Why GGL Apposes Sanctioning Lacrosse in Oregon

• • In the state of Oregon High Sports programs are run under the direction of the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA). OSAA, is a non-profit, board-governed organization comprised of both private and public schools. They provide leadership, oversight, and coordination for interscholastic sports activities. This includes offering, regulatory compliance, and logistical support to member schools   Since 1918 OSAA has been been setting rules and guidelines that dictate the provision and conduct of school sports in the state.

  • As a part of its work, OSAA  member schools select which High School sports to support.  Sports that are supported by OSAA are referred to as Sanctioned Sports.  Before becoming  Sanctioned, a sport must meet the criteria set by OSAA and be voted in by the OSAA members.  

  • Girls and boys lacrosse are not Sanctioned by OSAA.  This means that the schools wishing to offer lacrosse do not receive any support from OSAA.  As a result most High schools in the state do not offer the sport.   To  overcome this the Oregon Girls Lacrosse Association  (OGLA)  operates under the guidance of USA Lacrosse to facilitate and support the  conduct of  Lacrosse in Oregon  at the youth and high school level for girls.    For schools that do not offer lacrosse,  teams are normally established and run by parent volunteer groups.  In some cases these groups may operate as legally registered Non-Profit Corporations .  Such is the case for Grant Girls Lacrosse.   These volunteer run  lacrosse teams are considered Student Clubs by the High School.  The level of support these sport clubs receive  varies by school.  In general, most of the administrative and financial management of these clubs is done by the club itself, not the high school. 

  • In addition, to  needing support from OSAA many school districts simply don't have enough resource of their own to support additional sports.   This  means that even if a sport is sanctioned by OSAA, member schools are not obligated to offer their students that sport.     If a school district elects not to offer a Sanctioned sport, the school is not allowed to field a student club team as an alternative. 

  • Portland Public Schools has made it clear that it does not have the budget available to fund  any additional sports.  In 2025 OSAA sanctioned boys volleyball for the first time. Since  PPS did not have the budget to pay for it , they did not offer it to students at any district high schools.    Because OSSA prohibits club teams from representing High School in sanctioned sports all the boys volleyball programs at Portland High Schools have permanently ended.

  • At present and for the foreseeable future the sanctioning  of Girl Lacrosse in Oregon would directly result in the termination of girls lacrosse at Grant, Lincoln, Cleveland and I.B Wells High Schools.   It is likely that more teams outside of PPS would also suffer the same fait  given the fiscal constraints faced by most school districts.  Therefore  the sanctioning of girls lacrosse would have the opposite of it desired effect, resulting in the immediate reduction of the number of girls programs in the state and reduce access to team sports for girls rather then increase it.   Its for this reason the Grant Girls Lacrosse opposes the  OSAA Sanctioning of girls lacrosse in  Oregon.