Why GGL Opposes 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 being  "Sanctioned", a sport must meet the criteria set by OSAA and be approved  by an OSAA member vote.  

  • Girls and Boys lacrosse are not Sanctioned by OSAA.  This means that the schools wishing to offer lacrosse will not receive any support from OSAA.   As a result most High Schools and districts in the state do not include the sport as a part of their althletic program.   To facilitate and support the conduct of  Lacrosse in Oregon at the youth and high school level,  the non profit Oregon Girls Lacrosse Association  (OGLA) servers as the state wide admistrative body under the governace of USA Lacrosse.    For schools that do not offer lacrosse as a school supported sport,  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,  the administrative and financial management of these clubs is done by the club itself, not the high school.   Both club teams and school supported teams fall under the jusitication of OGLA not OSAA. 

  • In addition to needing support from OSAA,  districts and schools need to provide their own resources to run Sanctioned sports programs.  As a result many schools don't have enough resources to offer every sanctioned sport to their students.  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 and or a high school elects not to offer a sanctioned sport as a part of its athlectic program, student club teams are not permitted to represent the school in that sport. 

  • Portland Public Schools has made it clear that it does not have the budget available to fund additional sports.  In 2025 OSAA sanctioned boys volleyball for the first time.  Since  PPS doesn't have the budget to pay for it, they don't provide district high schools with the funds need to offer the sport.  Thus no PPS HS school can afford to include it in their athletic program.    Because OSAA prohibits club teams from representing High Schools in sanctioned sports all the boys volleyball programs at PPS High Schools that had operated as clubs before sanctioning, effectively ended, including Grant HS. 

  • Due to PPS budgetary contrainsts, at present and for the foreseeable future, the sanctioning  of Girl Lacrosse in Oregon would effectively result in the termination of girls lacrosse at Grant, Lincoln, Cleveland and I.B Wells High Schools.   It is likely that other high schools outside of PPS would also suffer the same fate 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 reducing access to team sports for girls rather then increasing it.   Its for this reason the Grant Girls Lacrosse opposes the  OSAA Sanctioning of girls lacrosse in  Oregon.