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B.C. Lacrosse expands junior circuit by eliminating intermediate level

It’s a change that should put B.C. teams on similar footing as Ontario – but will primarily create more parity and stability at home first. The directors of the B.C.
junior crease
The B.C. Lacrosse Association's executive elected to expand junior B by three tiers, as part of a plan to eliminate the intermediate level.

It’s a change that should put B.C. teams on similar footing as Ontario – but will primarily create more parity and stability at home first.

The directors of the B.C. Lacrosse Association held their AGM on the weekend, and voted overwhelmingly, by a 63-6 margin, to create a five-year junior program and fold the intermediate divisions.

From New West’s vantage point, having one circuit for players ages 17 to 21, as they do everywhere else in Canada, was long overdue.

“It’s a long time coming and a great idea,” New West junior A president Walt Weaver said. “The junior B program will be a true feeder program for the junior A team, and players have an opportunity to spend five years together, as they do in Ontario.”

Although Weaver didn’t attend the meeting due to the birth of his seventh grandchild, the New West delegation supported the motion, proposed by a junior B proponent.

Weaver said while some view that the change will help boost B.C.’s chances in competing against Ontario for Minto and Founders cup national titles, that wasn’t the prime motivation.

“That’s a whole different topic,” said Weaver. “Ontario has been a lot more aggressive in using the trade deadline to stack teams, for want of a better term. ... The whole goal of creating these tiers in junior B is to develop players over five years.”

Under the intermediate model, players graduated from the 15 and 16-year midget division to play their 17- and 18-year-old seasons in intermediate A or B – with a few skilled players, at most a handful spread throughout the league each year, accelerated to junior A.

The new format won’t eliminate that, but will create a five-year window for more players to play as juniors.

Junior B’s tier 1 division would replace the current intermediate A model, while tier 2 would replicate the previous junior B division. The third tier would stand in for the intermediate B league.

Organizations that operated at the junior B and intermediate levels last year, who have no junior A programs, would be eligible to play in one of the two lower tiers.  

Burnaby Lakers junior president Brad Hara said the move should give his struggling program a boost.

“It certainly should make it easier for us when it comes to player movement and especially in player retention,” Hara said.

In recent years, the Lakers program has seen a considerable drop in registration when players age out of the midget division.

He said the proposal, which in the past had been rejected, was given a healthy debate and ended in the 63-6 vote at the AGM.

“I think it’s been talked about for a number of years, but past attempts always came from the junior A level,” Hara said.

This time the motion came forward from the junior B level, demonstrating that it wasn’t just the higher division trying to set rules for others to follow.

As of now, the B.C. Junior A Lacrosse League president Karl Christiansen said his league remain unchanged, with a moratorium on expansion set to expire after 2018. An earlier request to relocate the PoCo Saints to Maple Ridge was rejected, despite the growth of the sport in the Ridge-Meadows area.

“The (B.C. Junior A) governors weren’t ready to look at (the expansion) option, and the proposal (to relocate) was rejected. … It just wasn’t the right time, (the governors) felt,” Christiansen said.

Minor association registration was fairly stagnant for both Burnaby and New West last year. The ’Bellies
program drew 428 players, while Burnaby saw 405 players. Coquitlam, which for the past two decades was the largest minor association by player numbers, dropped to No. 2 as Maple Ridge surpassed it, with 708 players to 675.

Hara said it may take time for junior B programs to adjust to the new reality, but he anticipates the Lakers program will benefit.

“I think the impact won’t be known for a while, but I believe everybody will benefit in having a five-year program. It’s quite a change.”