Zach Lystedt Law. The law will have an impact on all programs that use school facilities. All coaches will need to be trained and must comply with the law. The website contains all the information required and training for the coaches. WHSBLA has followed what WIAA has established in regards to this law. Programs hosting out of state teams will have to provide proof of compliance their district is requiring.

 

550:    Vern reminded the membership that modifications to the By-laws requires a vote by the membership.  Eastside Catholic suggested that a committee be established to review the by-laws. This request will be added to the Board’s next meeting agenda.

 

551:    Important dates:

March 1, 2010 – First day of practice for remaining teams

May 22, 2010 – Championship Day

August 1, 2010 – Dead period begins for all teams

 

552:    Vern reminded all coaches of the coaching standards which go into effect this season.  Each program/AD is responsible for keeping track of hours.  All coaches need to complete Level I and US Lacrosse provides the training on their website.

 

553:    Every Varsity team will be required to have jerseys that meet NFHS requirements for the 2010 season.  You can find the rule in the Handbook section 10.1.0 for details.

 

           Vern reminded teams that home jersey’s are lighter colored and away jersey’s are darker colored, per NFHS rules.

 

554:    Question:  What are the requirements for gloves? Gloves should be a consistent dominant color.

 

555:   The Redmond coach asked the board if WHSBLA would highly encourage the league to support prostate cancer awareness. Vern asked that this request be placed on the agenda for the next board meeting.

 

556:    Question: Can the board review the 4-quarter rule and change the By-Laws? If a team participates in a jamboree with two 20 minute stopped halves then the team can only play 1 game a day in the tournament. Answer: WHSBLA follows WIAA rules and regulations. Kevin Leary will send details to the board explaining why he would like the rules changed for jamborees.

 

557:    If new teams wish to practice before the March 1, 2010, then a request must be sent to the board for a decision.

 

558:    Question: Can the board review the 12 goal rule and the running clock? Answer: This is a rule established by WALOA.

 

559:    Question: Can the board review the 4-quarter rule in regards to the goalies? Can goalies be available to play more than 4 quarters a day. The 4-quarter rule is a WIAA requirement and WHSBLA follows this rule.

 

560:    The next general membership meeting is a mandatory meeting for head coaches. Saturday, February 6, 2010.  The time will be announced.

 

561:    The meeting was adjourned at 2:00 pm.

 

                                                                                   

 

Daniela Colter, Executive Secretary