When is registration?
Registration begins early in January, and continues until the season starts in April. Hurry to register before the early-bird discount finishes in early March!
When is the Box Lacrosse season?
The box lacrosse season runs from April through June. Drop-in sessions start as early as January, and some evaluation practices may be scheduled at the end of March.
Team practices will start in early April, and games usually begin by mid-April. The regular season runs from mid-April to mid-June with play-offs occurring in a one-weekend tournament format.
When does the season start?
Some evaluation practices may be scheduled at the end of March.Team practices will start in early April, and games usually begin by mid-April. The regular season runs from mid-April to mid-June with play-offs occurring in a one-weekend tournament format.
When does the season end?
Play-offs occur in a one-weekend tournament format. The winning team at each level in the Wheatland will then represent the Wheatland at Provincials. The Provincial tournament is typically early July. Dates and location can be found on the ALA website
What equipment will my child need?
A full list of lacrosse equipment can be found in the CLA's Parent Guide at the following link:
http://cla.pointstreaksites.com/view/cla/parents-and-players-guide
Where can I buy equipment?
A number of local retailers carry lacrosse equipment. In Cold Lake, Sport Chek and Canadian Tire often have equipment. In Bonnyville, Sylvestre's Source for Sport has an excellent selection of lacrosse equipment, and they also work with our Association to source and supply goalie gear, Association Apparel, etc.
What nights will my child play?
Check out the tab above for your child's level. Note that Lacrosse games and practices are scheduled on weeknights, so your weekends are free. The only weekend activities are the year-end tournament, and any other tournaments that individual teams choose to participate in. Some teams will choose to reschedule league games to weekends on occasion in order to avoid some of the longer weeknight travel.
Where are games and practices held?
In Cold Lake, most games and practices are at the Energy Centre. The North Arena and JJ Parr are alternate locations when the EC is not available.
In Bonnyville, all games and practices are at the C2.
Is there much travel involved in Lacrosse?
The Wheatland League includes Lakeland (Cold Lake and Bonnyville), Vermilion, Kitscoty, Lloydminster, and Wainwright. Typically each team will play one home and one away game against each of these towns. Where possible, the league works to maximize close-to-home games and minimize long distance travel.
Most teams choose to participate in at least one out-of-town tournament during the season. Teams that are successful in making it to the Provincial championships must travel to the Provincial tournament.
How are teams selected?
The Wheatland League is a "parity" league. There is no tiering, so teams within the Lakeland Lacrosse Association are expected to be as closely matched as possible. Teams are selected by the coaches and division directors, taking into account the relative age, experience, size, and skill level of the players.
Note that there are no "A" teams in rural lacrosse- we are a "B Open" league. At the Pee Wee, Bantam, or Midget levels, it is possible for coaches to organize an "A" team outside of the regular lacrosse season and participate in "A" tournament(s) in Calgary or Edmonton. However, all players MUST play in the regular league and fulfill all commitments to their regular team before playing "A" tournaments.
Do you allow "friend requests"?
Friend requests will be considered, but can not be guaranteed. Our goal is for all participants to have an excellent experience in lacrosse, so we try to keep friends and family together whenever possible. However, team parity, coaching availability, etc. may preclude us from being able to honor all requests.
What town should I register in?
When you register for Lakeland Lacrosse, you will generally see teams at each level in each town (Cold Lake and Bonnyville). You must register in the town where you live (generally where your kids attend school and/or play hockey).
If required in order to balance team sizes, we can apply to the Wheatland to release players from one town to the other. However, this is on a case-by-case basis, and is only approved for one season. If a team in one town is "sold out" (ie. has reached the maximum allowable team size), but the team in the other town needs players, we may have to apply to move players in order to keep both teams within the allowable team sizes.