What age bracket is my child in?

RI Lacrosse, the governing body for lacrosse in R.I., recently changed the lacrosse groups from date of birth to grade based. The teams are identified as Land/Lady Sharks (new to sport Kindergarten & 1st graders), Grade 1-2, Grades 3-4, Grades 5-6 and Grades 7-8. The 7-8 group also allows 9th graders to play that are no older than 15 as of 12/31/2008 and are not playing high school lacrosse.

What is Indoor Conditioning and when does it start?

Indoor Conditioning is for grades 3-4, 5-6 and 7-8 players only and takes place in early March at one of the East Bay school gymnasiums. This conditioning helps the coaches balance the teams based on skill level and it is important that your child attend. There is no indoor conditioning for 1-2 teams, Lady Sharks or Land Sharks. You will receive an e-mail notifying you when this will start. The tentative indoor schedule at Kickemuit Middle School: Boys will practice on Wednesday evenings and Girls on Friday evenings. More details as this schedule is confirmed. Available indoor space is extremely limited in all the East Bay towns.

What team will my child be on? When do we practice?

Teams are selected after indoor conditioning has ended. Expect to be contacted by a coach in late March/ early April notifying you of your team placement and practice schedule. Please understand that teams will be assigned practice space on a Barrington, Bristol or Warren field regardless of residency. We will notify you you of your practice day as soon as possible after registration closes. The league is already in communication with recreation departments in Bristol, Warren & Barrington to secure space. Once we confirm this with our coaches, a practice schedule will be released.

Boys and Girls Teams at Grades 7-8, Grades 5-6 and Grades 3-4:

Teams typically practice twice during the week and play games on Saturday mornings against youth teams throughout the state of RI and Massachusetts. Girl teams are also invited to participate in Jamboree style events throughout the season.

Grade 1-2 Girls Group:

Saturdays during the season will feature local house (EBBCLA) league games, one team each week will travel to play teams from other areas. Practices will be held once each week on weekdays.

Grade 1-2 Boys Group:

RILAX league play will consist of eight weekends of scheduled games against boys 1/2 teams from other RILAX Programs. Practices will be held once or twice on weekdays.

Land and Lady Sharks Program:

Practices will be held once each week during the season. This year we will have a Barrington and a Bristol/Warren location.

What is the new boys competitive program about?

To offer a variety of programs, RI Lax has requested that all leagues who reach a certain number of registered players, field a competitive team. It is available for boys in grades 3 through 8. More information will be sent only to registered boys players in these grade groups. Your child is not required to play in the competitive program if he prefers not too. The recreation/instructional programs remains the same. At this time, this option is only offered to the Boys programs.

What gear does my child need to play?

Boys: Lacrosse helmet (hockey helmets are not permitted), mouth guard, gloves, cleats, arm pads, shoulder pads, stick and athletic supporter. Landsharks: Stick and mouth guard only.

Girls: Stick, mouth guard, cleats and lacrosse eye protection. Many girls also wear gloves.

Ladysharks: Stick and mouth guard only.

Mouth guards are mandatory for both practices and games.

Do I need to purchase a uniform for my child?

Only Girls grades 3-4 and up and Boys grades 1 & up need to purchase a uniform from the Gob Shop. Team t-shirts are provided for girl players in Grades 1-2 & Lady Sharks and Boys Land Sharks. The deadline for ordering a uniform is February 28th. You might not have a uniform for opening day if you order after this date.

Can I keep my jersey number? How do I get a new jersey?

Together with The Gob Shop in Warren, we work to track all the jersey numbers to avoid duplicates on our teams. When a child moves up into a new league this sometimes can cause a conflict in jersey numbers. If a child "borrows" a jersey from a former player this can also cause duplicates. We have asked all players to enter their number while registering (if they have one) and will contact you if we see a conflict. Please contact info@eastbaylax.org and/or The Gob Shop in Warren if you already know you need NEW (first time playing) or REPLACEMENT (need next size up or lost yours from last year) jersey. Jersey orders must be placed by February 15th or you might not receive your jersey before the first game.

Why do I have to purchase a US Lacrosse membership?

EBBCLA members voted to support the establishment of a national governing body for the sport of lacrosse. In so doing, EBBCLA decided that all EBBCLA members in good standing would therefore be active members of US Lacrosse. In addition, the benefits to USL membership are substantial. In addition to training, those benefits include a variety of programs, services and discounts. To facilitate this process, we will collect the fee and complete the membership process on your behalf. All RI Lax programs have the same membership requirement. Check out the US Lacrosse web site for much more info. *Only registered players with memberships that expire after 7/1/09 will be issued a refund of the $25.00 membership fee.

My child plays two sports and can't make it to every practice or game./ What is the 80/20 rule?

Your child must be committed to this program. In order to create viable teams for our coaches to coach and for our program to commit to the RILAX schedule, your player must attend at least 80% of all practices and games. If there are extenuating circumstances and your child cannot attend a practice or a game, you must notify the coaches well in advance. If you cannot make these commitments, please do not sign up.

What is mandatory volunteering all about?

In order to spread the burden of managing our organization we need everyone to help out with the league work in some fashion at least once during the season. We have a variety of things that you can volunteer to do for a team or the League. Descriptions of jobs are listed on the Volunteer page of our web site and during registration you will be required to select your volunteer position. Please be sure to tell your child and other family members what volunteer job you selected. This way they will be sure to know when we contact them to coordinate.

I received a notice my child has been wait listed? What should I do?

For now you will have to wait & see if space becomes available. The wait list for all teams is a first in/ first served basis. If a space comes available you child will be moved into the available spot and your credit card charged accordingly. You will be notified immediately of the opening. We will also be working with the Gob Shop to have temporary jerseys available until your child's uniform arrives.