Bulletin B121.1 - 16UA Wild Rose Lacrosse League (WRLL)

Hello 16U Athletes & Families,

The Alberta Lacrosse Association (ALA) is pleased to announce, in partnership with the Calgary District Lacrosse Association (CDLA) and the Greater Edmonton Lacrosse Council (GELC), the inaugural season of a stand-alone 16UA league called the Wild Rose Lacrosse League (WRLL).!

The WRLL creates new and exciting game play as the CDLA and the GELC 16UA teams play in an interlocked season for the first time ever.

The WRLL is split into 2 regions (shown below) in which each region will play one home and one away game versus every other team their region, plus each team will play one cross-over game. This format produces a 15-game regular season with the top 4 teams from each region qualifying for a regional playoff series, and concluding with a league championship.

Given the increase in games played and the travel involved, it will be necessary to schedule some league games on weekends and so an effort will be made to align the WRLL with Jr A and Jr B games of the RMLL so that we may create an enhanced playing experience for our athletes. Benefits of such an alignment include but are not limited to:

• Allows for increased availability of not just more officials but more experienced officials if WRLL and RMLL games are scheduled together.
• Allows for more rapid development and advancement opportunities for younger officials who may wish to advance their officiating career into Major lacrosse by providing an opportunity to work as a 3rd official alongside more experienced referees.
• Provide an opportunity to increase the exposure of our 16UA athletes to the coaches and management of the Major teams, which in turn could help with the transition of players from Minor to Major.
• Provide more opportunities for Minor players to watch Major lacrosse and therefore see more advanced lacrosse played at the highest levels which is a great way for self-improvement, but also may further ease the transition into Major lacrosse.

We know that 16U teams tend to participate in independent, out-of-province tournaments and so to ensure that each WRLL team has this opportunity without creating regular season schedule conflicts, the WRLL will have 2 pre-determined weekends with no games scheduled - one weekend in May, and one in June. This will provide each team with a great opportunity to attend out-of-province tournaments if they so desire.

We are looking forward to the WRLL athletes hitting the floor because we see this league as a great step towards an enhanced playing experience for the 16UA division.

Registration for the WRLL (i.e., 16UA) is conducted through each teams respective Club website and is currently open for the CDLA and the GELC.

Enjoy the season!