Girls Field Lacrosse (OWFL)

2023 Season

 
Tentatively we plan on offering programming in the following age groups: 

• U7/U9/U11-Girls of Lacrosse aka "GoLAX" Learn-to-Play / Houseleague (2013-2018)
• U9-Rep (2015-2016)
• U11-Rep (2013-2014)
• U13-Rep (2011-2012)
• U15-Rep (2009-2010) 
• U19-Rep (2005-2008)

Registration Link:  Registration is open! HERE

Registration Cost:

• U7/U9/U11-Girls of Lacrosse aka "GoLAX" Learn-to-Play / Houseleague (2013-2018) $99
• U9-Rep (2015-2016) $350
• U11-Rep (2013-2014) $450
• U13-Rep (2011-2012) $480
• U15-Rep (2009-2010) $480
• U19-Rep (2005-2008) $495

Included in registration (GoLAX):

• Minimum of 16 hours of outdoor training (April-June).
• Burlington lacrosse gear (t-shirt or tank top)

Included in registration (Rep):

• Minimum of 29 hours of outdoor training (April-July).
• 6-8 game weekends (depending on age group).  Note:  U9 should only expect three weekends + provincial championships (if qualify)
• 13-30 games (depending on age group).
• Burlington lacrosse gear (skirt and t-shirt or tank top)

Season start:  We are tentatively expecting to start formal practices April.  Game days will start late-May.  

OWFL *Tentative* Schedule:

May 20/21 Guelph Early Bird (U13-U19)

May 27/28 Kitchener-Waterloo

June 3/4 Owen Sound

June 10/11 Burlington (Includes U9)

June17/18 Oshawa

June 24/25 Toronto (Includes U9)

July 1/2 No Games -Canada Day Long Weekend

July 8/9 Kawartha

July 15/16 Orillia (Includes U9)

July 22/23 TBA U9/U11/U13/JEWL Provincials

July 29/30 Oakville U15/U19 Provincials

*Note:  OWFL will limit the amount of teams invited to provincials to 18 teams per age division.  Teams seeded lower than 18 at the end of the regular season will have an opportunity to play into an 18th spot.

Girls Field Lacrosse Info

The BMLA participates in the Ontario Women's Field Lacrosse League (OWFL Website)

Information on Rep Game Days

Plans are being made by OWFL for the 2022 Regular Season, and families familiar with the 2021 tournaments should expect a return to previous years' league play.  Games may start late-May and end in late-July.   

Games for U11 and U13 are typically on Sundays.  Games for U15 and U19 are typically on Saturdays.

Game days are "tournament style" with many teams descending on a host centre to play twice in a day. 

Host centres could include:  Burlington, Brampton, Guelph, Halton Hills, Oshawa, Orangeville, Kawartha, London, Kitchener-Waterloo, and Owen Sound.

Rep Commitment

Players in our rep program will have games on weekends and it is important to understand a commitment to that team is expected.  We are committed to allowing our players to play in our box lacrosse house league or rep programming.  Other commitments (other sports, or personal vacations) will be difficult to balance if we expect to maintain a large enough roster to not forfeit from lack of player availability.

Information on Rep Practices

*2023 Practice days, times and locations are being set and are pending final confirmation from the City of Burlington.  The following information is tentative.

Outdoor practices will likely start April at City View with the following practice times:

U11 Tuesday & Wednesday 6-7pm
U13 Wednesday 7-8pm (Tuesday time may be added)
U15 Tuesday 6-7:30pm (Additional time may be added if more than one team exists for this age group)
U19 Tuesday 7:30-9pm

After the Victoria Day weekend practices will shift to grass and are tentatively expected to be at M.M. Robinson High School weekday evening 2x per week on Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday.

Based on feedback from last year, effort has been made to extend the practice time to 1.5-2 hours for the U13-U17 age groups. Please provide feedback at the end of the season if this was helpful and should be considered for future years.

Rep Team Composition

The U11 program in the OWFL plays 7-on-7 (including a goalkeeper). We typically would need 10-15 players on a roster for this age group.

U13, U15 and U19 age groups play full-field 10-on-10 (including a goalkeeper). We typically would need 15-20 players on a roster for these age groups.

We expect there could be enough registrants at the U11, U13 and U15 age groups to warrant having two teams. In the event this occurs we will run tryouts and the teams will be selected by coaches.  The "1" team will be focused on competing at a higher level within the province.  The "2" team will be focused on setting and improving fundamentals and a love for the game.  The "2" team will be a perfect place for new players to safely learn the game.

Tryouts & Eligibility *PLEASE READ CAREFULLY*

 Please register asap if you plan on playing this year. Having a clear picture of registrations will allow us to make early adjustments to our team plans and communicate effectively with our registered families. We will be reviewing our registrations and will decide if a team must fold due to low registrations by late March. Those not registered by the third Sunday in March may not be able to get a release to play at another center if a team folds. Practices will start for all teams in April. We will notify families in advance if there are more registrants than expected roster spots and these initial practices become a tryout.

We may decide to cut off further registrations if registration numbers are high enough to field a full team once a team starts practicing.  Those attempting to register late may not be able to play.

Final date for registration to be eligible for play in the season is June 15.

U8

U8 is an entry level initiative by the OWFL to give younger houseleague players an opportunity to experience rep play.  Teams are typically smaller with less runners on the field on a smaller field.  The OWFL typically runs up to three of these tournaments per year.  Houseleague players are eligible to play on this team.

Costs, practices and tournament weekends will be announced once more information is available.

Junior Elite Women's Field Lacrosse (JEWL)

JEWL is an initiative by the OWFL to provide elite level women's lacrosse to the highest level of U19 aged players.

The centres in this league are pre-selected each season based on last year's performance and will change year-to-year.

In 2023 the OWFL will be adding a JEWL selects team to the division.  This allows girls playing in a centre that does not have a JEWL level team to also participate in the league.

 All Burlington players are eligible (and strongly encouraged!) to tryout for the JEWL selects team if they wish.  If a player makes the JEWL select team they must also continue to practice and play for the Burlington U19 Rep team. 

 

More information on JEWL can be found on the OWFL website here:  https://www.owfl.org/jewl

Equipment

Girls field lacrosse stick.  A list of all approved sticks can be found HERE

Field lacrosse goggles.

Mouth guard (any visible colour other than clear or white, and must not have graphics of teeth)

Lacrosse cleats. Football and soccer cleats are viable alternatives.

 Information on GoLAX

We are expecting in 2022 to run a GoLAX recreational program for U9 aged players new to field to lacrosse, or those players hesitant in committing to a competitive program.  Families should expect this to be a fun and casual way to learn the skills and game play of the sport.  No experience is required!

The program is expected to run mid-April through end of June.

We will where possible give our recreational players exposure to game play through scrimmaging, exhibition games with neighbouring organisations, or fun game-days organised by the OWFL.



Can I Play?, Should I Play?

The concept of our program being "rep" should not scare away new participants.  We expect many new players and by default will be placed at the lowest level of league competition. 

There are many good reasons to consider playing field lacrosse:
-Outdoor play.
-Larger playing field emphasises the ability to find space.
-Different sticks / rules emphasises stick skills and hand-eye coordination.
-As players get older the game emphasises position specific skills.  The result is a position for all players regardless of speed, size or skill set.  There is a role for everyone!
-As players get older there are opportunities to play at a higher level:
*Several local private lacrosse organisations exist that travel to the US and play in tournaments.
*Field lacrosse programs are offered at many Canadian universities.
*Field lacrosse is a more popular version of the game in the US and opportunities exist for players to play at the US level via scholarships.
*Field lacrosse is played internationally and is under consideration to be added as an Olympic sport.

Thinking about playing?  You should!  See this video to see how much fun our U11-1 team had in 2022.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have questions or suggestions for our field lacrosse program.  You can do so through the link on this page, or by contacting Adam Kennedy at [email protected] or Atanas Tchorbadjiysky at [email protected]