Lacrosse goes on offense to vie for official status

[Sonny]

Lacrosse goes on offense to vie for official status

Newport Beach high school club teams ask school district for recognition as a CIF sport.

By Michael Miller, Daily Pilot

It's a heady time for lacrosse in Newport Beach, even with spring still a few months away. Both public high schools in town have started lacrosse clubs over the last few years, with participation by both boys and girls on the rise. A local youth league offers sticks and balls to hundreds of elementary and middle-school students. UC Irvine is contributing coaches.

In the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, however, lacrosse is still missing one thing: status as an official sport.

This year, the booster clubs at Corona del Mar High School and Newport Harbor High School have started a push to get the Newport-Mesa district to institute lacrosse as a California Interscholastic Federation, or CIF, sport at the schools.

This is the first year that doing so has been an option: The CIF Southern Section has approved lacrosse as an official sport starting in spring 2006.

However, the boosters first need approval from district officials, who say it may take another year to sanction a new sport.

http://www.dailypilot.com/education/story/31548p-46098c.html

[laxmom]

I'm actually quite surprised that they haven't gone CIF sooner, given the fact that youth and high school lacrosse has been growing explosively since my youngest son started playing in 1998 (in northern California). There are now so many CIF teams in the bay area that it is amazing.
I'm sure they will be successful in achieving CIF status-it's vital.

[laxmom]

That is, my oldest son. We now have 3 that play the sport. It's fantastic.

[SDSULAX]

Being recognized as a CIF sport is not the be all end all that everyone thought it would be. The schools still do not fund the programs and then there are a whole other set of rules and regulations that apply. Team costs go up as you are now forced to travel in school buses that you pay for, etc, etc. I would think a lot longer and look what happened in other areas of California before I would push for that.

[CATLAX MAN]

Actually, from what I've seen about the conversion to CIF, I can state that it has definitively been a positive step for the sport of lacrosse. I agree that there were 1st year transitional issues, but the short term and long term benefits have far outweighed the detriments.