From the commonly misconstrued to the outright false, US Lacrosse Magazine goes “Myth Busters”​ mode in our September/October edition. Don’t get the mag? Join US Lacrosse today to start your subscription.

Memorial Day weekend brought great crowds to eastern Massachusetts for the historic NCAA lacrosse championships.

Indeed, never before had the Division I men’s and women’s semifinals and finals been played at the same venue. Never before had hometown favorite Boston College advanced to the women’s championship game. And it only felt like never before that Maryland had won the men’s national title.

The lacrosse community responded, as 28,971 fans attended the men’s final (most since 2013) and a record 11,668 attended the women’s final. Included in those figures were members of US Lacrosse, numbering 340 and 872, respectively, that purchased tickets at significant discounts — promotional offers extended only to US Lacrosse members.

Hofstra reported 1,055 US Lacrosse members bought tickets to the men's quarterfinal doubleheader the school hosted May 19 at Shuart Stadium, slightly more than 10 percent of the total attendance of 10,117.

“We’re always looking for ways to enhance the tangible value of membership in US Lacrosse, and we were able to work with the NCAA to provide specially priced championship ticket packages to our members,” said Claire Pitts, senior manager of membership product marketing at US Lacrosse.

Discounts on tickets to games — US Lacrosse worked with college athletic departments for free or reduced admission prices for members to 65 regular-season games plus the Big East, Big Ten and NCAA tournaments — represents just one of many benefits of being a member of the national governing body. While sometimes overshadowed by the subscription to the historically popular US Lacrosse Magazine and by the safety net of the member insurance coverage, members-only savings on several product and service offerings can help parents recoup the cost of their child’s annual membership dues.

Parents, many of which are relatively new to lacrosse, can save on products ranging from education — a Positive Coaching Alliance online course is free for members at learning.uslacrosse.org — to equipment for their kids — STX Starter Kits at up to 40 percent off for member-athletes aged 6U-10U are expected to be available on shop.uslacrosse.org in September. Businesses and organizations that support the mission of US Lacrosse supply a healthy portion of the benefits members enjoy. Those include Guardian, which offers a 20-pack of its “Pearl” lacrosse ball at a $35 discount to members, and SISU, which offers its mouth guard at a 15 percent savings to members, among other partners.

Coaches and officials also experience significant value in their membership, focused in part on helping them develop in their trades in order to help provide kids with a quality lacrosse experience. In January, member-coaches and officials attended LaxCon, lacrosse’s largest educational event, at a $40 savings against prices for the general public. The organization’s sport-specific development programs offer discounts on clinics to members.

“US Lacrosse has a great coaches education program with different curriculums for different levels of athletes,” said Scott Biron, coach at Acton-Boxborough (Mass.) High School, at a recent US Lacrosse Convention. “You can really learn a lot.”

And then, there’s the intangibles. US Lacrosse reinvests income from membership dues, donations and sponsorships into its wide array of programs and services that help to train coaches and officials, expand the sport’s participation base, and maximize player safety. That’s all done with an eye toward offering more kids the chance to play lacrosse, fall in love with it, and play it longer.