WDIA NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

WDIA Calendar

Important WDIA Dates

• December 1, 2008 - Deadline to get a representative from each league on the Rankings and Recognition Committees in order to get an AQ.
• December 6-10, 2008 - IWLCA Meeting in Clearwater, FL. For more information you can go to www.iwlca.org, including the annual coaches clinic
• December 15, 2008 - 2009 WDIA Membership Application Form Deadline. Late fee applies for all applications not postmarked by this deadline. 
• January 16-18, 2009 - USL Convention - Baltimore, MD
• February 2, 2009 - Late Application Deadline for 2009 WDIA Applications
• February 15, 2009 - Last day to add/drop a game.  See 2009 WDIA Operating Procedures for specifics.
• February 15, 2009 - League Schedules must be turned into LaxPower by Feb 15, 2009 or by your league's first game, whichever comes first.
• March 2, 2009 - 2009 WDIA Roster Verification Form - Due to your League President by Feb 15, 2009 who then sends it to USL by March 2, 2009. (Your school registrar shall certify that all roster members are full time students)
• April (TBD), 2009 - WDIA All-American submissions are due to your Regional Chair
• April 19, 2009 - Each member league must have their Automatic Qualifier (AQ) for the 2009 WDIA National Championship Tournament decided and submitted to Gabe Valenzuela and Lissa Fickert by 9 PM PDT.
• May 6, 2009 - WDIA Awards Banquet 
• May 6-9, 2009 - WDIA National Tournament - Location TBD.  Team registration begins the night before.

WDIA Coaching Vacancies

• Texas A&M - The Texas A&M women’s lacrosse team is currently looking for a coach for the 2008-2009 lacrosse season.  Duties for a coach include attending practices, games, and tournaments. Being able to sub people in and out of games in a necessary requirement. Anyone with lacrosse background or no lacrosse background can be our coach. We are an awesome group of players who play hard and love the sport of lacrosse. The team is a club sport at A&M, and we receive no financial support from the University. All funds are done through fund-raising. Last year we gave our coach $2,000 at the end of the year. The stipend can be negotiated depending on experience.  Appointment: Full-Time, 9 months.  Contact for more information: Suzanne Landau, Texas A&M Women's Lacrosse President, College Station, TX.  Phone: (512) 431-6084  E-mail: suze1120@tamu.edu Website: http://recsports.tamu.edu/wlacross/index.htm POSTED 9.10.08
• Colorado State University - The club women's lacrosse team at Colorado State University is seeking a head coach for the fall of 2008 and spring of 2009 (and future years). This team won the National Championship this spring and seeks to do it again. The previous year (spring 2007), they came in third. For the past five years, they have won the league championship. Coach is responsible for running practices and coaching games. The club is run by student presidents, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. The team practices three days a week in the afternoon in the fall, with games usually on Saturday or Sunday. In the spring, the team practices five days a week in the afternoon and plays about 25 games, including in-state games and four or five tournaments. We also host a tournament on our campus, where we bring in teams and play anywhere from five to six games.  Contact for more information: Lindsey Hudek (Vice President) or Kristen Kasney (Treasurer).  Phone: 303-929-3923 (Lindsey) or 281-639-2492 (Kristen)  E-mail: LindseyHudek@gmail.com POSTED 9.10.08
• University of South Florida - The USF women's club team is currently looking for a coach for the 2008-2009 season. We seek a coach who will be dedicated to the team and to push us to our highest abilities. Coaching and playing experience are a plus! Our first meeting is August 28th, but we begin practices on September 2nd. We compete both in fall and spring semesters, but our main season starts in January. Our team is part of the SWLL conference and the WDIA. The duties of the coach would include planning and running practices and games. Some administrative work, such as e-mails and organizing, will also be part of the position.  Appointment: Part-Time, 9 months.  For more information contact: Rebecca Scheuer, USF Women's Lacrosse Treasurer, Tampa, FL 33620.  E-mail: rscheue2@mail.usf.edu Website: http://usfwomenslax.com POSTED 9.10.08
• Miami University, OH - Miami University Women's Club Lacrosse is currently looking for a head coach to lead the team in its 2008-2009 season. The ideal candidate will have a lacrosse background, preferably at the college level, but other lacrosse experiences will be considered based on the individual applicant. The team is extremely competitive at the national club lacrosse level, Division A, and is seeking a coach who can maintain and expand the team's current playing abilities.  Time Commitment: Fall practices (September-November) are 2-3 days a week for two-hour periods. Fall commitment includes one weekend of pre-season games. In January-April, practices are 5 days a week for two-hour periods. The team competes in 6-7 weekends of games from February through late April.  Interested candidates are encouraged to contact the team for more information, as we can be flexible depending on our coach's schedule.  Salary: Negotiable.  Appointment: Part-Time, 7 months.  For more information, contact: Sara-Kate Kelleher, President, Miami Women's Lacrosse.  Phone: (330) 221-6386  E-mail: MiamiLacrosse@gmail.com POSTED 8.7.08
• John Carroll University - John Carroll's club team is looking for a part-time assistant coach who will assist with all aspects of the program, including recruiting. The team currently participates in the Women’s Collegiate Lacrosse League. Position requirements include a Bachelor’s degree and lacrosse playing experience at the high school and college level. If questions, please contact Director of Recreation Sandy Howard at 216.397.3092 or by e-mail at showard@jcu.edu. A complete job decription and online application can be found at https://secure.jcu.edu/hr/. POSTED 6.25.08
• University of Illinois - The University of Illinois is looking for a Head Coach for the 2008-2009 academic year, preferably someone with prior coaching and/or playing experience.  The U of I participates in the WCLL, practicing 3-4 times per week in the late afternoons with tournaments on the weekends.  Our competitive season is the spring, with a preseason in the fall and indoor conditioning throughout the winter.  This position is unpaid and is an opportunity for a coach able to commit to any part of our 2008-2009 season.  If you will be in the Champaign-Urbana area and are interested in being a part of our team please contact the Illinois Women's Lacrosse Club at illinoiswomenslacrosse@gmail.com. POSTED 5.23.08

If your team is in need of a coach for the 2008-2009 season and would like to post information about the coaching vacancy on the WDIA Website please email the Resources Committee Chair.

WDIA Tournament Opportunities

FALL 2008 TOURNAMENTS

• October 18-19, 2008 - Virginia Tech Fall Lacrosse Tournament.  For more information, please click on the tournament flyer (pdf)
• October 25-26, 2008 - West Virginia University Women's Lacrosse is hosting a fall tournament on Oct. 25-26.  The winning team will win a prize package from Harrow Sports, first 12 teams to register get to compete. Send interest e-mails to wvuwomenslacrosse@gmail.com.

SPRING 2009 TOURNAMENTS

• February 13-15, 2009 - Santa Barbara Shootout.  For more information, please visit the Santa Barbara Shootout link on UC Santa Barbara's Website.
• February 13-15, 2009 - Fun in the Sun Tournament.  Hosted by the University of Miami.  For more information, please contact Maggie Tague.
• February 27-March 1, 2009 - 6th Annual Cactus Classic.  ASU is hosting the 6th Annual Cactus Classic.  Teams interested in participating should contact Maren Henley or Ali Mitchell
• March 20-22, 2009 - Salt Lake City Invitational.  Please contact Kate Hicks for more information.
  March 27-30, 2009 - Rocky Mountain Shootout.  For more information, please contact Katie Nepil.
• March 27-30, 2009 - Pittsburgh Invitational.  For more information, please contact Gary Neft.
• April 3-5, 2009 - 2nd Annual Lindenwood Invitational.  For more information, please contact Jack Cribbin.

If you would like to advertise your tournament for the 2009 season please e-mail the Resources Committee Chair to have it posted on the WDIA Web site

WDIA News Headlines

 Pain in the Gas

Sept 2, 2008

by Jac Coyne, Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff

When John Paul, head coach of the Michigan men's club lacrosse team, was crunching his budget numbers in preparation for the coming spring, the cost of traveling these days became painfully clear.

He knew the price of fuel, which is up nearly a dollar from the same time last year, would force the cost of his team's four plane trips to skyrocket, but he hadn't counted on the indirect impact of gas prices. Flying out of Detroit, the Wolverines travel almost exclusively on Northwest Airlines, and because of Northwest's recent decision to charge $15 for one checked bag and $25 for a second, the program is about to absorb a budget hit that Paul estimates will be near $25,000 for the team's four excursions.

$25,000?

For luggage?

"It's definitely a hit, no question," said Paul.

For Paul and Michigan, the defending Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) champions and a program operating with the "virtual varsity" label, this kind of unforeseen cost is merely a nuisance. With the help of some generous donors, UM doesn't need to cut corners. And Paul estimates that the Michigan athletic department's recent all-sports contract with Adidas, which equips his players from head to toe, will save his program an amount in the six-figure neighborhood.

The Wolverines will survive any fuel spike. But as the president of the MCLA, Paul has serious concerns about how travel costs will affect the rest of the teams.

"I see a problem with all of our programs. Even our top programs live off dues. If you're talking about spending another 25, 30, or 40 thousand dollars, then that's a thousand dollars per kid and that's not insignificant," said Paul. "Fuel costs are getting passed onto the consumer and, in the case of the MCLA perhaps more than any other league, it is going to get passed on directly to the kids."

MORE

Check out the 2008 Tournament Results

Check out the 2008 Tournament Game Summaries

Check out the 2008 WDIA All American & Academic All American Award Winners

Colorado State snaps Cal Poly's 28-game WDIA winning streak

May 10, 2008

DENVER -- Colorado State scored the final six goals of the game to beat Cal Poly 8-5 in overtime at Invesco Field at Mile High to win the US Lacrosse Women's Division Intercollegiate Associates National Championship.

The victory ended Cal Poly's seven-year run as the US Lacrosse Women's Division Intercollegiate Associates champion. Cal Poly had gone a perfect 28-0 in the national tournament before today's loss.

After CSU scored first, Cal Poly seemed to have control of the game. The Mustangs scored three goals in the final six and a half minutes of the first half to take a 3-1 halftime lead. Sarina Madnick scored just 1:40 into the second half to make it 4-1 and after a Erin O'Brien goal for CSU, Cal Pol went back up by three at 5-2 on a goal by Ashley Hennen with 17:22 left in regulation.

"This team has come back several times this year in those kinds of situations," said CSU head coach Bob Vlahakis. "We felt pretty good about stopping them and we knew that we could score."

CSU All-American goalie Brooke Lewis took care of things on the defensive end, blanking the Mustangs for the final 23 minutes of the game. Lewis finished with nine saves.

The offense got going with Andee Barocas, Katie Nepil and Kristen Kasney scoring consecutive goals for CSU, with Kasney's second of the game tying the score 5-5 with 4:27 left to play.

Lindsay Brown, the USL WDIA national player of the year, scored with 1:10 left in the first overtime period to give CSU the lead, and the Rams put it away on goals by Barocas and Kasney in the second overtime period.

MORE

2008 WDIA National Championship Field Announced

UC Santa Barbara Earns Top Seed

BALTIMORE – UC Santa Barbara has earned the top seed for the 2008 US Lacrosse Women’s Division Intercollegiate Associates (WDIA) National Championship Tournament, presented by Brine. The 16-team tournament will be held from May 7-10 in Denver with preliminary round games at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park and the championship set for May 10 at Invesco Field at Mile High.

UCSB completed a perfect 16-0 regular season with a 12-11 overtime victory over seven-time defending WDIA national champion Cal Poly in the Western Women’s Lacrosse League championship game, earning the league’s automatic bid to the tournament.

Seven other teams earned automatic qualifiers to the tournament field by virtue of winning conference championships: No. 4 seed Michigan (Women’s Collegiate Lacrosse League), No. 8 seed Lindenwood (Central Plains Women’s Lacrosse League), No. 11 seed Texas A&M (Texas Women’s Lacrosse League), No. 13 seed Georgia (Southeastern Women’s Lacrosse League), No. 14 seed Army (East Coast Women’s Lacrosse Association), No. 15 seed Minnesota (North Central Women’s Lacrosse League) and No. 16 seed Boston College Club (New England Women’s Lacrosse League).

Eight at-large invitations were also awarded: No. 2 seed Colorado State, No. 3 seed Colorado, No. 5 seed Cal Poly, No. 6 seed Santa Clara, No. 7 seed Pittsburgh, No. 9 seed UCLA, No. 10 seed Virginia Tech Club and No. 12 seed Michigan State.

The championship game will be televised nationally on a tape-delayed basis by CBS College Sports. The first airing will be shown on Monday, May 12 at 8 p.m. (Eastern).

Cal Poly defeated Navy 16-9 to win its seventh consecutive WDIA last spring. The Mustangs are the only team to have qualified for all eight WDIA tournament fields since the event was first held in 2001. Boston College Club is the only team in this year’s field that has never appeared in the tournament.

The US Lacrosse WDIA structure consists of more than 165 college club teams from around the country. Further information about the WDIA is available online at www.uslacrosse.org/wdia.

WDIA Youth Lacrosse Clinic in Denver

Together with Colorado Rising Stars Lacrosse, LLC, US Lacrosse will host the first WDIA Youth Clinic this May in Denver, CO in conjunction with the WDIA National Championship Game. The event will be held on Saturday, May 10, 2008, just before the WDIA National Championship game. The two-hour clinic will start at 9:30 a.m.

The event is open to youth lacrosse players ages 5 to 14, and provides an excellent opportunity for youth boys and girls to learn from the best collegiate club players in the United States as well as the top coaches in the Denver area. Clinicians will work with youth members of all levels, enabling them to share their lacrosse skills and promote the game among all ages and levels of play. For more information and to register, please visit www.uslacrosse.org/events/ia/clinic08.phtml.

First Round Games

No. 1 UC Santa Barbara vs. No. 16 Boston College Club
No. 2 Colorado State vs. No. 15 Minnesota
No. 3 Colorado vs. No. 14 Army
No. 4 Michigan vs. No. 13 Georgia
No. 5 Cal Poly vs. No. 12 Michigan State
No. 6 Santa Clara vs. No. 11 Texas A&M
No. 7 Pittsburgh vs. No. 10 Virginia Tech Club
No. 8 Lindenwood vs. No. 9 UCLA

Brine is the official presenting sponsor for the 2008 US Lacrosse Women’s Division Intercollegiate Associates National Championship. Sports Her Way is the official retailer for the event.

Westminister to Launch Women's Lacrosse Program 

Soni Bartlett Named to Lead Program

SALT LAKE CITY – Westminster College is pleased to announce the addition of women's lacrosse to its athletic program beginning Spring 2009.  This addition gives Westminster a total of 13 teams competing in intercollegiate athletics.  Griffins Athletic Director Shay Wyatt announced the hiring of Soni Bartlett to serve as head coach and architect of the startup program.

"We believe Soni will be a great addition to the Westminster Athletics program", said Wyatt.  "Her experience and knowledge should serve our women's lacrosse program well.  She shares the vision we have for our athletic program and has the drive and commitment to reach the goals we have set forth both academically and athletically." 

A resident of Sandy, Utah, Bartlett began her lacrosse career in her native hometown of Boston, Massachusetts.  She joins the Griffins after 12 years of coaching experience on a variety of levels.  She is currently the head coach of the Jordan High School Girls' Lacrosse Team, having served in that position since 2003.  Her teams won four consecutive state championships.  Bartlett co-founded the BYU Women's Lacrosse Club, founded the Orem high School women's Lacrosse Club, coaches a local travel team and serves as an assistant coach for a national club team consisting of national and international players.  She also served as the Executive Director of the Utah Lacrosse Association from 2002 to 2006.  In 2007, Bartlett was elected to the Utah Lacrosse Association Hall of Fame and currently serves on the US Lacrosse Board of Directors.

Westminster plans to compete in the Rocky Mountain Women's Lacrosse League.  The league is part of U.S. Lacrosse and the Women's Division Intercollegiate Associates.  For more information on the Westminster Women's Lacrosse Program visit www.westminstercollege.edu/athletics or call Coach Soni Bartlett at (801) 832-2865. 

Westminster is a nationally recognized, comprehensive liberal arts college distinguished by its unique environment for learning. With a broad array of graduate and undergraduate programs, Westminster prepares students for success with its emphasis on engaged learning, real world experiences and its vibrant campus community. These are further enriched by the opportunities presented by Westminster's unique location, adjacent to the Rocky Mountains and to the dynamic city of Salt Lake. For more information visit www.westminstercollege.edu

From: March 5, 2008 Press Release

2008 WDIA National Championship Information

May 7-10, 2008 - Denver, Colorado

The US Lacrosse Intercollegiate Associates National Championship showcases the nation's top 16 Women's Intercollegiate Associates lacrosse teams at the same venue. It is the only national championship that is endorsed and managed by US Lacrosse, the national governing body of lacrosse.

The 16 teams selected to participate in the 2008 IA National Championship will advance to Denver, Colorado, with Dick's Sporting Goods Park serving as host site for the second straight year. The championship game will be played at Denver's Invesco Field. 

US Lacrosse's WDIA ranks are comprised of approximately 170 women's college programs around the country. The teams are not varsity programs at the colleges, but follow similar guidelines as varsity programs and compete at a level much more organized than traditional college club programs.

Event Information Page Link

2008 US Lacrosse National Convention Handouts

January 18, 2008 - January 20, 2008

127 Sessions, 119 SpeakersThe US Lacrosse National Convention has established itself as the largest educational opportunity for US Lacrosse member coaches, officials, and administrators in the world. What You Get with your Account: All conference attendees are entitled to FREE access to available session handouts prior to the conference and up to 30 days following the conference. At any time you may purchase an upgrade to your account and have unlimited access to all of the live audio and presentation materials for a minimum of 1 year following your last Prolibraries purchase. Upgrading your account to the full multimedia library provides you access to session audio (.mp3) and speaker presentations (.pdf) in our own custom streaming flash player. You can also download any sessions audio or presentation right to your home or work computer (download speeds may vary). 

DOWNLOAD NOW

WDIA: State of Renewal

There's a reason why the WDIA is always reshuffling

Jan. 15, 2008

by Jac Coyne, Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff

Think how hard it would be for women's Division I to keep any kind of consistency if one or two of its Top 20 teams were removed from competition each year. Think about the time and effort it would take to reorganize the conferences and keep them eligible for automatic qualifiers if the administrators were constantly working in a state of revitalization. It would pretty tough to keep a steady organization amidst this type of fluidity, wouldn't you say?

Welcome to the Women's Division Intercollegiate Association (WDIA).

One just has to look back to the spring of 2007 to understand the type of upheaval the division has been facing for the past decade. Navy rolled through its competition to a perfect record before losing to national champion Cal-Poly. Following a script it set in motion a couple of years before, the Midshipmen made the leap to varsity status by joining the ranks of NCAA Division I.

Poof. Just like that, the second-best team in the WDIA was gone.

And this has been happening for a decade. Northwestern, Stanford, Oregon, and Cal-Berkeley, among others, have all been strong teams within the club ranks before making the move the varsity. With the continued popularity of the sport more and more women's club teams will make the move. WDIA staples such as South Carolina (2010), Florida (2010) and Boise State (2012) are already on track to make the leap to NCAA Division I in the near future.

While this trend is certainly good for the growth of the sport, especially in up-and-coming places like the West Coast, it has caused some headaches for the remaining programs that are not only trying to balance their conferences but working to ensure they are eligible for automatic qualifiers under WDIA rules.

MORE

Lax Magazine Releases its 2008 Preseason Rankings 

BALTIMORE -- Eight of the 11 teams that won college lacrosse national championships in 2007 have been picked to repeat as title-winners in 2008 in Lacrosse magazine's annual preseason college rankings, released Wednesday.

The rankings, compiled by Lacrosse magazine staff after consultations with coaches, predict Northwestern to win its fourth straight NCAA Division I women's championship. Duke has been tabbed as the preseason favorite to capture the NCAA Division I men's championship.

Other champions from 2007 selected to repeat: Le Moyne (NCAA Division II men), Salisbury (NCAA Division III men), Franklin and Marshall (NCAA Division III women), Onondaga (National Junior College Athletic Association men), Anne Arundel (NJCAA women), Cal Poly (US Lacrosse Women's Division Intercollegiate Associates) and BYU (Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association Division I). MORE

USL WDIA
1. Cal Poly
2. Colorado State
3. UCSB
4. BYU
5. Colorado
6. UCLA
7. Georgia
8. Pitt
9. Michigan
10. Michigan State
11. Florida
12. Santa Clara
13. UC-Davis (club)
14. USC
15. San Diego State
16. Lindenwood
17. Chico State
18. UCSD
19. Central Florida
20. Pepperdine

(Please note that the Lax Magazine ranking of WDIA teams was not put together by the WDIA Rankings Committee. Official polls by the Ranking Committee will be published later this season.)

Brine East West Challenge

LOS ANGELES – A showcase event of NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse in Southern California.  Participating teams are UC Berkeley, Notre Dame, Oregon and Temple.  Additional showcase game featuring the US Lacrosse WDIA teams of UCLA and USC.

Date: March 8, 2008

Time: 12 Noon - 7PM

Location: Rose Bowl

More information can be found at the East West Challenge Website

Rules Changes for Women's Lacrosse in 2008 - (Applicable to the WDIA)

BALTIMORE – The US Lacrosse Women’s Division Board of Governors has approved the following recommendations from the US Lacrosse Women’s Division Rules Committee for new women’s lacrosse rules.

Rule 2 – Equipment and Uniforms

Section 8 – Beginning with the 2009 season the mouthpiece shall be of any readily visible color other than clear or white. This currently applies to only NFHS affiliated schools.

Section 12 – Added that the goalie may also wear pants/shorts that are gray in color.Rule 3 – Game Personnel

Section 11 – Added as one of the duties of the official scorer that they must notify the umpire when a fourth card is given to the same team.Rule 4 – Time Factors and Scoring

Section 1 – When the 10-goal rule is in effect no time out will be called for a redraw. [Other sections in the book will also be re-worded to reflect this change.]Rule 5 – Play of the Game

Section 11 – If the goalkeeper who is still in her goal circle is the closest to the ball when it crosses the boundary, she will be awarded the ball and can remain in her circle to restart play. This will now be consistent with what happens when the goalie is closest when a shot goes out of bounds.

Section 15 – This section was changed to allow the shooter to follow through with her stick over the goal circle on a shot and to allow the player directly defending the shooter to also have her stick over the goal circle. This change will NOT be in effect for Youth level play and a specific foul for being in the goal circle (body or stick) has been added to the Youth Rules. Rule 6 – Fouls

Section 1.g – Added another example to illustrate illegal use of the crosse – lowering the head of the crosse below the shoulder AND initiating crosse to body contact.

Section 2.f – Reworded the body ball foul – player may not allow any part of her body to deliberately impede, accelerate or change the direction of the ball. We will no longer focus on "distinct advantage".Rule 7 – Penalty Administration

Section 29-31 – In an effort to clarify the section on cards a number of changes have been made to the wording in these sections. Two yellow cards to any player will signify that she is to be removed from participation in that game, and the reference to a red card has been removed. A red card will now be indicative of a flagrant foul or misconduct that calls for immediate removal from the game. Changes will also be made in Rule 8 – Definition of Terms to reflect this rewording.Rule 9 – Manufacturer’s Specifications

Section 26 (new) – Added specific wording to prohibit the use of additional materials covering any of the pocket strings (i.e., tubing, beads, etc.)

Section 27 – Added a note following this section to give some examples of things that might prohibit free ball movement in the pocket.

Stick Testing Procedures – The rules will continue to allow the submission of pre-production models to the lab for testing but only a preliminary approval will be given for this type of stick. Final approval and listing on the web site will only result when a final production model has been submitted and passed all testing.

US Lacrosse is the national governing body for men’s and women’s lacrosse. To return to the US Lacrosse home page, please click herewww.uslacrosse.org.

Everything you need to know to be successful in starting and sustaining a collegiate lacrosse club. MORE

Other News:

• Ohio University Drops Women's Lacrosse
• University of Cincinnati to add Women's Lacrosse in 2008
• US Lacrosse Announces Formation of the MCLA
• Is Your Athletic Department Looking for a Reason to add Lacrosse
• Naval Academy to add Women's Lacrosse in 2008
• 2006 US Lacrosse WDIA All-American Teams Named and Award Winners
• 2006 WDIA Recaps and Scores from Dallas
• Dallas to Host US Lacrosse Intercollegiate Associates National Championships
• Women's Lacrosse Field Diagrams & Rules
• Hard Boundaries for 2006
• Legal Sticks for Women's Lacrosse

Mission Statement The mission of the USL Womens Division of Intercollegiate Associates is to promote the growth of womens lacrosse nationwide. Specifically, WDIA strives to provide an infrastructure in which collegiate clubs will compete and eventually crown a National Champion. Leadership opportunities exist on the local, regional and national levels as WDIA is a representation of teams at all levels. WDIA members are then encouraged to give back to the lacrosse community by joining the umpiring, coaching and post-collegiate club communities.