This article appears in the September/October edition of US Lacrosse Magazine. Don’t get the mag? Join US Lacrosse today to start your subscription.

The US Lacrosse Sanctioning Program designates youth and high school lacrosse events that have adopted a set of operational and safety standards set forward by US Lacrosse.

Through this program, US Lacrosse seeks to standardize tournament play nationwide and alleviate the frustration players, parents and spectators experience with the inconsistency of rules and game formats from event to event.

When a tournament is sanctioned, the owner/operator guarantees event expectations for participants. By providing best practices for tournament operators and creating a more consistent environment, participants can focus on playing and enjoying their lacrosse experience.

Visit uslacrosse.org/events/sanctioned-tournaments.

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240 Minutes

Maximum time of game play per day — with a minimum of 60 minutes between games, to minimize the risk of injury and fatigue — for high school events. That’s two minutes more than the entire run time of the film, “Gone with the Wind.” That’s enough lacrosse for one day, wouldn’t you say?

2

US Lacrosse-certified officials per game at a sanctioned tournament.

Risk Management

US Lacrosse-sanctioned tournaments must include:

• Current US Lacrosse membership for all players, head coaches, officials and operators.

• An emergency action plan.

• Certified athletic trainers.

• Clear documentation of all injuries and treatments.

• Ambulance coverage and AED onsite.

• Inclement weather and evacuation plans.

• No one-to-one interactions between an athlete who is a minor and an adult (who is not the legal guardian) without being in an observable and interruptible distance from another adult.

24

Tournament operators whose events currently fall under the US Lacrosse sanctioning umbrella.

$0

Getting a tournament sanctioned by US Lacrosse is free. Moreover, US Lacrosse will help guide event operators through the process.

51%

More than half of the US Lacrosse-sanctioned events this year were qualifiers for the US Lacrosse Nationals, which crown champions at the 14U and 13U levels for boys' and girls' lacrosse.

Umbrella Effect

“I see US Lacrosse as a body that’s trying to bring together this incredibly fragmented lacrosse landscape and pull it under an umbrella.”

— Lee Corrigan, — founder of Corrigan Sports