North American Minor Lacrosse Association
Below is a letter from NAMLA President, Bryce Thompson
Submitted by Sharon Ray & Jacky Snyder
(March 1, 2021)
To all players, families, coaches and fans of NAMLA;
The North American Minor Lacrosse Association Board of Directors have been convening and preparing in hopes of being able to resume play for the 2021 season. Our main goal is to provide an opportunity for our youth to participate in a positive learning environment that promotes our traditional game, encourages team play and keeps our athletes active. As you all know, our 2020 season was canceled due to the health risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty of how it would affect the entire world. Our communities have lost friends and loved ones this past year and it is still posing a great risk to everyone’s health and safety. We want to be able to provide a season and have our youth play the game they love, but we will only do so when it is considered safe to resume such activities.
In anticipation that approvals and regulations are relaxed, the NAMLA Board of Directors has been discussing these situations and trying to come up with the best scenario to let our youth resume play. Currently, three of our organizations do not have a venue to play out of as they are still closed to the public for safety reasons. Other organizations have not been advised as to what specific protocols will need to be met in order to use their designated venues. We anticipate hearing that there may be limits on spectators, disinfection and cleaning procedures in place, as well as the use of masks and physical distancing are all possibilities.
At this time, the NAMLA Board of Directors have determined that we will delay the beginning of the 2021 season until at least the month of April, in the hope that we will get permission to run our season which will extend our season to run into possibly August. We are monitoring the NYS Department of Health, and other local departments of health for any decisions that would indicate we can move forward. As it stands now, we are limited to playing teams from within our current regions, which NAMLA encompasses three regions of New York, (southern tier, Western NY, Central NY).
We are hopeful that future decisions will allow NAMLA to hold our 2021 season, and recognize that it must be done safely for all parties involved. Please continue to watch the NAMLA website or Facebook as well as your local team announcements for future details and decisions.
Sincerely,
Bryce Thompson
NAMLA President
A copy of the original letter posted below:
NAMLA Letter
