Western Pennsylvania Scholastic Lacrosse Association
Reorganization Proposal
Approved November 20, 2000
    The WPSLA needs to establish a league structure that will serve its membership over the long term by providing a stable and reliable organization that has a consistency of purpose but which also can be adapted to the continuing growth and development of lacrosse in Western Pennsylvania.
 
The Association took a major step forward last year with its attempt at establishing geographic divisions. Although that plan had many positive aspects, it also had major drawbacks. The two major negatives were interrelated: 1) there were too many of the established and successful programs concentrated in the Central Division, and 2) the concentration of quality programs within this division resulted in a playoff format that was less than desirable for a number of member teams.

    The fact that the majority of successful teams were all concentrated in the Central Division in itself is not a problem. The fact is that the best programs should be playing each other year in and year out. In fact, with a number of the top teams in the MSLA, it is impractical to have a divisional system that would force these teams to play the limited WPSLA dates they have available with opponents with much weaker programs based on a geographic division concept. What is needed is a divisional concept that groups the teams together based on ability but also allows for growth, development and change within a stable structure. The structure should also provide a means for the newer and less developed programs to have their own championship goals but still provide for an overall WPSLA Champion.

    For the above reasons, this Proposal suggests reorganizing the WPSLA into 3 divisions (Divisions 1, Division 2, Division 3) base on the relative quality level of the programs rather than on a geographic basis. Division 2 and Division 3 would have separate cham,pionships. In addition, the Division 3 winner and the Division 2 winner and runner-up would advance to the overall WPSLA Championship with all the Division 1 teams to determine an overall WPSLA Champion. The specifics of the porposal are below.